I saw that Pensoil made a full synthetic 5W20 so I decided to try it out. It seemed to work pretty well. I was using Mobil 1 at the time. Down where I am at Amisoil and RP are just about impossible to get unless you drive the 2+ hours to San Antonio. The parts stores would not order RP and there were no Amsoil people around.

 

Thats why we have UPS...

 

And I didn't have internet at the time, due to no computer

 

Thanks for the link! They do have good prices!

 

Bullitt,

Have you found a local source for Amsoil?

Mark

 

I've used RP in my last truck and the wife's car. Just changed the 04 over to it too. It's a great product. I extend my oil change intervals, so it's worth it to me to spend more money on the oil and less time under the truck changing it!

 

All Off Road Wherehouse locations here in San Diego sale it. They actually sale it for the just a little bit more than what my dad can get it as a dealer!

 

Even if it is "that much better". In an automobile, the engine is water cooled, so it operates in a "controlled environment". The filters are able to remove most contaminants down to a given micron. So even if the pour point, flash point, ash content and a few other categories are a little better (which is all they are if you compare). The only "real" benefit you can justify spending that much more for oil is that it extends your change intervals. Unless it just makes you feel better knowing you're running syn's.

 

Nick,

There is a significant difference in wear between a synthetic and a non-synthetic oil. In a prior life I was an engine builder for an IMSA team and we did all kinds of real world testing and the differences were amazing. After a 3 hour race, an engine that had conventional oil showed significant wear - enough to justify replacement of all the components on the lower end. We were sponsored by an oil company and they did not have a synthetic at the time. We ran Mobil 1 in one of the cars and when we pulled it apart it didn't even look like it had run. We switched all the cars to Mobil 1 at that time. We never had a lubrication related engine failure after that. We did some further unofficial testing with a couple of the higher end synthetics (NEO, Amsoil) and we saw greatly reduced oil temps, which tells us that the lubricating qualities of these greatly exceed the store brand stuff. To run something like Mobil 1 only costs about $10 more per oil change. I just traded in my Ranger for the Screw - it had over 150K miles on it - didn't leak a drop and didn't use any between changes. Worth it? Heck ya!

 

You evidently know little about synthetics, their history and purpose. If it did nothing else (it does alot more) the synthetic oil will lower engine temps. Do you know what that will do?

 

I got cut off last time...so to continue my rant...

With conventional oils, we had oil temps consistently in the 260 degree range, Mobil 1 dropped that down to about 240 or so, and the higher end lubes dropped the temps into the 220-230 range. We also saw changes in the coolant temps. With conventional oil, we were always in the 220-230 degree range, and Mobil 1 dropped that to 210-215, and the Amsoil dropped it slightly more. One lube, NEO, absolutely amazed us - the coolant temp would ride the thermostat. In other words, the coolant temp always hovered just above the thermostat rating.

It is hard to justify NOT running a synthetic. If you aren't into racing or towing anything big, then Mobil 1 is fine. If you are racing or hauling big loads on a regular basis, then go up to the Amsoil, NEO or Royal Purple. That goes for trans, xfer case and diffs as well.

One more story about NEO. We run it in our Class 800 Desert racer (F150 of course!). Anyone who has ever built a 460 knows that the oil pump is this big nasty cast iron thing - the pump sits way down in the pan. Well, during a race we lost oil pressure. We were in the points chase for the season so we decided to run it until it quit. We ran almost 100 miles with 0 oil pressure and finished the race (3rd place). Coolant never went over 220. When we pulled the engine we found that the oil pump had broken off of its mount and it was laying in the bottom of the pan. We had that happen twice. We now run an external pump. Synthetics are amazing.

 

Lately I have heard alot of talk of NEO synthetics. I have been seriously researching them. How is the cost compared to Amsoil or RP? Is it worth it to switch to NEO from Amsoil? Where can I purchase it?

Thanks!

 

I wasn't aware that the original post was referring to a racing engine. My Bad. I was under the impression that they were referencing input on an everyday ride such as an F-150. Now that you have cleared that up for me I will agree that in extreme operating conditions, the benefits of synthetics are more profound. I, myself have used synthetics in extreme temperature applications that oxidize dino's in a matter of days. I am impressed, but not surprised that you're racing team seen dramatic improvements in wear on the lower end of your racing engines by switching to syn's. Especially since babbitted bearings start to wipe somewhere around 250 deg.F due to the tin and lead upper stability limit. And if your temp guage was reading mid 200's, your lower engine components (especially your rotating frictional points) were more than likely seeing significantly more deg.'s. I've used syn's in the past in regular rides and not seen a great advantage ( I run dino oil 6000 w/ a Wix filter) and I pull a 22ft bay boat, 27 ft 5th wheel, 18ft tandem axle and a 6X10 utility on a regular basis. I've never had any internal engine damage. I ran a '92 Ford Ranger 4X4 for 222,000 miles on Havoline 5w30 pulled the valve covers to change a gasket and still had the crosshatch marks on the valve tappets (that's not too bad in my opinion). It is also impressive to hear about the loss of oil pressure and ability to still finish the race (I don't think I could've done that on Havoline), but then again, I'm not racing. Do I really need to know "alot" about synthetics to form this opinion??? If I've read correctly about the history synthetics one of the original reasons they were created was for the aerospace industry were conditions ranged from cryogenic to ???? on the upper end. That was back in the mid 60's. But I do know if there is an application where dino's aren't sufficient, I can reference all the data needed to make the best decision for my service. I just don't see the need in an F-150 - this is just my opinion!

 

Don't you think that the normal daily wear and tear is pretty bad as well? Think about it... You have stop and go traffic, stop light to stop light, short drives to the store and back, etc. I could go on and on with all the "normal" driving events that we do that have an affect on the engine and DO create excess wear. Even our daily driving habits are pretty harsh (I know mine are. I get on my truck hard every once and awhile, who doesnt?).

So this said, wouldn't you say that an application that is designed for racing to prevent excess wear and to prolong the life of internal components by decreasing heat, friction, etc.? Thats the thing, even if you DONT race your vehicle, you are still subjecting it to use, which eventually will do the engine in. And if you can prevent this "excess wear" and prolong the life of ANY engine, would you say the few extra bucks when you change your oil are worth it?

Synthetics are a proven product, both in racing, heavy duty use AND normal, daily truck useage.

I am not trying to persuade you to use synthetics, I really dont care what happens to YOUR engine. But I am promoting the advantages to useing synthetics for those that value an engine with prolonged life and mileage. IF you keep your truck for a few years then upgrade, your right; it isnt worth it.

Later,

~Colby

 

hey, if you are going to spam us about synthetics, you dont have to write a novel