Motor oil question
- Thread starter CloneGuy8
- Start date
I'm no mechanic, but I'd think those engines already have a fair amount of wear. Nearly all motor oils have a lot of synthetic in them. If I was picking, I might choose Valvoline high mileage, but any good quality oil should be fine. Don't let it get low and keep up with the changes and the oil isn't likely to be the reason for a failure.
Most internal engine damage occurs at startup when parts have little oil coating. Synthetic blends probably leave enough coating to minimize damage. If you want more, compare the cost of using full synthetic with oil additives such as Rislone.
The high mileage generally add a rubber softener to help with hardened seals. I prefer full synthetic and would only use high mileage if you had some leaks that maybe it would seal. I generally get the synthetic Quaker State in the green bottles at Menards or Walmart. Just over 20 for 5 quarts and scores very well in independent testing.
I run a synthetic/regular blend the whole time. No issues. Make sure to check the oil and if it leaks or uses any to check and keep filling more often.
Quite honest, the most important is, regular maintenance, and quality parts.
Use a quality oil, and change regularly, 3k for standard oil and semi synthetic, 5k for synthetic. I know you can go more but on a high mileage engine its safer to go less.
Personally I would go with at least a Semi synth High mileage. From a quality company. Everyone has opinions on which brand is best. But as long has it is not walmart brand etc, its probably ok.
Quality oil filter....NOT FRAM. Go with WIX or Napa Gold.
Check oil regularly, and keep it full, between changes, watch for leaks etc.
I've been told you should pick one and stick with it. Don't know how accurate that is though.
I don't think it's a big deal anymore. At one time different oils had significantly different chemistry (Pennzoil) so there was some risk of a different oil loosening contaminants and putting them in your oil (and bearings). Current oils are pretty similar in their chemistry. Women notoriously don't check their oil so you might have to do that.
Yep matters very little at this point. Oil bases are now extremely similar and the only major differences are in the individual additive packages that get added.
If anyone really wants to nerd out on oil here is your rabbit hole https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/
My car has about 130K miles and burns about 1 quart every 1k-1.5k miles. I use this and top off whenever needed. I rarely drive it anymore living in Chicago so am going to be selling it soon as I’m wasting $ on car insurance while it sits 99.9% of the time.
You can get 5Q at Wal-Mart for $17.
You can get 5Q at Wal-Mart for $17.
This. Most things are figured out by now. Pay special attention to any temperature suggestions your vehicle may have if you’re engine has a turbo too. Follow the guidance and you should be fine. Agree on high quality parts though.
At this point, we should be debating which car wax to use if you want to keep a car forever.
This is what I use as well. I've driven 5 different vehicles with 175k+ in my days and in my experience the full synthetic products tend to burn a little faster in the higher mileage motors. I usually resort to the cheaper Synthetic blend and just change it more often (3000-4000).
