Ok the hype about Synthetic oils vs High mileage oil is there any long term benifit? Or is it best to just add like a oil additive like STP to the mix..??

2000 Blazer has 100,711 miles....

 

Hello Canam,

Everybody will have a differing opinion on this one. Here's mine.

I changed every fluid I had in my truck to fully synthetic.
I went with Amsoil everything. Coolant, Motor Oil, Transmission Fluid,
Differential Fluid.

As far as the Motor Oil I was doing regular changes every 3,000 miles
since I bought my truck back in 2003. It had 65,000 miles on it when I bought it.
I bought it from a dealer and It was well taken care of before I got it.

Between 2003 and 2007 I ran high mileage oil. My truck use to leak a bit.
I changed over to fully synthetic 0W30 Amsoil in the middle of 2007.
It had about 115,000 miles when I first made the switch. I had mixed
reactions from many mechanics when I made the change.

Today I have close to 190,000 miles on the truck and I am very
happy with the way it performs. I use to have oil leaks.
I don't anymore. Don't know how or why. Maybe luck. I'll take it.
I love Amsoil Synthetic 0W30. It cost more than most synthetics but I swear by it.
That's my opinion about synthetic oil, and I don't sell the stuff.
I love my truck and treat it the best I can.

Hope that helps.

Mark K

 

I have a 1998 Blazer with 148,000 miles on it and have been using Valvoline MaxLife since about 100,000 miles. It is still running well.

 

Thanx marksoftball for the response...
I was talking to a few mechanics about this debate and I really got more lost in the translation than anything else.. lol far as I know synth is good to run if you the type of person that tends to let your oil lapse a tad over 1000,1500 not recomended but you tend to have that insureance sorta.. depends on your driving. Then others say run the High Mile stuff... but truth of the matter I live in a hilly area other than outside San Fransisco. We tend to be harder on our oils here in the Seattle area I seen the samples from cars here and lets just say someplace out east on flatlands. I still dont know yet but hmmm I have to make that call soon for my next oil change in month or so... Geeze what happend to the days of change your oil every 12000 miles.. LOL

 

This topic has been discussed before. If you really want to get into it, check out bobistheoilguy.com's forum. In the end, it comes down to your own peace of mind (ie. whatever makes you sleep better at night). If you want to spend $100 on an oil change and change it every 3000 miles, more power to you.

IMO, to use synthetic oil and change it every 3000 miles is a waste of your money. I have switched every 1990 or later vehicle I have ever owned to synthetic and had no issues result from it's use nor have I ever stuck to the 3000 mile myth. I have never used a high mileage oil either regardless of the mileage of the vehicle when I took ownership.

On my more performance oriented vehicles, I would use Blackstone Labs oil analysis service to gauge when I would need an oil change. Every 3000 miles I would pull a sample and send it in. I now do this once on my vehicles to get a baseline level and then change it as per the reported oil life remaining from BSL.

5000 miles is no where near out of the realm of possibility with even dino oil and a good filter (note the good filter).

As with EVERY discussion like this, comments will vary. You have to get a LARGE sample of said comments to form your own opinion. This is why I pointed to BobIsTheOilGuy.com. They discuss this stuff everyday and have a rather large contingent of very knowledgeable people.

 

from what I was told, high milage is the same as regular oil just a different name. Synthetic is better to use all around. But this new eco-synthetic stuff thats surfacing is supposed to be even better then the synthetic. I run full synthetic in my truck and the wifes' car. Her car runs great with it, my truck ran great with it as well.

 

As has been said:It all boils down to the condition of all of the gaskets and oil lines! As a former AMSOIL dealer,I still feel that putting synthetic is asking for trouble in a high-milage motor(solely for the ability of a synthetic to clean and find any leak & its ability to clean an old engine so well that one might devlope an oil burner!) But with petroleum based oil retailing for $5.50 a quart,it may be a chance worth taking! Anything to prolong the life of an oil change! Years ago I ran AMSOIL on a small block with the PH373 (extra quart oil filter) and only changed the oil once a year.But I changed the filter 3 times a year! Synthetics ARE superior,but weigh all the factors of your motor first before deciding!

 

I would say this... If I had this vehicle from day one I would prob stick with semi syn then go fully over to syn but since this is a 11 year old 100K+ truck I think long as I keep the oil changesto when they suppose to be andsuch I think the High Mileage will do me well I seen some studies say that syn will keep your car cooler in load situations etc.. well like I said we have our hill and such geeze Im still lost lol...