synthetic oil? anyone use it?

do you use syn oil in your boat, and what do you think about it?

My theory is, I change oil so often (every 50) I don't see the need to run synthetic. I've never had any motor issues related to oil over the last 10 years of boat ownership, and I've always run non synthetic.

I use it, don't know what to think of it though. Royal Purple, I probably just bought into the hype. I went 75 hours'ish on my last change an it came out looking and feeling pretty much exactly as it did going in. I also use it in my Vdrive unit and same thing looks brand new.

I run royal purple.. its the BEST oil on the market in my eyes.. my dad builds hot rods and another guy who builds them with him knows just about everything there is to know bout engines.. he runs royal purple in everything he has including his lawn mower.. I know there is some other great syn's out there too.. but i say syn all the way.. some ppl say u shouldnt run syn during break in but ive been told this isnt nessisary.. ford even puts syn in the new mustangs on the factory floor...

Penzoil Platinum or Napa Gold synthetic. Cheap, easy to find, and both are top drawer oils.

Indmar actually says don't use synthetic on their engines. Make your own conclusion. I think in the wakeboat environment it isn't worth the cost.

nubu, my Indmar tech said it just makes your oil pressure run lower which isn't entirely a bad thing. I run synthetic and don't notice a difference.

i run Amsoil Synthetic

I run Royal purple in everything really have noticed the difference when you tear a motor down that has run Royal Purple for awhile they have no wear on the crank and cam bearings everything is clean compared to others.

I am with Nu BuI have been told by my mechanic that knows his stuff not to run synthetic due to the fact that it does not adhere or stick to parts within the engine the same as normal oil. Most boats don't get used everyday like a car. They may sit for a week or more. While its sitting the oil is dripping or running off valves etc. Regular oil does not do this as fast or at all. So when you first start it if it has sit for a while your running it a dry. Maybe D Forte can elaborate.

Not saying it's a good or bad thing, just not worth it to me doing oil changes every 50 hours.

Run the mercuiser synthetic blend in your Avy. They (mercuiser) don't make a fully synthetic 25W-40. Synthetic is only a few dollars more than dino, and I'm not even sure if you can get dino 25W-40 anymore.

The reason for 50 hr oil changes is for water in the oil. cars do not have to breath air out of a bildge with water vapor in it. water turns oil acidic and from my understanding this is where teh 50 hours comes from. Normal oil lasts longer than this but all oil in boats gets water contamination so it is hard to justify the addition cost of synthetic if you can't run it longer.

^^^ Can anyone else validate that? I have never heard of such a thing. Not Dissin' you Kevin just never heard it before.

not worth additional cost in a boat...

Rotella T seems to be working fine for me.

Nu Bu - I disagree with your statement about using synthetic in Indmar products. The most important thing is does the oil meet the following spec.

http://www.indmar.com/About/ContactIndmar/faq.html#2.4
2.4 What type of oil should I use? Can I use synthetic oil?
Indmar recommends (and uses at our factory) Pennzoil Marine 15W40 Motor Oil. If Pennzoil 15W40 Marine Oil is not available in your area, we suggest using 20W40 or 20W50 oil meeting the API specification of SJ/CG4 or better.

Synthetic oil that meets our requirement of 15W40and API rating of SJ/CJ4 is acceptable to use after 100 hours or operation with the recommended (not synthetic) oil. The use of synthetic oil does not alter the requirement for oil changes at 50-hour intervals.

Older operator manuals, and other publications that are not regularly updated will not be revised to show this latest engine oil recommendation. Current operator manuals, and other service publications that receive regular updates will receive this revised recommendation the next time they are updated.

Nice investigating Chris. Go and waste your money on syn after 100 hours.

Run a Synthetic Blend in my boat but only because Mercruiser recommends it. Conventional in everything else from mild to wild. Oil doesen't stay in anything of mine long enough to justify added cost of syn. Boat every 25hrs, vehicles, every 3K. Not worth the extra money unless you leave it in for extended durations and I would never do that. Even NASCAR and NHRA run conventional last I checked and you don't get any more demanding than that.

AMSOIL and nothing but in everything we have.

