What's the best lubricant

I have 75000 on a elantra 05. Runs perfectly well. Kept up oil changes
around 3to5 k's. Valvoline advised switch to a blend. I must admit,
this winter the car did spin faster in colder 10 degree mornings. I
put 50k's on the car per year now and want to keep it for 200k's. Any
recommendations on the best oil to use?

 

I've used Mobil 1 synthetic for over 25 years, and have never had an
internal mechanical failure. I currently use Mobil 1 5W-30 in our
2006 Elantra, and have since the first oil change. With my experience
with synthetic oil, I would never go back to dino oil, although I must
admit I used to have excellent results with Valvoline 10W-30.

 

I've used Mobil synthetic products (both Delvac 1 and Mobil 1) for
probably 30 years now with great results. I run 5,000 mile changes for
vehicles under warranty and then go to 10,000 miles after that. I've
never had an oil related engine problem, and have had only one engine
problem in that 30 years (a POS 1984 Honda Accord).

However, with 3-5K changes almost any decent oil will work. I prefer
synthetic for its cold weather cranking, but if I lived in a warmer
climate I'd probably just use dino oil. Although, I do feel a little
better with the synthetics when I run 10K miles between changes.

Matt

 

While everybody has their favorite, no matter which synthetic you use, you
will definitely fare better during a cold Winter.

I have gone between mostly Valvoline, Quaker State and Pennzoil synthetics.
My son even usually gets a 5-quart jug of Wal Mart synthetic, which is also
apparently made by Pennzoil/Quaker State.

All have been great oils, and I can usually get them at great prices. This
week, one store has a rebate deal on Quaker State synthetic, bringing it
down to $1 a quart. And if you don't want to fiddle with rebates, Advance
Auto has Valvoline Syn Power Synthetic for "Buy 1, Get 1 Free."

At those prices, one has little reason to stick with dino oil.

 

With no contradiction to the advice/experiences offered by the synthetic
users, I've never used synthetic. I've stuck with dino oil all of my life.
I've never incurred an internal engine failure as a result and have pretty
much adhered to a 4,000 mile change interval. I've never suffered any
difficulties with starting, oil pressure, etc. in upstate NY winters. The
only internal engine failure I've experienced in almost 40 years was the
result of DexCool and GM intake gasket problems, and not related to engine
oil.

 

Better than what? I've never had dino oil fail me in our winters up here in
upstate NY. Maybe in Anchorage it would be a different story, but dino has
proven to be fully functional in the lower 48.

 

An engine WILL crank easier with synthetic than with dino oil of similar
viscosity rating. If your battery is getting weak, or you left your
lights on, etc., then there is a chance that having the synth oil may be
the difference between starting and not starting.

I've also had cars that wouldn't start at -30 on dino oil, but did when
I switched to synthetic. Now, this was back in the 10W-40 era and with
most cars using 5W20 this is less of an issue to be sure.

Matt

 

With the different opinions concerning synthetic and dino oils how
about a blend. Best of both worlds?

 

Musta froze your ass off doing the oil change though

 

Reply to message from "Rev. Tom Wenndt" <> (Sat, 12 Jan
2008 00:17:03) about "Re: What's the best lubricant":

RT> My son even usually gets a 5-quart jug of Wal Mart synthetic, which is
RT> also apparently made by Pennzoil/Quaker State.

Although I live in Houston where winters are so only in name, I still use a
synthetic and while I like Mobil 1, I buy the Wal Mart Synthetic (because
of the price) and have had good performance and results.

As long as the oil (dino or synthetic) is changed regularly and per the
automobile manufacturer's recommendation, and one uses the latest API spec
oil the car will be happy and will perform to spec. I choose to make myself
feel a bit better by going the extra mile and using the cheaper Wal Mart
product. Were I still in Canada synthetic would be more of a necessity
given its superior cold weather viscosity.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:01:51 -0600

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Reply to message from "Mike Marlow" <> (Sat, 12 Jan
2008 05:31:39) about "Re: What's the best lubricant":



MM> Better than what? I've never had dino oil fail me in our winters up
MM> here in upstate NY.

Better than dino.

Better is relative, and failure has many definitions.

While dino may / should not fail, synthetic will not fail better. In other
words due to superior cold temp. viscosity of the synthetic, the engine
will be better protected especially during starting when most engine wear
takes place.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:15:07 -0600

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Reply to message from Dan <> (Sat, 12 Jan 2008 07:03:15) about "Re: What's
the best lubricant":

D> With the different opinions concerning synthetic and dino oils how
D> about a blend. Best of both worlds?

I don't think it is a best of both worlds scenario.

Blends only exist to keep the costs down vs. full synthetic. If you live in
a milder climate a blend would be more cost effective than full synthetic
and, depending on the blend ratio, may be significantly better than dino to
justify its existence.

Best Regards
Wayne Moses <> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:21:51 -0600

=== Posted with Qusnetsoft NewsReader 3.3

 

It depends on how you define best. Blends don't perform as good as
synthetics yet cost more than dino. I'd say more like the worst of each
world.

Seriously, if you really need a synthetic, then you really need it. If
you don't, then save your money and use dino oil.

Matt

 

I've been using their 5W-30 for the past 50K miles or so. It's actually
blended by Warren Oil, a large blending house that produces oils for
several major labels. There have been oil lab analyses done of the
WalMart SuperTech Synthetic and it's comparable to other synthetic oils.
The only difference is the price, which was ~$12 for a 5-quart jug, last
time I bought some. I've also used Pennzoil synthetic when I found it on
sale, but as expected, I didn't notice any difference.

As others have noted, synthetics definitely improve cold weather
cranking. However, they're also superior in protecting your engine at
the other end of the temp scale. However, any oil will do the job for
the change interval recommended by Hyundai, which is every 7500 miles.
Changing more frequently than that is simply a waste of money and oil,
unless you truly fall into the "severe use" category. Getting stuck in
an occasional traffic jam or driving on dirt roads once in while doesn't
qualify.