Synthetic oil or non

I have a 05 VLX and have been thinking of changing to different kind of oil. But if I do switch to synthetic oil I dont know what Brand to use

Mobil 1

Im boycotting Castrol because it is owned by the Venasulia Govt and the president trash talkes the USA.

Mobil 1 is the best oil you can get anywhere - meaning there are better oils, but you can get M1 anywhere. WalFart is even carrying jugs of the stuff now! We use M1 in the engine, M1 ATF in the tranny, M1 gear oil in the v-drive, and top it off with an M1 oil filter. We've got a 1 year/100 hour maintenance interval, so spending the extra for full synthetics once a year is no biggy.

AMS oil, probably the best synthetic I have used, but can be tough to find. Don't waste money on a mobile 1 or other filter. Just get a Wix or NAPA Gold(wix makes the napa gold filters)

Blonde or Brunette???

From what I have read and heard from some very knowledgable individuals:

Synthetic cools better, Non lubricates better.

Since cooling is not really an issue with boat motors I take advantage of the lubricating properties of the dino oil. I work for Chevron, I am biased, and I run Delo 15w-40 in my Chevrolet built motor.

I put Mobile 1 in everything.......tractor, street bike, truck, car, boat, go-karts... basically anything I can.

Here are the advantages of synthetic:

* Improved viscosity at low temperatures. Mineral oils tend to include wax impurities which coagulate at lower temperatures. A typical 10W-30 oil remains liquid at -50 °C (-58 °F)
* Better high temperature performance. Synthetic oils have few low molecular weight hydrocarbons which evaporate at high temperatures.
* Higher purity
* Decreased oil consumption
* Reduced friction and engine wear
* Improved fuel consumption through better engine lubrication
* Resistance to oil sludge problems
* Crude oil doesn't have to be used for the production of the lubricants
* Some synthetic motor oil producers offer extended intervals between oil changes (extended drain intervals)
* Reduction of environmental impact (due to lower oil consumption)

The only disadvantage is cost.

My dealer told me never run synthetic oil in my boat. (Indmar) 350. He told me he sees alot of problems when people run synthetic oil. Dont ask me why cause i dont know and i didnt ask him. I run it in my truck but i wont put it in the boat. Dont shot the messenger.

Mikeski, Doesnt Chevron make a syn diesel oil - I bet that would be a good one

Not shooting the messanger, but a mechanic only knows what's in the the motor when he gets it. He has no idea what's been in it or how the motor was taken care of.

I do know it's not good to use synthetic until after the motor's broken in, but I can't imagine it being bad for the motor after that.

Valvoline here. My Mercruiser manual calls for Synthetic blend, so that's what she gets. But I DO NOT change my intervals wether I run Synthetic or Conventional oil. Every 25 Hrs. on the boat, every 2000 miles on the tow rig and every 3000 miles on everything else. No oil stays in any engine of mine for "extended" intervals. It just goes against all my racing and engine building training. This might be "old school" thinking but like grandpa says "if it ain't broke...".

This thread got the best of me... So, yesterday I e-mailed one of the Chevron lubrication scientists working for the Oronite division that formulates engine lubrication. His short answer was Synthetic. So now I don't know what to do??? A buddies Mastercraft lunched the crankshaft in his Corvette motor while running Mobil 1, during the teardown they said that there were signs of coagulation at the oil pump. Now he runs regular oil. Since PCM recommends regular petroleum based oil I guess that's what I will stick with.

Chris,

Truth be known Chevron makes a whole bunch of stuff branded under different labels, in addition to the very broad line under the Chevron and Havoline labels. While retrofitting the lighting at a bottling plant in Texas I saw blue bottles, grey bottles and brown bottles rolling off the same assembly line. Unfortunately, I couldn't follow the bottles to the labeling line.

In my family we have a 94 Toyo p/u with 350K and a 98 V6 auto Ford Mustang with 290K both with the original motors. All we ever did was put Valvoline 10W40 every 3K miles. I think if you change the oil on a consistent basis other stuff will fall apard way before the engine does. Just my .02

Mikeski, if your OEM has a recommendation and you're in the warranty period or close to it...but if you're out of warranty, your options are back.

Coagulation in a Corvette boat motor. That's a good one, because one of the main reasons I rationalize using M1 is my perception there will be less sludge and other buildup. I've heard this countless times and have seen how much my 22RE discolored when switching from Syntec to dino at 100K. Perhaps there are other factors that caused the coagulation besides the oil's properties.

Sparky, man, 25 hours! Assuming you log at least the official Wakeworld minimum of 100 hours per year, four oil changes in a season allows you to use whatever kind of lube you want - even boot lube probably. I like that! You do hit on the big thing which is just change your fluid often. I change once per 50 hour season in the boat's little Lexus motor, and M1 every 5K in the Sequoia.

If you're using dino, make sure you use one with great additives.

Oh yeah, Mikeski, the correct answer is usually: BLONDE

I have asked the "why synthetic" question before and here is the answer I got from a service manager at a major inboard dealership:

"If you start off from the get-go (after the 20 hour break in), you are good with synthetic, because the engine tolerances are still very tight. If you wait until the engine is well broken in, the tolerances are greater, and the smaller molecular structure of synthetic can cause...," (end quote) Oh man, this was a conversation 8 years ago, so that's all I remember. Don't ask me to defend this statement, I'm just repeating it, and it made sense at the time.

I prefer reds but my wife is blonde... she will dye it red from time to time "JUST FOR ME" LMFAO... OIL just keep it clean guys and it probably dosent matter what kind you use.. Personally I am going to start using diesel oil because from what I have read its the only oil left being refined still with alot of zink in it and its the zink that keeps big rigs going 1 million miles + on there motors. I mean really how many of you let your oil go longer than a year anyway. I change mine alot.
JJ