Synthetic Oil Questions

Do you think Saturn would kill my warranty if I wanted to use a synthetic or
part synthetic oil like Mobil 1 or Clean 7500? I have the 2005 ION QC (not
redline) and the manual is pretty explicit on regular oil, but I want to
have this car last a good long time and the Clean 7500 is less than $3 a
quart. Also I like having the dealership do the maintenance until the
warranty is expired, so since they do not stock Clean 7500 I would have to
provide it.

Or is Mobil 1 that much better and worth the extra money?

 

You shouldnt use synthetics until your engine is broken in which is
about 9000 miles. Synthetic Oils last a long time but oil filters can
still load up before 4000 miles.

 

You can use synthetic oil from day one in your car. Corvettes and
others come from the factory with mobil1.


Paul

 

You'll gain nothing by using $ynthetic in ANY vehicle. Save your money.

 

Yeah if you never want your piston rings to correctly seat themselves.

I doubt many here can afford the cars Mobil 1 comes pre-installed in.
Vette owners at one time had a notice sent to them in the mail that
stated not to change the oil for 40,000 miles or so. It was an attempt
to help the engines break in and seal. GM later recanted that.

Thats a lot of bs in such a small statement...

 

You'll gain nothing by using $ynthetic in ANY vehicle.

That depends on how you drive your car or if you plan on keeping it long
enough to see the longevity benefit (which most people nowadays do not).

I had a motor go bad at 93k. I typically ran Quaker State regular oil in
it, and religiously changed the oil every 3000 miles since it was new. When
I opened up the dead motor, I COULD NOT believe how dirty and gunked up it
was inside. It was amazing. You can see photos in the project section of
my website.

Conversely, the replacement motor which went in and I bought new - I
switched it to synthetic at 500 miles and it is now up to 47k. I recently
opened it up to replace the valve cover gasket and was again shocked at what
I saw inside this motor as well - but in a good way. The top end still
looked new as can be, and as though oil never touched the insides. It
looked so good I had to take a picture.

I'm sold on synthetic from a longevity standpoint, and also use it in my
race car since it sees much harsher than normal duty. It also prevents the
motor in my daily driver from making odd noises on startup after it is
parked outside overnight in winters where the temp can get as low as -40 (in
the -60s with windchill). That has to be hard on a motor.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

I've heard similar stories from several other Quaker State oil users. I
have no idea if they are caused by the oil or not, but stay away from QS
just in case. This is similar to the Fram oil filter situation which I also
avoid like the plague.

Bob

 

Conventional QS has a pretty high ash content when compaired to other
oils. Synthetic oils have no ash content. Thats one reason why
Synthetics dont sludge up, cake up, or create dirt seals. This is why
people think synthetics "Create" leaks. They do nothing to replenish
dirt seals.

 

Yes, I've heard the same thing about Quaker State. As I recall the postings
I've read attributed this to Pennsylvania crude in general ... Although I
can't help but wonder if Quaker State actually still comes out of the PN
crude any more.

Bob

 

I would rec it. because synthetic don't break down or tar up. it is made to
protect and condition.

 

I have always used Mogile 1 oil and have 148k on my 97 sl2.
I did a heck of a lot of research prior than picking abd synthetic and
Mobil 1 won out on all.. and it is the only non detergent syn out
there.
I also use the BEST oil filter I can and if available would use mobile
1's oil filter ($10) a pop. The thing that sold me the most was the
motorhome test that used mobile one in a 440 dodge for 100k miles then
broke down the engine and found NO apprecable wear at all on the
engine. The last car I had use to have an oil pressure gauge and even
at -20 out it would start and go immediatly to 60 psi oil pressure..
wish there was a way to put an oil guage on the saturn but saturn says
no.

 

This is an old thread and PureOne is a better oil filter though.

 

wish there was a way to put an oil guage on the saturn but saturn says

No, they won't do it? Or, no, they feel there is no way?

I have oil pressure & oil temp gauges on both of my Saturns and it's not
that difficult to do. I don't know that this would tell you anything useful
on a street-driven car, but if you want to install one, info on what I did
is here: http://www.evilplastic.com/94mod4.htm#gauges .

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

No they feel there is no way. Of course we were looking to adapt the
current oil sensor to have both and that might be the problem.. May I
ask how and where you connected your electronic sensor to. I have a 97
sl2 stick. Also you have done some excellent things to your vehicles..
they look sharp.
Those dog bones.. did they help the saturn buzz when it is cold?? I
changed the upper mount for it was ripped along the bottom and that
helped 95%. I took one of the bones off and it was metal with rubber
bushings so I was afraid to install the solid rubber ones. Never looked
at the drivers side but I'll be checking it when I check the
transmission mount..

Thanks
Phil

 

NON-DETERGENT????????? What do you mean? Mobil 1 definitely includes
detergents just like conventional motor oils. Maybe you mean it doesn't
include vicosity improvers?

If there is an oil pressure switch, there is a way to add a guage. Just go
to www.jcwhitney.com and search for one.

BTW, The often criticized Consumer Reports oil evaluation (using taxi cabs)
found very little wear when conventional oil was used. They saw no
substantial difference in wear between conventional and synthetic oil when
it was changed regularly.

Ed

 

Taxi Cabs dont do enough cold start cycles to wear out an engine. Thats
where you get a majority of the wear these days.

Every car will have an oil pressure "light". A oil pressure "gage" is
sometimes not optional. The difference in the sensors would be that one
is a "switch" while the other is a "potentiometer". You can install the
potentiometer type but where are you going to stick the readout? Thats
where the dealer probably had an issue. Personally I think trying to
change that would be a waste of money.

 

The '94 sl1 I had now has 234,000 on it. Never used anythin but an AC oil
filter and straight 30 no name oil. Changed at 3k. Oil's oil if you change
it regular. No need for $ynthetics except to line the makers pockets.