From - "Synthetic Oils Beat Petroleum Oils On All Counts!"http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/sythoil.htm

"Those Who Know, Agree
According to a technical paper (850564.1985) by the Society of Automotive Engineers, "Laboratory engine dynamometer, vehicle chassis rolls and over-the-road field tests confirm the outstanding performance capabilities for optimized synthetic engine oils in passenger car diesel as well as gasoline engines, including severe turbocharged models...Vehicle testing under severe and extended drain conditions demonstrates the performance reserve available with these synthetic engine oils. In addition to excellent protection against critical high-temperature piston deposits, ring sticking, overall engine cleanliness and wear, these synthetic oils offer fuel savings and superior low temperature fluidity."

Steve
CEO of Hi-Tech Oil Co.

 

 

 

Steve,
I use synthetics in my vehicles and have for some time now. I've always liked what I hoped was extra protection, less wear, better mileage, lower engine operating temps etc etc., for the premium I pay.

What confuses me is this: Why don't all manufacturers recommend its use, while others deliver their vehicles with it from the factory?

Even in our Infiniti line over the years that I've been involved with them, I've seen that some (my '03 Sedan for example) are ok to go with synthetics while others (my '03 Coupe for example) are not ok. (Accoring to the owner's manuals).

This seems a little inconsistent to me and I'm wondering which engines are compatible with synthetics and which aren't.

TNX
Colin

 

Good Question..

 

Hi Colin. I love intelligent questions! Any engine is okay with a superior lubricant. There is no magic with a synthetic oil. Metal is metal, oil is oil, in that regard. A true synthetic oil is simply a superior lubricant and does everything a petroleum oil can, just does it a lot better and that's putting it mildly, seriously. A true synthetic oil so outperforms a petroleum oil that it is like taking candy from a baby.

Millions of vehicles from all around the world now come with their engines factory filled with synthetic oils. Some absolutely requiring the use of synthetic oils in order to maintain the engine warranty. Yes, the performance/protection advantages of a true synthetic oil vs a petroleum oil are indeed that great.

The following vehicles all come with their engines factory filled with synthetic oil -

Acura RDX

Aston Martin

All Bentley Vehicles

All BMW Vehicles

All Cadillac Vehicles

Chevrolet Corvette C6 and Z06

Chevrolet TrailBlazer SS

Chrysler 300C SRT-8

Cobalt SS S/C Coupe

Dodge Caliber SRT-4, Charger SRT-8, and Magnum SRT-8

Jeep Cherokee SRT-8

Mercedes-Benz AMG Vehicles

Mercedes SLR

Mitsubishi Evolution

Pontiac Solstice GXP

All Porsche Vehicles

Saturn Ion Red Line and Saturn Sky Red Line

Viper SRT-10

You will notice that all these vehicles are high-end vehicles and not economy cars. High end motorists want the best and they are willing to pay for it. With most vehicles, the selling price of the vehicle is of primary importance and adding synthetic lubricants to the vehicle would only further raise the price and possibly drive customers to a competitor's dealership to purchase another vehicle. Understandably, vehicle manufacturers accountants don't want that.

Also, synthetic oils for the average consumer are still relatively new on the scene, even though synthetic oils have been on the market ever since AMSOIL pioneered them in 1972, thirty five years ago. It's rather like when radial tires first came on the scene; not all vehicles were equipped with them O.E. and it took years to eventually phase out the old design bias-ply tires in favor of the new design radial tires. Many consumers kicking and screaming all the way, demanding they have their old bias-ply tires back. lol Some people just cant handle change. So it goes with synthetic oils and it will take some years to phase out the petroleum oils in new car engines and replace them all with superior performing synthetic oils. Petroleum oils are slowly becoming obsolete and I would forecast will not come O.E. in any new vehicles engine within the next ten years or so. We can only hope.

I hope this helps to answer your question.

Steve
CEO of Hi-Tech Oil Co.
Distributing industry leading AMSOIL synthetic lubricants for 19 years

 

 

Steve, good stuff here! thanks for sharing!

-Sean

 

amsoil ftw!!!!!!!

 

My pleasure. I try to help out where I can. Amongst some of the disinformation being spread on this forum, it can indeed be challenging.


Steve
CEO of Hi-Tech Oil Co.
Distributing industry leading AMSOIL synthetic lubricants for 19 years

 

Wait till fuel prices hit $4 a gallon this summer. Then we are talking about some very big changes in the automotive industry. SUV's and trucks will be selling for chicken scratch. I am switching to AMSOIL 0W-20 in my daily driver Cadillac Eldorado, in search of 40 mpg. It's already at 34 mpg and I'm not even close to being done yet! I have learned a lot of fuel economy tricks over the years and AMSOIL products are right at the top!

Steve
CEO of Hi-Tech Oil Co.
Distributing industry leading AMSOIL synthetic lubricants for 19 years

 

So has anyone followed the S.A.E. recommendation and if so, what were your results?


Steve
CEO of Hi-Tech Oil Co.
Distributing industry leading AMSOIL synthetic lubricants for 19 years

 

Steve,
I can see that a lighter oil (0W-20) in your example would yield better fuel economy - and that's great, we all want to stretch our fuel dollars these days with high oil prices, but what about warranty requierement?
On our VQ's and VK's, Nissan/Infiniti mandates 5W-30 oil and only if that's not available should one consider 10W-30 for temp use.
If I were to switch to another grade of oil and have engine difficulties requiring warranty work, I"d be a worried about Nissan's refusal since I wasn't using the oil they specified.

It's highly possible in the coming years that the oil companies will test with the varying grades in an effort to make their engines more fuel efficient, but what about present requirements???
A mistake here could be very expensive.

Thanks

Colin

 

There has been oil analysis sheets from people using 5w-20 in some newer cars that are came back terrible. (even when the manual specs the 20 weight) Apparently some makers are trying to spec 20 weight so they can meet their gas mpg targets. The ONLY oil that one could "maybe" get away with using a 20 weight is Amsoil. But if the idea is to save $, then you also have to run it for at least 2-3x as long. Provided it still can protect at it's thinnner viscosity.
Using a 20 weight in an engine that specs out a 30 or 40 is not recommended. At least not by the research I've come across. (especially with anything not Amsoil)

 

Oils viscosities are recommended, not required, except in the case where the use of synthetic oils are required for warranty purposes. The film strength of a synthetic oil far exceeds that of a petroleum oil, so a comparativley thin viscosity synthetic oil can actually exceed the engine protection of a thicker viscosity petroleum oil.


Steve
CEO of Hi-Tech Oil Co.
Distributing industry leading AMSOIL synthetic lubricants for 19 years