A friend who is over the oil testing at one of the Fl Nuclear plants got me to switch over to it back in '02. For 2 years we pulled samples from my oil starting with Rotella T that I ran in 4 diesel trucks. We changed oil in all the trucks and switched one to Amsoil. We checked the oil that day and every 3,000 miles. At 5-7000 miles the Rotella was ready to be changed. At 12,500 I changed the oil filter only in the truck that had Amsoil. Kept checking it at 3,000 mile intervals and changed the oil filter again at just under 25,000 miles. I finally changed that oil at almost 35,000 miles! Still run it today and this guy has done so much oil testing comparing all the new synthetic blends. He still says nothing else will last as long as the Amsoil. I believe it. What was interesting is that the Rotella T was better by test results on all 3 trucks at the first 3,000 mile test. This guy says all oil off the shelf is dirty and with the good filter it will get better. I buy the best oil filters money can buy as that is so important.

We have several farm tractors, skid steer, trucks and cars not to mention boats, atv's and other items. I have amsoil in everything. Ford battled me with this stating if I didn't change oil at their reccommended intervals it would void my warranty so I wrote Amsoil and then went back to the dealer. To make a long story short, dealer can't void the warranty for using Amsoil.

Good oil will not only make your engine last longer it runs cleaner and I do get better mileage. I change oil in my boat at the end of each season as I can't put enough hours on it to even start to break down the oil. We tested the boat oil 2 years ago and there wasn't any water in it. Oil changes at a dealer is a very profitable part of their service. Oil companies sell more oil when you change it at more frequent intervals. They can all make oil that will last 3 times as long but why would they want to do that? You will see alot more synthetic oil over the coming years and it will be used more widespread.

90 Dodge Dakota, 3.9. 260k with Valvoline conventional every 3k. It still runs like it did the day I bought it. 130 psi in every cylinder and still going. I will never leave oil in for 7k, 12k, 35k, no way, no how. And this is just one personal testimonial of many I have.

(Message edited by wake_upppp on July 09, 2009)

Slight hi-jack. What is the "best filter?"

I like Purolator. Getting harder to find though...

(Message edited by wake_upppp on July 09, 2009)

I've been usign WIx filters for a while now

Goboating...that is some good info and a testament that Amsoil is a good product, but why would you want to leave the oil in for that long? Changing and checking oil at reasonable intervals is cheap and a good way to tell how a motor is doing.

Joe..Wix/Napa are good filters.

We pulled samples every 3,000 miles comparing each test and all the numbers. Amsoil states this oil is good to 25,000 miles and my buddy always claimed it would go longer. He runs his to 35,000 miles and has over 1.2 million miles on the truck he drives daily to work, all with amsoil. The thing starts, sounds and runs like a new one. I was a hard sell but wouldn't run anything but it now.

My folks bought a new Chevy Tahoe a few years back and had a cold start knock after about 6 months. GM wouldn't do anything but give him 100,000 miles warranty on the motor. I talked him in to trying Amsoil (he was skeptical) and to this day and with 140,000 miles on it the knock has been gone. He used to be a GM for a Chevy store and was a Valvoline diehard guy. He swears by Amsoil and runs his up to 12,500 miles between changes (the oil he uses is rated to 17,500 miles).

Wix & Purolator are good filters.

Stay away from Fram & Pennzoil.

whats wrong with fram?

http://people.msoe.edu/~yoderw/oilfilterstudy/oilfilterstudy.html

Nothing but Amsoil in everything I own (after break-in period of course!). Make sure you keep conventional in there for ring break-in. And, if it comes from the factory with synthetic, change it to conventional before you run it for break-in, and then change it back to synthetic. Synthetic is too slippery for proper ring break-in.

A friend of a friend (yeah, I know, a little disconnected) is an actual lubrication engineer, and does the actual testing on all the oils.... He says that the synthetic is much better in all the wear tests. But, he also says the cheap dino oil is "sufficient"....

Here's an interesting article about engine break-in. This goes for all 4-stroke and 2-stroke motors.
http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

I have seen a Fram suck in on itself at 4K RPMS...they used to be a good filter years ago.