To Use or Not to Use: Synthetic Oil and Your New Car

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To Use or Not to Use: Synthetic Oil and Your New Car

by: JasonLancaster | Total views: 2 | Word Count: 700 | View PDF | Print View
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New vehicle owners often wonder if they should be using synthetic oil. There are many advantages synthetic oil has over regular oil: it lubricates more effectively; withstands high temperatures; is relatively pure; and usually won't turn into sludge even with heavy abuse. These clear benefits cause many people to assume synthetic oil is the obvious best choice. However, much of it comes down to how well you take care of your vehicle.

First of all, consider how regular you are with changing your oil. You car's oil needs to be replaced every 3 to 5K miles, before it breaks down and potentially damages your engine. Synthetic oil is a great option for drivers who tend to forget or delay oil changes, since it is breakdown resistant, even after extended use. Drivers who dutifully change their oil on schedule, however, will probably never get any benefits from synthetic oil's longer lifespan because it'll never be used long enough to make a difference.

Another benefit of synthetic is that it will last a long time without deteriorating. Let's say you drive 7k miles per year. At this rate, assuming a 5k mile oil change interval, you're only going to need an oil change every 9 months, based on mileage. Since regular oil starts to wear out after 6 months, you should either change your oil sooner than necessary or you should think about using synthetic. It may save you money to pay for one synthetic oil change a year instead of two regular oil changes, and it will definitely save you time.

Other than synthetic's breakdown resistance and long life, there's one other common reason you should consider using synthetic. As natural oil gets hot, it starts to breakdown. The longer it stays hot, the worse the breakdown. So if you regularly operate your vehicle in such a way that the engine temperature is always high, you should run synthetic. Letting your vehicle idle for hours at a time, such as on a jobsite, will overheat the engine. So will driving in high ambient temperatures, like in the desert, or altitudes of over 10k feet. As a rule, high temperature desert air doesn't cool your engine very well, and neither does "thin" mountain air. If you live in these areas, consider running synthetic oil. Finally, synthetic oil is often used in high performance vehicles. If you are utilizing your vehicle like a high-performance car (high speeds, fast turns, you know who you are) then synthetic is a smart choice.

Synthetic oil is often recommended even to people who don't especially need it. Synthetic is recommended for people driving in stop-and-go traffic, but that's everyone at some point in time. The recommendation should only really apply to those who drive everyday in stop-and-go traffic for long enough for the car engine's cooling fan to turn on. Drivers who only use their cars only for short trips are also advised to use synthetic oil in order to protect. However, short trips will be bad for your engine no matter what oil you decide to do, since your engine was really designed to run for at least 20 minutes at a time. Using synthetic instead of regular oil in this situation might make a difference, but it'll be a very minor change.

If you've decided synthetic oil is right for you, use caution when buying synthetic oil. Many places try to sell synthetic "blends" as a cost-saving measure, but the contents of this mixture aren't always the same. You could be getting regular oil with a little bit of synthetic thrown in for a higher price. The best thing to do is to buy either pure synthetic oil or not bother with it at all. The exception to this is if the blend you're buying is coming from and made by your vehicle manufacturer.

Last but not least, what do auto manufacturers have to say about synthetics? Most state that "any oil that meets API standard specifications can be used in your vehicle." That means normal oil is just fine. For most people, new cars will operate for a very long time without the benefit of synthetic oil so long as they are properly maintained and used normally.
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