Don't use synthetic first 10,000 miles

This has probably been covered here (what hasn't?), but thought I'd share. My salesman recommended using non-syn oil the first 10k miles. This is my first new car, but having broken in many motorcycles, this seems like good advice. Helps the rings seat better supposedly. Anyway, just thought I'd share.

That seems a little too conservative to me. But, conservative never hurt anyone maintenance wise. Personally, I'm holding off for the 5K mark before I go synthetic.

I went synthetic at 3k. No problems 12k later.

And you actually listen to the sales people?

And you actually listen to the sales people?

 

I was thinking it, but was refraining from saying it.

Here is a list of cars that use synthetic oil in their cars right of the assembly line:

• Aston Martin
  
• Bentley Amage and Bentley GT
  
• Cadillac CTS, XLR, SRX and STS
  
• Chevrolet Corvette
  
• Dodge Viper
  
• Mercedes-Benz AMG vehicles
  
• Mercedes SLR
  
• Mitsubishi EVO
  
• Pontiac GTO
  
• All Porsche vehicles

I pulled it of the mobilone.com website......and I say whats good for the Pontiac GTO is good for me.

You guys might find this interesting. It deals primarily with small engines, but I have to agree with this guy. Oil related discussion further down on the page.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

You guys might find this interesting. It deals primarily with small engines, but I have to agree with this guy. Oil related discussion further down on the page.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

I have to question his statement that synthetic oil is so slippery that it interferes with ring seating. If syn oil is that slippery, we should be seeing a big increase in fuel mileage after switching to synthetic, and that just does not happen. If syn oil was that slippery, don't you all think Ford, Chevy, and Dodge would be using it in all their big iron (trucks and suvs) to improve their CAFE numbers?

I changed the oil in my 2000 Firebird after only 1000 miles to full syn. Drove it for 52,000 and the engine never leaked or had problems.

Changed oil at 1k with regular, then went to synthetic at 3k. I also started to get on the car at about the 600 mile mark.

 

45k+ miles later, no issues...

 

There is no sure fire way you have to do things, no matter what anyone says. There will always be conflicting opinions. Taking care of the car correctly in the long term with correct fluid changes and service is more important than whether you waited till 1k to go over 3k rpm or whether you went to synthetic or not.

I started using synthetic @ 6500 miles on the clock. Does anyone know about when these engines really loosen up? My last new truck didn't until about 10-12k.

I've switched to synthetic at the first oil change (1000 miles) on all of my new vehicles (7) since 1986 and I've never had any oil consumption or other oil related problems with any of them.

I've switched to synthetic at the first oil change (1000 miles) on all of my new vehicles (7) since 1986 and I've never had any oil consumption or other oil related problems with any of them.

 

Ditto, since 1985.

Hi,

 

I've got no expierience with the Subaru yet, but on my 1.8t jetta i didn't switch to synthetic until after the first oil change(5000 miles) I was told there are additives put in at the factory with the original fill-up that include additives that help the engine break in correctly. I don't know if this is 100% true, but no big deal.

 

Also, when i did switch from dino oil to synthetic I noticed an average of 20-30 more miles on a tank of gas.

If i want to change to synthetic @20k miles, does it way too late??

If i want to change to synthetic @20k miles, does it way too late??

 

You'll be fine. You can go to synthetic anytime you want.

 

The typical advice though, is that once you do, don't switch back.

I switched to synthetic in my Honda at 90K miles and I don't magically leak oil now. If I use dino oil in my M Coupe, warranty is voided. Synthetic ftw.

from what i understand, synthetic doesn't cause leaks, but due to it being slippier or whatever more oil will make its way thru an existing leak, so where it might be seeping with regular oil, it may drip with synthetic

You'll be fine. You can go to synthetic anytime you want.

 

The typical advice though, is that once you do, don't switch back.

That's the official Subaru of America advice. Your engine becomes "accustomed" to an oil type, they pronounced.

The typical advice though, is that once you do, don't switch back.

Nope, that's folklore. You can switch back and forth (why one would do this I'm not sure). It comes more into play when regular oil is put into a car that's been running syn and the owner freaks out about problems they may be causing when in reality its no big deal.

 

from what i understand, synthetic doesn't cause leaks, but due to it being slippier or whatever more oil will make its way thru an existing leak, so where it might be seeping with regular oil, it may drip with synthetic

Regualr oil can swell oil seals. This is where most leaks come from when switching to synthetic in cars with more mileage. The seals shrink a little and sometimes that creates a leak.

J**** L*** put synthetic in my Intrepid without my permission once. I gave them the option of charging me only for dinoil or draining the synth and replacing it with dinoil. They left the synth in. I've gone many oil changes since with dinoil and no problems.

I did my first oil change and filter at 1,000 miles and I just did my second at 4,000 miles and went to Mobil 1 5w-30 synthetic. I'm not anticipating any problems, but we'll see. I put 131k miles on my Honda (121k on synthetic, I bought it with 10k) and it's never smoked or consumed a drop of oil.

Synthetic oil is not magic. It's not sold on late night infomercials. It's simply a more versatile oil that maintains its flow characteristics across a wider range of conditions than traditional oil. A side advantage is that it won't turn to sludge when it hits a superheated turbo; the worst it will do is turn to ash.

 

It's motor oil, not a foreign substance. You can mix it with regular oil, use a different one each time you change the oil, or any combination you can think of. It doesn't cause leaks. It doesn't fix leaks. All it'll do is lubricate your engine.

 

With all the talk about it you'd think it was just invented!

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