Synthetic or Dino Oil?

[Matt400]

I may start a war with this post but my true intent is to simply get opinions from both sides.

After the break in period I have had good experience with both- I use a 5W50 syn in my race motorcycle for smoother clutch engagements but a side benefit was having to turn down the idle adjustment after switching. The wife’s Caravan went over 200K on Dino but my experience with the motorcycle has led me to go Mobil 1 syn on her Turbo PT Cruiser.



For the CTD I am interested in lubrication that will outlive the rest of the truck, I may keep it 300K and also am wondering about the difference in the oils resistance to cook in the Turbo during those times a cool down period is neglected.



For the auto trans I am not so sure about using a product that tends to be more slippery. I don’t know of anyone that wants that! I do see that Amsoil has an ATF+4 compatible fluid.



Per Cummins recommendations here they say its ok for syn but don’t specifically recommend it. They do however mention Valvoline Premium Blue, do you suppose they have stock in it?



Anyone know what oil Tom Olding is using? According to this link he has over a million miles! on his truck. I suppose I will simply want a new truck long before that.



In issue 43 of TDR page 109 Amsoil makes claims that differ from another one of their ads on page 135. Same test but yet Dello 400, Premium Blue, Shell, Delvac 1, and their own 5W30 all show different results from the same test.

Delvac 1 being the farthest spread with page 109 @ 0. 646 and page 135 @ 0. 431 yet the test is under the exact same criteria.



I don’t believe everything I read and when they print studies that contradict each other it only fogs the readers judgment IMO.



So what do you use in your engine and trans

and why do you prefer it?

 

[Tony T.]

I have never used any brand of synthetic engine oil before. The dino oil I use is Delo 400 15w/40 at around $ 6. 49 a gallon. I change every 5000 miles with the dino oil and I guess feel comfortable with that. The trans will get the ATF+4 from the dealership, until I start seeing it on the store shelfs approved by DC with changes of every 30,000 miles.

 

[Rescue Ram]

Personal preference...

I think it chocks up to personal preference in the end. My '01 VW diesel requires synthetic to maintain the warranty. I use Rotella synthetic in it. For my CTD's, the use of synthetic is cost prohibitive, since I am usually changing the oil every third week (3k miles). If I had more money, or synthetic were cheaper, I would probably use it exclusively. I do use synthetic for driveline maintenance. In the end, you must evaluate the pro's and con's of each and decide the best/ most economic course of action for your situations.



My opinion...



Brian Z. Oo.

 

[KCJackson]

Originally posted by Matt400 Per Cummins recommendations here they say its ok for syn but don’t specifically recommend it. They do however mention Valvoline Premium Blue, do you suppose they have stock in it?

Premium Blue was developed by Valvoline specifically for Cummins engines and was originally branded as "Cummins Premium Blue" for its first few years. Mopar 15W40 "diesel motor oil" at the dealer is the same thing.

 

[WVSumeren]

Having worked for oil companies before, I gained some knowledge and experience withe dino and syn. All oils do more than lubricate. most importantly they lower friction therby lowering heat. synthetic is probably better at this than dino, especialy at extreme conditions (towing or heat). Synthetic will not break down as easy under extreme conditions. But, all oils get dirty (blow by contamination, condinsation, metal wear, ect. Oil filter can only filter out these contaminants to a certain degree @ 95%. If you design the filter to filter out even smaller particals then you start filtering out the other ingrediants of oil. They also contain detergnts to break up the carbon deposits, bonding agents to collect the debree togather so the filter can trap them. so the oil still has to be changed at regular intervals. I do not belive in leaving 95% clean but good lubricating oil in longer than 7000 miles. So in my opinion it becomes a cost question. for severe duty every 7000 miles--yes. normal everyday--no.

 

[Matt400]

Originally posted by WVSumeren

I used to prefer driving my '68 Camaro 427 cid

Know what you mean, last year I got rid of the 70 SS396 Chevelle, was a fun car- vinyl seats, no AC & loud but dang that baby would plant you back hard.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Whatever you use, make sure it meets API specs and change it following the Dodge required intervals. The engines only last about a million miles with dino oil and the cellulose Fleetguard filter.