Will switching from Synthetic to Dyno oil harm my engine?

I have a 99 Altima with 66,000 miles on it now. I've been using Mobil 1
since 40,000 miles and to be frank I dont see the cost benifits to use mobil
1 on a "economical" car. Is it safe to switch back to dyno oil or will it
harm my engine?

thanks

elmo wrote:

> I have a 99 Altima with 66,000 miles on it now. I've been using Mobil 1
> since 40,000 miles and to be frank I dont see the cost benifits to use
> mobil
> 1 on a "economical" car.

There is NEVER a "cost benifit" to using sythetic oil. I hope you haven't
been trying to go 15,000 between changes? Switching back and forth isn't a
good idea IMHO but if I was going to switch back, I'd change to dino oil
and then change it again in about 1000 miles to help "flush out" whatever
was left and then change every 3000 there after.
--

Steve

http://www.atlantaracing.com

On Sun, 19 Dec 2004 21:24:21 -0800, "elmo" > wrote:

>I have a 99 Altima with 66,000 miles on it now. I've been using Mobil 1
>since 40,000 miles and to be frank I dont see the cost benifits to use mobil
>1 on a "economical" car. Is it safe to switch back to dyno oil or will it
>harm my engine?
>
>thanks
>

Yes, it's perfectly safe to switch back (and forth again) if you want.
The oils are fully compatible with each other. If you change oil at
the usual too often intervals there is no real benefit to synthetic
except for really cold places if you have trouble cranking on regular
oil.
--
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts:

"What, sir, is the use of militia? It is to prevent the
establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty. . .
Whenever Government means to invade the rights and liberties of
the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order
to raise a standing army upon its ruins." -- Debate, U.S. House
of Representatives, August 17, 1789

"elmo" > wrote in message
o.verio.net...
>I have a 99 Altima with 66,000 miles on it now. I've been using Mobil 1
>since 40,000 miles and to be frank I dont see the cost benifits to use
>mobil 1 on a "economical" car. Is it safe to switch back to dyno oil or
>will it harm my engine?
>
> thanks
>
Maybe it's just that us AZ guys think alike, but the answer is "yes" - there
are no risks at all with switching from synthetic to dino oil. In older
cars, especially those with an uncertain oil change history or lots of hours
in hot environments (like Arizona, for example), switching from dino to
synthetic can dissolve deposits that old and hardened seals were depending
on. The affected seals can then leak - the same applies to using "engine
flush" products, as I found out the hard way when I was young and more
foolish.

Synthetic and dino are totally compatable, and blends are available. Some of
my friends use one quart of synthetic when they change their oil, and they
probably get most of the benefits of synthetic at a much lower price. In my
mind, the main value in synthetic is the much higher detergency. If oil
changes are kept up with dino oil, the engine itself stays clean inside, but
PCV passages and throttle bodies build up deposits that can be expected to
cause trouble eventually. In my 85 turbo Volvo, the turbo is still going
strong at 230K miles because of the regular oil changes, but I've had the
throttle body off for cleaning several times. I always have to use a drill
bit to clean the vacuum nipples when I wait more than a year or two. Last
year the actual hoses in the crankcase ventilation system plugged up with
deposits (these are like 3/8" hoses!) and I had to replace them. Lost 3
quarts of oil blown all over the engine when that happened on the freeway -
about a pint a minute. The Volvo gurus tell me these things don't happen
with synthetic.

Mike

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004, Michael Pardee wrote:

> In older cars, especially those with an uncertain oil change history or
> lots of hours in hot environments (like Arizona, for example), switching
> from dino to synthetic can dissolve deposits that old and hardened seals
> were depending on. The affected seals can then leak

This nonsense has been around since the advent of synthetic auto engine
oil three decades ago. It wasn't true then, and it still isn't.

> In my mind, the main value in synthetic is the much higher detergency.

The only place synthetic oils have "higher detergency" is...in your mind.

