Synthetic Switch

[Accordlover]

I've been reading online about the effects of switching a high mileage vehicle to a synthetic oil.

I think I've finally found a decent way to make the switch, but I'd like some opinions on it.

Currently, in my 96 Accord 4cyl, I'm running a synthetic/dino blend. My oil change interval is 3k miles and I stick to it almost religiously.

I've read that a good way to transition is to do an oil change with the synthetic (Mobil 1), and change the oil in 2000 miles to rid of any debris that the new oil has cleaned. After that, I would continue on with my normal 3k change intervals.

Some may feel that my switch is a waste, so be it.

Gear heads, does this sound like a good method to you?:dunno:

[lpaudio2]

my understanding which may be wrong is that synthetic cleans more and the only real danger is that you will clean up some sludge that was blocking a leak.

If your really concerned about cleaning you could run an auto rx cycle then switch. It sounds like your car is maintained pretty well. So I really doubt your going to see problems with switching.

Even so I don't think 115k is really that high to be worried. Just know you might see some leaks and be prepared you might have to pay to fix them.

You can change it at 2k the first time... personally I would just watch how dirty it is.

[RTexasF]

I agree completely with running Auto RX. http://auto-rx.com/ This has also been recommended to Stiller.

No need to change the M1 @ 2K. Synthetic does what cleaning it can over the long term, change it at 3K if you are going to stick to that interval. In 2-3K it will not have time to do much cleaning at all.

You are not getting the advantage of a full synthetic using such short change intervals. Were it my car I would do one or two intervals with Auto RX then stick with Dino oil and use the ARX maintenance dose from that point on.

[Accordlover]

RTF,

I'm all for extending my change intervals if I switch to the synth; question is, how much of a risk is that?

Now lets say I go with your AutoRX suggestion.
I'll do the process twice as it recommends for cars with over 100000 miles.

Then switch to synthetic and change at 7500-10,000 mi intervals, depending on the brand of oil I use, which would probably be Mobil 1.

Or should I really just stick to the dino? :/

I have a synthetic itch!
Tyler

[ncelk]

If you are going to continue on the 3k OCI and your car runs fine, I see no advantage to going to synthetic at this mileage. Your oil and OCI seem to be working fine for you at this point, so why change, except that it will cost you more money. Regular oil is more than adequate for your OCI.

[RTexasF]

RTF,

I'm all for extending my change intervals if I switch to the synth; question is, how much of a risk is that?

Now lets say I go with your AutoRX suggestion.
I'll do the process twice as it recommends for cars with over 100000 miles.

Then switch to synthetic and change at 7500-10,000 mi intervals, depending on the brand of oil I use, which would probably be Mobil 1.

Or should I really just stick to the dino? :/

I have a synthetic itch!
Tyler

The only way to positively know how long you can go with synth is a series of used oil analysis' to establish a trend @$20-25 a pop. Here's a suggestion that is safe......forget the synthetic. Do the ARX treatment twice then do 5000 mile oil change intervals with the ARX maintenance dose and good dino oil or synthetic blend.

Synthetic should be able to go 7500 without a sweat but there are too many variables to predict that.

[Accordlover]

Alright, my synth itch has passed.

But on my next new car, I will start it off with synthetic!

I've ordered the ARX. - I drive so little that the whole process could take me a half year to do it twice! :lmao:

I'll try and drive more ;-). - Thanks everyone.

[lpaudio2]

keep us posted with the ARX.

Its good stuff. I ran it through two different cars. If I recall right the clean phase you will see the blackest oil you have ever seen in your life.

If you really want to go the synth route you can still go for it (after the ARX- even the clean cycle needs to be regular not even blend). I would say 6k is safe without doing analysis. I think honda recommends something like that for max interval with regular oil. At least thats what my maintenance minder comes up with on my 06. Past 6k, I would say do an analysis.

I did switch to synth at about 40k. I am happy with my choice.

