Re: Synthetic Oil conversion
 

Good point...my guess is that maybe vipers and vettes break in their engines more at the factory?

Re: Synthetic Oil conversion
 

Quite a few companies like Porsche, M-B AMG, Corvette, Viper do come with Mobile 1 or other syns from the factory, hence the big argument over the whole "impeding break-in" claim.

I've owned 911's, an MB 430 cabriolet, an S2000, and an M3 and heard various opinions from various mechanics, all of whom swore they were right. So if you're expecting to find an absolute answer, forget it.

I do know for a fact that Porsche and MB-AMG do a thorough break-in on a dyno with mineral oil prior to installing the engines in the cars with synthetic. Several Porsche and MB guys gave the same reason for using mineral first, stating that synthetic can cause glazing during break-in.

Non-AMG MB's have Shell mineral oil from the factory and the dealer recommended to me to wait till 5k miles due to break-in before switching to syn, which they did for me free of charge. I don't know about the Vette or Viper as far as break-in, but I do know the Honda factory was extremely adament about not switching till the car at least stopped burning oil, and they prefered that S2K owners waited till 15K miles before making a change to syn.

Another view. I'm involved in general aviation, and in that arena, where your piston engine is responsible for keeping you alive, they swear by single weight mineral oil. Synthetic and mutlti-weights are a no-no according to most A&P mechanics and several aircraft engine manufactures even specify a particular brand of oil be used during the first 50 hours otherwise no more warranty. Aviation people still argue over the single weight vs. mutli-weight issue and syn vs. mineral, but they do all seem to agree that mineral is required for proper break-in.

This will always be a heated debate. For me, I usually wait till 5k miles and switch to Amsoil synthetic. But to be honest, oil's are so consitent in quality these days, I'm probably just pissing an extra $50-60 bucks down the drain with each oil change. To each his/her own!


Hey! How about pouring more fuel to the fire! When I took a tour of the Porsche facility in Zuffenhausen, I asked about the recommended 15k mile oil change for 911's. I was told by a racing engineer that changing the oil on any modern production street engine with any modern oil, mineral or syn, before 15k miles is just a big waste of money and time! OK, give me a minute while I run for cover!

<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small"><EM>Edited by atlexec on 08/26/03 04:01 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

Re: Synthetic Oil conversion
 

Here's some more info to further cloud the issue.

I've got an old family friend who is a traveling sales rep. He is a big guy and drives about 50k miles a year. He only buys Lincoln Towncars for comfort and drives the hell out of them. About 10 years ago, he told me he never changes his oil, never!!! He doesn't break them in, change the oil, or anything else, he just drives them. I was floored and asked him if he's had any problems and he said no. He said those Ford V-8's burn about a quart every month and he just keeps filling it up rather than change it. (Keep in mind these are the old Lincoln boats) He was getting 150-200k miles on them and then buying another about every 4-5 years. Never had engine problems, but he did wear the rest of the car out and figured it was easier to get another rather than fix them.

Once I made him go to Jiffy lube with me to get an oil change on his land barge, I had two coupons, so he relented. After the service, we drove several miles down the road and his car overheated and the oil light came on. We drove right back and discovered the idiots hadn't tightend his drain plug all the way! The oil had leaked out completely while he was driving. He went about 5 miles with no oil!!! They apologized, fixed it, and refuned the money for both of our cars. That was the first and last time he had on oil change, and damned if that p.o.s. lincoln didn't keep on going another 100K miles for him!

I've got another friend with an S2000. Like me he bought out of state, but he was so concerned with break-in that he paid $900 to have his car delivered on a flat bed to his home from Jacksonville, so as to avoid driving on the highway during the first 1000 miles. He treated that car like a baby, followed all the rules about break-in, no highway driving, no V-Tec, varied the revs, varied the speeds. At 500 miles he changed the oil to get the metal particles out, he put a magnet band around the new oil filter to help trap any additional metal in the oil. He changed the oil again at 2000 miles, and then waited till 5000 miles to switch to Mobil 1synthetic and a Mobil 1 filter. He used only Amoco 93 octane gas and parked the car at the end of every parking lot so he wouldn't get any dings!

Guess what. At 7900 miles the damn car wouldn't start. Number 4 cylinder failure! Engine no more good round eye!

Honda did replace it, but he went through hell getting it done. They tried to blame it on his K&N air filter, until he got an attorney and a list of all the other S2000's with a #4 cylinder failure.

Re: Synthetic Oil conversion
 

I was told by an Infiniti Service Manager that they break these motors in before they put them into the car.. So for that reason I had my oil changed at 1200K and got mobil 1.. And I kinda broke it in hard and my car is a FREAK!!! I am blowing away other G with ease ....