oil change experiment finished
 

I have always run 20w-50 in my car

Well this winter i decided to try 10w-30....

with the 50 weight, i was burning a quart at 1000-1200 miles... and was planning on doing a valve seal replacement (i have the parts finally). Another member was going to watch over me..

with the 30 wieght the CE was burning a quart every 500 miles...

i am back to the 50 weight..and it seems on track to go through a quart at about 1200.

This is standard dino stuff... i think valvoline was the last thing on sale.

I am using 15-40 synthetic in my son's car... he doesn't burn any noticeable amount... with 4k on this change.. he looks like he is down a quart... howerver, his top end was re-built by the previous owner. After the rebuild the owner started using synthetic. I also have synthetic in the tranny. it was rebuilt as well...

Oil
 

1984 300d Turbo 137k
**************.com, Have The Valve Stem Kit. Guide Book,ten Valve Stem Seals, Push On Tool, Extra Lock Nuts, $75.00 Diy 3-6 Hrs, No More Oil Down The Intake Valves, And They Have Other Kits, USE 15-40 MOBIL 400, A DIESEL OIL,

What brand of 15-40 synthetic do you use?

penzoil platinum..because there was a great sale that brought it down to 2 dollars a quart.

i am not brand conscious...price determines what i buy. I just change it hot and often like Larry Bible says...

6k synthetic, 3k dino changes.

I dont like switching brands of oil. it just dont seem right. if you have a high mileage car, and you want it to last longer, the least you can do is stick to one motor oil.

I'm with you on brands. What ever is on sale. Between the thousands and thousands of miles my family have logged plus the millions that my clients have driven over the years, brand never seemed to make a difference. I don't understand why you have different intervals for synthetic and dino though. :confused: The additives get used up at the same rate. In my opinion there are only three reasons to spend the extra money on a synthetic. #1 The car mfg warrantee requires it. #2 I'm pulling an extremely heavy load in extreme climates. #3 I'm driving a diesel in the mountains in winter, because the synthetic will allow the engine to spin faster to produce the heat needed for ignition.

The synthetic is really an experiment... my wife drives many more miles than i do, so I was trying to lengthen the change intervals. It seems everyone recommends 7500 change intervals for synthetic, i will opt for 6k. I figure two dollar synthetic equated to one dollar dino. ha-ha-ha.

I put the synthetic in my son's car just to try it in his 300e.

I have dino in mine.

I suck it out of all three vehicles. I can change the benz oil in work clothes.

I like your break down for Syn.Oil. At the same time it leaves me wondering, why all the hype behind synthetic oil then? Why is it mandatory on the newer models? Fill me in, thanks

This thread is headed in a direction that will spur debate for quite sometime between people who think syn last longer and doesn't sludge to people who think it makes no difference. Just get ready. Me, I will go by what Mercedes says, I mean they build the car, they repair them, study them etc...