[RinconVTR]

ARX is a joke...ask the right questions over there are BITOG and you'll get booted just for asking. Been there...done that.

You can switch to synthetic at any time in a engines life, there's no documented proof it will loosen anything or unclog a blockage to begin a leak. Doesnt matter how old or how young, switch back and forth at will.

Its ones choice, ones option, nothing more.

[RTexasF]

Hardly a joke, I've been a BITOG member for 5 years (member 409) and Auto RX has more rave reviews, many documented with pictures, than any internal engine cleaner ever made. I have no idea what you are talking about here. Accordlover knows he can switch to synthetic without problem at any time so that is not an issue or even in question. If you got booted off the BITOG forum it wasn't for asking questions.

[reframmellator]

Someone else asked raised the issue of cleaning out the crud that's preventing leaks. Here is a copy of a previous post I made based upon some info I found at the cited web site - emphasis mine. My Rumbler didn't leak in 1976 after I switched to syn.

Speaking as an overthinker, I think some of us may be overthinking this whole viscosity range stuff. Here is an interesting link:

http://www.mobil.com/Australia-Engli...nual_small.pdf -

If you read through the stuff, two things come out:

Mobil 1 0W-40 pumps at -47C (-53F). . . . Mobil 1 10W-30 pumps at -41C (-42F). That tells me switching to 0W-20 from 5W-20, while certainly not harmful, will only give you about 3C (5F) more margin in cold pumping. It should in theory improve fuel economy slightly, but I wouldn't sweat it over having insufficient cold pumping capability (except perhaps in parts of Canada and Alaska). The improvement from a dino to synthetic at equivalent weight is much greater than that viscosity tweak.

Which brings me to the second point. The first generation of Mobil 1 was a 5W-20 oil engineered for fuel economy in the mid '70s when almost every car ran either 10W-30 or 10W-40. ExxonMobil claims that because of the looser tolerances in engines back then, that the lower viscosity stuff could and did leak in older cars. They claim that for over twenty years, engine tolerances have been much tighter and this problem does not exist any more. If your car didn't leak before Mobil 1, it won't leak after Mobil 1, they claim.

All of this overthinking leads me to wonder why I shouldn't just run 0W-20 or 0W-30 all the time and get the best fuel economy effects, given that I ran Mobil 1 5W-20 in an ancient Rambler 232 straight 6 in a sweltering Houston summer with no problems, leakage included (other than self-esteem), and with about a 5% improvement in fuel economy. That and a change interval of 5,000 miles instead of 3k covered the incremental cost of the synthetic. Cool silvery metal cans back then. Anyone remember that? Anyone remember metal oil cans? The only thing stopping me is a warranty voiding situation

[RinconVTR]

Hardly a joke, I've been a BITOG member for 5 years (member 409) and Auto RX has more rave reviews, many documented with pictures, than any internal engine cleaner ever made. I have no idea what you are talking about here. Accordlover knows he can switch to synthetic without problem at any time so that is not an issue or even in question. If you got booted off the BITOG forum it wasn't for asking questions.

I dont know about you, but I dont own nor have I ever bought a single product (much less a CHEMICAL!) that can only be found on ONE privitely owned internet site with no professional documentation to back it up.

Were the machine tool cleaning fluid that good, "Frank" the owner would have been bought out by a larger company. But its not, because its just a percentage mix of machine tool fluids easily obtained by any company.

Things have change their since Tony died, and I havent poked at ARX since, but others have and their still around.

No matter how long you've been a member on BITOG, do your own research on the ARX product and "Frank" the owner. You'll be surprised what you find.

[RTexasF]

I have researched it and will use it without hesitation. I have no interest in Frank, just the product. If there is some great dark secret then put it out here for all to see.

I use many chemicals some one of a kind from one privately owned web site in auto detailing. None have professional documentation to back them up. I have never been disappointed with any and will expect the same from Auto RX.

So we agree to disagree on this one.