Synthetic oil

[Jimbo]

Just for the record I use mobil 1 in both Cruisers
and change it every 3000

[Hot Wheels]

I use Mobil 1 10W30 along with the Fram X2 Extended Guard filter (rated for 7500 miles) and change both oil and filter at 6000 mile intervals for both my 2003 PT GT and my 2003 Dodge Quad Cab Hemi truck. I have had the PT for 11 months and have 24,643 miles on it and I have had the Hemi truck for 16 months and have 29,852 miles on it. As you can see, I drive a lot here in Texas, and if I changed oil at 3000 mile intervals, I would be changing oil 1.5 times per month for both vehicles combined! At first I changed the filter only at 3000 miles and topped off the lost oil and then did a full change at 6000 miles. Then I went to the Fram X2 Extended Guard which costs $10 but is less of a hassle since I only change it every 6000 miles.

[SteelBlueGT]

Wondering if we are making a mistake by not going with the lighter 5W-30 oil? Any thoughts? My idea was just matiching what my stealer puts in all his cars which is Shell 10W-30 dino oil! If you look at the charts 5W-30 would be OK exept for summer in Death Valley[:0]

[eliminator]

Hello all, great forum. I just recently bought an '03 GT 5-speed, and have found this forum to be very helpfull...

Here's my .02: The turbo and motor will be just fine with standard oil, for at least 100-150K miles, maybe more. The turbo is water cooled and the engine has a decent oil cooler. However, the benefits of synthetic are proven. Less engine wear, virtually no chance of oil coking in the turbo, *slightly* better power and milage, and extended oil change intervals. Since I'm planning to keep my car for over 150K miles, I'm using Mobil 1 0-40, and a Mobil 1 filter. If you're planning to keep your car for less than 150K miles, or you don't run it hard, I don't think you don't really need to bother with synthetic. I think the real payoff is in the *long* run.

The reason for changing oil is that it breaks down, and the additives wear out. The "dirt" you see in used oil is carbon, a by-product of combustion. If you have a decent oil filter, oil *might* be just fine to use even if it's BLACK. The filter will remove particles larger than 15-20 microns, and particles smaller than that are too small to make much of a difference.

Many new cars have 10,000 mile recommended oil change intervals, with standard oil. Turbo cars have shorter intervals because the high temps at the turbo cause standard oil to break down. If you use synthetic oil in a turbo motor, breakdown is not really a problem, and intervals can be higher. How high? I don't know, but you can send your oil to a lab for analysis (for a nominal cost), and they will tell you if it's OK to keep using it. At any rate, 5000 miles is a very conservative interval with synthetic, and it is probably possible to have much longer intervals.

[Cal Cruzer]

quote:Originally posted by SteelBlueGT

Wondering if we are making a mistake by not going with the lighter 5W-30 oil? Any thoughts? My idea was just matiching what my stealer puts in all his cars which is Shell 10W-30 dino oil! If you look at the charts 5W-30 would be OK exept for summer in Death Valley[:0]

I use the 5/30 in mine. With the tighter engine tolerances these days you want the lower viscosity number for startup. As we all know, that is when the most damage is done to an engine. Getting oil pressurized throughout the engine on cold start is critical.

[Mr.Blonde]

Has anyone tried 0w30?

[eliminator]

quote:Originally posted by Mr.Blonde

Has anyone tried 0w30?

I assume you're referring to Mobil 1? AFAIK, they're the only ones with "0" weights. I'm using Mobil 1 0-40 with no problems. 0-30 should be fine, too.

[Mr.Blonde]

ya, mobil 1.

[Jeff V]

Following up on what taikuchin said, I changed to Mobil 1 10w at 3k, and starting checking it regularly for color change at 5,500 - nearly none, so I changed it precisely at 6k again, then at 9k again, got comfortable, then when I went to change it at 12.8k - the first time I went over 3,000 miles between changes, it was BLACK. Still oily/had viscosity, but really really dirty compared to changing it every 3k. I do mostly city driving, in Washington DC. I was amazed at the difference between 3k and 3.8k. Coulda been a fluke, but I'm not going to make the mistake of checking it at 3,000 miles and thinking "Ah, it can wait" again. One thing I like about the GT is how easy it is to change the oil.

[Mike-in-Orange]

JeffV you ol' son-of-a-gun! Where you been dude??? Haven't seen you on this or other forums for ever!

Ooooo, don't want to threadjack.....I use Mobil 1 too, have since about 1,000 miles on the clock.