On Mon, 20 Dec 2004 13:02:47 -0500, "Daniel J. Stern"
> wrote:

>On Mon, 20 Dec 2004, Michael Pardee wrote:
>
>> In older cars, especially those with an uncertain oil change history or
>> lots of hours in hot environments (like Arizona, for example), switching
>> from dino to synthetic can dissolve deposits that old and hardened seals
>> were depending on. The affected seals can then leak
>
>This nonsense has been around since the advent of synthetic auto engine
>oil three decades ago. It wasn't true then, and it still isn't.
>
>> In my mind, the main value in synthetic is the much higher detergency.
>
>The only place synthetic oils have "higher detergency" is...in your mind.

I use Castrol or Valvoline dino in my cars, change oil and filter (
Motorcraft Fl400-S) every 90 days or 3,000 miles, and have never had
an engine problem related to oil. n e v e r.

Go figure. If you want to spend the extra $ on synthetic, it's your
money, be my guest.

Lg

SNIP
>
> I use Castrol or Valvoline dino in my cars, change oil and filter (
> Motorcraft Fl400-S) every 90 days or 3,000 miles, and have never had
> an engine problem related to oil. n e v e r.
>
> Go figure. If you want to spend the extra $ on synthetic, it's your
> money, be my guest.
>
> Lg

Dino oil is, indeed, good. Nobody will deny it. But what other folks here
are trying to say is that a good quality synthetic oil is soooooo
muuuuuuuuch better.
;-)
JP

> I use Castrol or Valvoline dino in my cars, change oil and filter (
> Motorcraft Fl400-S) every 90 days or 3,000 miles, and have never had
> an engine problem related to oil. n e v e r. Go figure.

I wave my left arm in a semicircle eight times every hour on the hour
between 8AM and 8PM weekdays (10AM and 12AM weekends) and have never been
attacked by a pink crocodile. n e v e r. Go figure.

Correlation does not imply causation.

> If you want to spend the extra $ on synthetic, it's your money, be my
> guest.

Well, let's do the math, shall we?

Castrol or Valvoline's at about $2.10/qt including tax.
Mobil-1's at about $5.10/qt including tax.
An FL400S filter is about $4.20 including tax.

Let's say your car takes 5 quarts and you want to drive it for 60,000
miles.

If you're changing dino oil every 3k miles, that's 20 filters and 100
quarts, so $210 worth of oil and $84 worth of filters. Total oil costs in
60k miles, assuming the engine consumes none: $294.

If you're changing Mobil-1 every 9k miles, that's 6 filters and 30 quarts,
so $153 worth of oil and $25.20 worth of filters. Total oil costs in 60k
miles, assuming the engine consumes none: $178.20.

"Extra money" spent on synthetic: one hundred fifteen undollars and eighty
uncents.

-DS

"JP" > wrote in message

> SNIP
>>
>> I use Castrol or Valvoline dino in my cars, change oil and filter (
>> Motorcraft Fl400-S) every 90 days or 3,000 miles, and have never
>> had an engine problem related to oil. n e v e r.
>>
>> Go figure. If you want to spend the extra $ on synthetic, it's
>> your money, be my guest.
>>
>> Lg
>
> Dino oil is, indeed, good. Nobody will deny it. But what other
> folks here are trying to say is that a good quality synthetic oil
> is soooooo muuuuuuuuch better.
> ;-)
> JP

If our oils also carried the MB (Mercedes Benz) oil rating system on the
label, you would see that API sets the MINIMUM performance standard ... not
the actual performance level of the oil above the minimum.

--

- Philip

"Lawrence Glickman" > wrote in message
news
> I use Castrol or Valvoline dino in my cars, change oil and filter (
> Motorcraft Fl400-S) every 90 days or 3,000 miles, and have never had
> an engine problem related to oil. n e v e r.
>
> Go figure. If you want to spend the extra $ on synthetic, it's your
> money, be my guest.
>
> Lg
>

This topic never fails to generate long threads, and I don't think many
people will change their minds. I'm no expert - I just pay my money and take
my choice. But these guys think synthetic is better than dino in nearly
every way - especially in cold weather:
http://www.autoeducation.com/autosho...l-change-1.htm and succeeding
pages. Their take on oil change intervals is on page 9
http://www.autoeducation.com/autosho...l-change-9.htm

Mike