synthetic vs regular oil

[BIGPAPPA55]

I wonder if someone can tell me if there is a way of telling if your car has synthetic oil or regular dino oil. The reason I ask is when you take it to a shop
(an honest one I hope) and you don't visualy see them putting the oil in the car, How do I know that he actually used the syntheic? Is there a color difference, or smell, or any other charactoristic that would help me determine he did what I paid for.Thanks

[Dervman]

Other than sending a sample for Oil Analysis, I don't know of any sure way to tell the difference.

[t walgamuth]

i always take my cars to the local quicky's quick lube (i am not making that name up) if i dont change it myself. i stand there and watch them drain the oil, and then watch them put the new oil in. i prefer to use only oil that they have to take from plastic containers. the oil in the drums gives me the willies. who knows what it might be.

tom w

[greasybenz]

thats why i would never trust a jiffy lube or a and oil changing place. If i were you next time buy the oil and give it to them to change. It will be cheaper that way because all you pay is for the labor and the oil filter. and youll save some extra bucks buying at the store because oil change places usually charge some extra cents for you to use their oil.

[Rich300TDMBZ]

Yep, if you can't trust them then don't bring it to them for a fluid change. This applies to other fluid changes too, like Redline Synthetic transmission oil. Also, regardless of where you have your oil change, always check the oil level before you drive off. I know of two instances where oil was drained but never replaced The quicky oil change place eventually replaced the engine (rebuilt) but the hassle was not worth it.
I prefer to change my own oil - I know what goes in, and the quality. Most quicky places tend to overfill, which may not be good for the engine.

[aklim]

I watch quicky lube places if I have to go to them. Also I watch mechanics working on my car or I do it myself. Most time I bring them the parts.

[PagodaLover]

I've been using synthetics for years in the driveline and used to always do these changes myself until I had a major spillage and these activities have become forbidden at home now. Find a garage or lube place that has a window or someplace to watch thing and take them your own oil and filter and pay for labor. Otherwise, take them the oil and filter and just trust them.

[ConnClark]

I don't really see how anybody can justify spending the money on synthetics in a diesel. You get so much soot in the oil you have to change it more frequently than you would in a gasser, so you can't really do the extended oil changes. I change mine every 3000 miles or three months which ever comes first. I do top off with synthetics though. It helps keep things a little cleaner in the engine and makes up for any lubricating abilities lost by the dino oil.

[whunter]

Synthetic tastes better!
Have you had your oil shower this week?
Ah, the joy of hot oil running down my chest.

[ZackaryMac]

Originally Posted by whunter

Synthetic tastes better!
Have you had your oil shower this week?
Ah, the joy of hot oil running down my chest.

The synthetic vs dino oil always baffles me. Fr'instance, synthetic was virtually unheard of years ago, when diesel Benz were still getting 300,000 miles, and other brands of engines too.
Now, all of a sudden it's like petrolium oils are less than adequate.

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not attacking anyone here. This is such a common debate on many forums, and they all draw the same conclusions, which is....no one agrees on anything.

Personally, if I bought a new vehicle, put on the break-in miles, and planned on keeping it a year past forever, then I'd put synthetic in it. Otherwise, it'll probably outlast my payments/desire to keep it/lifetime.

As to the posters original question, from my experience at doing oil changes on motorcycles (at a busy shop), it's almost impssible to tell by looking at the oil what it is.
Usually you can tell when the customer freaks out 'cause you dumped out his $14/l oil to do a warranty repair and filled the cases with the terrible factory-recommended oil. Unfortunately for them, factory won't pay for other oils. They've determined their own oil will work fine at 15,500 rpm, I guess.

Originally Posted by ConnClark

I don't really see how anybody can justify spending the money on synthetics in a diesel. You get so much soot in the oil you have to change it more frequently than you would in a gasser, so you can't really do the extended oil changes. I change mine every 3000 miles or three months which ever comes first. I do top off with synthetics though. It helps keep things a little cleaner in the engine and makes up for any lubricating abilities lost by the dino oil.

That may be a reasonable approach. I had been using dino with 3000 mile changes, now I trying synthetic with 5000 mile changes. Based on other 617 owners' oil analyses, the soot levels should still be OK at 5000 miles, but I wouldn't want to go much longer. I think if you consider the cost of the filter and the labor/hassle of changing the oil, there's not too much cost difference between dino and synthetic. The biggest difference seems to be cold starting. I put in Mobil 1 5W40 and noticed the engine spins significantly faster when cold.

[Hatterasguy]

I poped the valve cover off my 603 to check the timing chain. After 20k on Delvac 1 it was absolutly spotless. Looks like a fresh engine under the cover.

[t walgamuth]

i have always used dino in my 616 617 engines. now i am using synthetic in my 350sdl. 3000 on dino, 5000 on synthetic.

i have 42k on my dodge cummins now. today i changed the oil and put in 6 qt of rotella and 7 qt of mobil one 10w40. i will go 4 or 5k on that. i will be interested in seeing if my mileage goes up. course, i will be running winter blend at least til i get to the south land.

tom w

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

I poped the valve cover off my 603 to check the timing chain. After 20k on Delvac 1 it was absolutly spotless. Looks like a fresh engine under the cover.

Can you verify if Mobil 1 5W40 (Truck & SUV) is the same stuff as Delvac 1? I went looking for Delvac 1 and couldn't find it locally, ended up buying the Mobil 1 for $5.99/qt at Checker.

[Hatterasguy]

Yeah they are the same stuff. Awhile back someone sent virgin samples to the lab. I think the Truck and SUV stuff has a Boron tracer in it thats the only difference. Well other then the bottle and price!

Thats why I use it Walmart has it cheap, I am not going to order oil then with shipping its like $6-$7 a quart. 15w-50 will work just fine, and that is what I would use if Delvac 1 wasn't sold at Walmart.