How superior is synthetic oil over the normal 15W oils ?

maxbhp · 25th September 2006, 09:05

I have recently noticed that my car is always tending to overheat when driven around a higher rpm range quicker than it used to be . As a temporary solution I decided to use Synthetic engine oil , Valvoline 5W to be specific . It comes to around 500 / lit . I could have opted for a better one thats Mobil for 800 / lit but I wasnt really confident about end results .

My car has almost completed 110000 . Val. has been filled after flushing the engine for 5 times (4 times with flushing oil and once with diesel ) . The funny part is even after all this when I checked the oil after warming the engine , the oil was still looking dark and there was no way one can identify the difference between fresh oil and used one . After doing a small tissue paper test for carbon deposit , its evident that engine oil is new but the dark colour is still very disappointing to look at .....having flushed it almost 5 times.

Now coming back to my driving exp. after having filled this . After around say 40 kms of run , engine is definitely running smoother , just to test it I tried ripping the car with car doing 3000 - 3500 rpm (my wild guess

) and its feeling way smoother . Its not exactly a revolutionary change but the change is well worth the extra penny I had shelled out considering the oil change interval has been extended to almost 30 % though the cost of running / km has increased by around 17 ps .I used to service this car every 7500 kms but now I need to only after 10000 kms . The recent addition of K & N coupled with a better grade engine oil has given a new lease of life to my work horse . Am waiting to open up the engine to its top speed.

dhananjay · 25th September 2006, 09:35

did you change your oil filter, if not then this could be the reason for blackning of oil

maxbhp · 25th September 2006, 10:39

Yes I do it everytime , I'll see in next service . Should get better with this.

GTO · 25th September 2006, 10:56

To answer your question:

1. Synthetic oil has far superior lubricating property than regular oil. I use synthetic only in all my cars.

2. It is NOT the solution to an overheating engine.

ajmat · 25th September 2006, 11:17

Am using Mobil 1 on the Vtec

Car has not been serviced for past 7500 km and still does not need it despite some hard driving on track
Engine revs like crazy
Fuel economy improved slightly

madhav · 25th September 2006, 11:31

Any advantage/disadvantage of using Synthetic Oil in a diesel engine (DI or Common Rail)?

moralfibre · 25th September 2006, 12:27

Diesels have a different make available from Mobil 1 called Delvac. Dont use Synthetic oils made for petrol engines in Diesel engines.

maxbhp · 25th September 2006, 18:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Diesels have a different make available from Mobil 1 called Delvac. Dont use Synthetic oils made for petrol engines in Diesel engines.

Am not using Mobil 1 , am using Valvoline .

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

To answer your question:

2. It is NOT the solution to an overheating engine.

I never said its a permanent solution , due to improved lubrication heat will be dissapiated in a much better way thats all I had meant .

25th September 2006, 09:05	#1
maxbhp Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: C C K Posts: 1,382 Thanked: 89 Times View My Garage	How superior is synthetic oil over the normal 15W oils ? I have recently noticed that my car is always tending to overheat when driven around a higher rpm range quicker than it used to be . As a temporary solution I decided to use Synthetic engine oil , Valvoline 5W to be specific . It comes to around 500 / lit . I could have opted for a better one thats Mobil for 800 / lit but I wasnt really confident about end results . My car has almost completed 110000 . Val. has been filled after flushing the engine for 5 times (4 times with flushing oil and once with diesel ) . The funny part is even after all this when I checked the oil after warming the engine , the oil was still looking dark and there was no way one can identify the difference between fresh oil and used one . After doing a small tissue paper test for carbon deposit , its evident that engine oil is new but the dark colour is still very disappointing to look at .....having flushed it almost 5 times. Now coming back to my driving exp. after having filled this . After around say 40 kms of run , engine is definitely running smoother , just to test it I tried ripping the car with car doing 3000 - 3500 rpm (my wild guess ) and its feeling way smoother . Its not exactly a revolutionary change but the change is well worth the extra penny I had shelled out considering the oil change interval has been extended to almost 30 % though the cost of running / km has increased by around 17 ps .I used to service this car every 7500 kms but now I need to only after 10000 kms . The recent addition of K & N coupled with a better grade engine oil has given a new lease of life to my work horse . Am waiting to open up the engine to its top speed.
	() Thanks

25th September 2006, 09:35	#2
dhananjay BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: mumbai Posts: 29 Thanked: 2 Times View My Garage	did you change your oil filter, if not then this could be the reason for blackning of oil
	() Thanks

25th September 2006, 10:39	#3
maxbhp Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: C C K Posts: 1,382 Thanked: 89 Times View My Garage	Yes I do it every time I change the oil. Yes I do it everytime , I'll see in next service . Should get better with this.
	() Thanks

25th September 2006, 10:56	#4
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,546 Thanked: 300,761 Times View My Garage	To answer your question: 1. Synthetic oil has far superior lubricating property than regular oil. I use synthetic only in all my cars. 2. It is NOT the solution to an overheating engine.
	() Thanks

25th September 2006, 11:17	#5
ajmat Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 14,865 Thanked: 27,977 Times View My Garage	Am using Mobil 1 on the Vtec Car has not been serviced for past 7500 km and still does not need it despite some hard driving on track Engine revs like crazy Fuel economy improved slightly
	() Thanks

25th September 2006, 11:31	#6
madhav BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 286 Thanked: 73 Times	Any advantage/disadvantage of using Synthetic Oil in a diesel engine (DI or Common Rail)?
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25th September 2006, 12:27	#7
moralfibre Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12 Posts: 8,451 Thanked: 13,973 Times	Diesels have a different make available from Mobil 1 called Delvac. Dont use Synthetic oils made for petrol engines in Diesel engines.
	() Thanks