I am curious how Toyota has determined that Synthetic oil has a longer service life than regular oil. Why would Synthetic only get any less dirty from comtaminances then regular oil, which are a detriment to an engine. Isn't dirt still dirt? Just curious
dtown40
Yep it has to do with the oils properties that are unseen.
They way an oil looks has little to do with if it's ready or needs to be changed.
Unless it's tar like jelly or something.
They way an oil looks has little to do with if it's ready or needs to be changed.
Unless it's tar like jelly or something.
It has things in it called addative packs (or at least thats what I've always heard them refered to) that last longer in synthetic. There are a billion and a half topics about differences/pros & cons/etc over at http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ You can read forever over there about the differences, though I wouldn't recommend it for sanity's sake :lol: All I can tell you its better longterm, having said that, my synthetic oil is plenty dark when I change it every 5k, but oil is like religion, you will always have differing opinions.
Amsoil is good pricey stuff my warranty is up so I'm going back to doing Amsoil oil changes myself.
A good summary:
"Synthetic oils are derived from either Group III, Group IV, or some Group V bases. Synthetics include classes of lubricants like synthetic esters as well as "others" like GTL (Methane Gas-to-Liquid) (Group V) and polyalpha-olefins (Group IV). Higher purity and therefore better property control theoretically means synthetic oil has better mechanical properties at extremes of high and low temperatures. The molecules are made large and "soft" enough to retain good viscosity at higher temperatures, yet branched molecular structures interfere with solidification and therefore allow flow at lower temperatures. Thus, although the viscosity still decreases as temperature increases, these synthetic motor oils have a higher viscosity index over the traditional petroleum base. Their specially designed properties allow a wider temperature range at higher and lower temperatures and often include a lower pour point. With their improved viscosity index, synthetic oils need lower levels of viscosity index improvers, which are the oil components most vulnerable to thermal and mechanical degradation as the oil ages, and thus they do not degrade as quickly as traditional motor oils. However, they still fill up with particulate matter, although the matter better suspends within the oil,[citation needed] and the oil filter still fills and clogs up over time. So, periodic oil and filter changes should still be done with synthetic oil; but some synthetic oil suppliers suggest that the intervals between oil changes can be longer, sometimes as long as 16,000-24,000 km (10,000–15,000 mi) primarily due to reduced degradation by oxidation. Tests[citation needed] show that fully synthetic oil is superior in extreme service conditions to conventional oil, and may perform better for longer under standard conditions. But in the vast majority of vehicle applications, mineral oil based lubricants, fortified with additives and with the benefit of over a century of development, continue to be the predominant lubricant for most internal combustion engine applications."
"Synthetic oils are derived from either Group III, Group IV, or some Group V bases. Synthetics include classes of lubricants like synthetic esters as well as "others" like GTL (Methane Gas-to-Liquid) (Group V) and polyalpha-olefins (Group IV). Higher purity and therefore better property control theoretically means synthetic oil has better mechanical properties at extremes of high and low temperatures. The molecules are made large and "soft" enough to retain good viscosity at higher temperatures, yet branched molecular structures interfere with solidification and therefore allow flow at lower temperatures. Thus, although the viscosity still decreases as temperature increases, these synthetic motor oils have a higher viscosity index over the traditional petroleum base. Their specially designed properties allow a wider temperature range at higher and lower temperatures and often include a lower pour point. With their improved viscosity index, synthetic oils need lower levels of viscosity index improvers, which are the oil components most vulnerable to thermal and mechanical degradation as the oil ages, and thus they do not degrade as quickly as traditional motor oils. However, they still fill up with particulate matter, although the matter better suspends within the oil,[citation needed] and the oil filter still fills and clogs up over time. So, periodic oil and filter changes should still be done with synthetic oil; but some synthetic oil suppliers suggest that the intervals between oil changes can be longer, sometimes as long as 16,000-24,000 km (10,000–15,000 mi) primarily due to reduced degradation by oxidation. Tests[citation needed] show that fully synthetic oil is superior in extreme service conditions to conventional oil, and may perform better for longer under standard conditions. But in the vast majority of vehicle applications, mineral oil based lubricants, fortified with additives and with the benefit of over a century of development, continue to be the predominant lubricant for most internal combustion engine applications."
I used synthetic in our 2011 Limited, but take a "middle of the road" approach as far as intervals.
I personally believe changing full synthetic every 5,000 is too frequent and a waste of $$$, but 10,000 might be a little long.
So, I have mine changed every 7,500. Based upon everything i've read, any good quality full synthetic can easily go 7,500 based upon "normal" driving conditions, and can most likely easily tolerate 10,000 changes as well.
There is plenty of science to back it up (i.e. there are countless folks who do Blackstone oil testing, you can mail in a sample and they'll analyze it down to a T for you, including how dirty/clean, how much metal is in it, how much life it has left etc. etc.
I don't think you're likely to see any major problems/failures due to a 10k or less interval with synthetic, its just as important to swap all other fluids every 50k, right?
Anyone have thoughts on my 7,500 interval for synthetic?
I personally believe changing full synthetic every 5,000 is too frequent and a waste of $$$, but 10,000 might be a little long.
So, I have mine changed every 7,500. Based upon everything i've read, any good quality full synthetic can easily go 7,500 based upon "normal" driving conditions, and can most likely easily tolerate 10,000 changes as well.
There is plenty of science to back it up (i.e. there are countless folks who do Blackstone oil testing, you can mail in a sample and they'll analyze it down to a T for you, including how dirty/clean, how much metal is in it, how much life it has left etc. etc.
I don't think you're likely to see any major problems/failures due to a 10k or less interval with synthetic, its just as important to swap all other fluids every 50k, right?
Anyone have thoughts on my 7,500 interval for synthetic?
They can't deny a claim because you changed it too much...
You can send in your oil if you really want to know.
I think you're fine with 7500
You can send in your oil if you really want to know.
I think you're fine with 7500
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