Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines Synthetic Oil or Conventional Oil?

Like most of you I've read all the claims and heard all the arguments on both sides of the table as to which oil is better and why. I do use synthetic in my family car, a Chrysler Sebring 2.5L V6, with no complaints. My 250 Chevy engine has been on a conventional oil diet since I assembled it and likewise gives me no reason to complain or change to synthetic.

However I think it would be interesting to post if you use regular oil or synthetic oil in your inline engine? Also what, if any, observations you have from using it and if the engine is stock or modified, and how many annual miles it sees.
Hopefully we will get real world replies from your actual experiences and not links to a synthetic oil web site or the typical magazine article based responses that tend to be posted on the web newsgroups whenever a question like this is asked.

I'm not looking to support or condemn either the synthetics or conventionals. Just would like to see what the rest of the Inliner Family is doing.

Thanks,
Mike

I have ran synthetic in several vehicles both old and newer. I all I have noticed a slight increase in power and fuel mileage. I just recently switched to Royal Purple synthetic in my 235 and the main thing I noticed is the initial startup clatter before pressure is built was reduced. Also the engine seems to run a little smoother due to reduced friction.

I'm a farmer and constantly send in oil samples for analysis. When you pay $200,000 plus for a machine oil analysis is cheap. Anyway this is what I know. Synthetic will out last conventional by at least 250 hrs. I change at 100-150 hrs. per tractor. By consistently monitoring my oil through analysis when I first tried synthetic--- lab says I can change between 400-750 hrs. In a vehicle this translated to 7500 miles. Ok great but it drives me nuts I just simply can't break the 2000-2500 mile limit that I impose because I run is such dusty conditions. What else---The biggest thing in my view is on synthetic your; motor, gear case, etc. will typically run minimum 10 deg. and max 20 deg. cooler. I came down to the rule if I plan on keeping this forever--synthetic. The only down side is synthetic will definetly find a weak seal fast and leak like a sieve. My old three lunger tractor does not get synthetic for this reason, but it's a runner not a fixer or by any means tight. Hope that helps.

I always use a single grade 30 oil on my 235 plus the famous Mathy additiv.

I even drove a 1998 Pontiac Trans Sport (usualy needs synthethic)since more than 100.000 miles with only the cheapest multigrade I can find plus the Mathy additive. Last year I did the first oil change since I have the car (beside refill it from time to time). Never noticed any problems.

I know a guy who works on big marine diesel engines. They had to change the oil verry often, also the bearings. Since they use Mathy the double tha intervalls on oil and trippel the intervall on bearings.

That stuff is the best I ever bought and far from beeing a snake oil product.

Not sure If it is aviable in the US but here is a english language site of the manufacter.

Klick the "Mathy Test" button and do the test.
This is only a virtual test of course, but I have seen this live and pulled the handle my self.

That`s why I trust in this oil, seeing is beliving.

http://www.mathy.de/english/

Oh, I don`t get any money for that

i got a 235 with unkown actual miles on it,i was runnin straight 30 thru it,but for ****s and gigles i threw in a bottle of lucas with an oil change,and the difference was noticeable,runs 10 degrees cooler,and definatly seems smoother anyway and i have been dumping it in ever since.well thats my 2 cents