Switching between Engine Oils Synthetic and Regular?

I usually put in Synthetic on my old 92 Passat, but the I went to the
garage, they put in regular oil. No difference noted.

Last time, I put in synthetic - no problems.

There is a small leak - so on trips when I have to top it up - some
places do not have synthetic - so I use regular.

For the majority of oil changes - I do put in regular. But with the
cost of oil going up everytime. I just might stay with regular.

Does anyone forsee any problems with doing this (switching/mixing
oils)?

Thanks,

Tmuld.

"Tavish Muldoon" > wrote in message
om...
> I usually put in Synthetic on my old 92 Passat, but the I went to the
> garage, they put in regular oil. No difference noted.
>
> Last time, I put in synthetic - no problems.
>
> There is a small leak - so on trips when I have to top it up - some
> places do not have synthetic - so I use regular.
>
> For the majority of oil changes - I do put in regular. But with the
> cost of oil going up everytime. I just might stay with regular.
>
> Does anyone forsee any problems with doing this (switching/mixing
> oils)?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tmuld.

I dont have any evidence to point you to, but you should NEVER EVER MIX
regular dino oil and synthetic. I also highly recommend AGAINST switching
oils. Either stay with regular oil or stay with synthetic.

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004, Biz wrote:

> I dont have any evidence to point you to, but you should NEVER EVER MIX
> regular dino oil and synthetic. I also highly recommend AGAINST switching
> oils. Either stay with regular oil or stay with synthetic.

Why?

To the original poster... mix the oils that you regularly mix in a clear
glass, and watch to see if they separate or do anything else funky. If
they don't, you shouldn't have any trouble mixing them in your car.

I stick to one brand of oil, but I really don't see any reason why
switching (assuming you're using the correct grade/viscosity/etc.) would
cause any problems. If there's a reason (other than myth) that I'm wrong,
I would like to know.

Craig

> I usually put in Synthetic on my old 92 Passat, but the I went to the
> garage, they put in regular oil. No difference noted.
>
> Last time, I put in synthetic - no problems.
>
> There is a small leak - so on trips when I have to top it up - some
> places do not have synthetic - so I use regular.
>
> For the majority of oil changes - I do put in regular. But with the
> cost of oil going up everytime. I just might stay with regular.
>
> Does anyone forsee any problems with doing this (switching/mixing
> oils)?

All synthetic oils I've ever used explicitly state on the label that they
are 100% compatible with regular oils, and there's no worries at all about
mixing them. You will compromise the qualities of the synthetic by doing
so, but it won't do any harm. I've done exactly what you've described, many
times, and I've never had any problem.

Check your oil's labels.

I've been switching back and forth for years (>20) in multiple brands of
cars and have never had any engine problems. When synthetic oils first came
out (and everyone was hesitant to use them) I read a suggestion in a book
on extending engine life that recommended adding one quart of synthetic with
every oil change to get some of the benefits. Now Valvoline makes a product
named Durablend which is exactly that, synthetic and dino oil mixed
together. So I'd say you are fine.

HTH
Steve


"Brian Running" > wrote in message
...
>> I usually put in Synthetic on my old 92 Passat, but the I went to the
>> garage, they put in regular oil. No difference noted.
>>
>> Last time, I put in synthetic - no problems.
>>
>> There is a small leak - so on trips when I have to top it up - some
>> places do not have synthetic - so I use regular.
>>
>> For the majority of oil changes - I do put in regular. But with the
>> cost of oil going up everytime. I just might stay with regular.
>>
>> Does anyone forsee any problems with doing this (switching/mixing
>> oils)?
>
> All synthetic oils I've ever used explicitly state on the label that they
> are 100% compatible with regular oils, and there's no worries at all about
> mixing them. You will compromise the qualities of the synthetic by doing
> so, but it won't do any harm. I've done exactly what you've described,
> many
> times, and I've never had any problem.
>
> Check your oil's labels.
>
>

With a comment like that you may be banned from here and doing oil changes.
As for my 2 cents... as the name implies "synthetic oil" is man made oil.
Don't worry, be HAPPY!

"Brian Running" > wrote in message
...
>> I usually put in Synthetic on my old 92 Passat, but the I went to the
>> garage, they put in regular oil. No difference noted.
>>
>> Last time, I put in synthetic - no problems.
>>
>> There is a small leak - so on trips when I have to top it up - some
>> places do not have synthetic - so I use regular.
>>
>> For the majority of oil changes - I do put in regular. But with the
>> cost of oil going up everytime. I just might stay with regular.
>>
>> Does anyone forsee any problems with doing this (switching/mixing
>> oils)?
>
> All synthetic oils I've ever used explicitly state on the label that they
> are 100% compatible with regular oils, and there's no worries at all about
> mixing them. You will compromise the qualities of the synthetic by doing
> so, but it won't do any harm. I've done exactly what you've described,
> many
> times, and I've never had any problem.
>
> Check your oil's labels.
>
>

Thanks for the peace of mind!

Now is it OK to mix Dr. Pepper and Rum - no - hang over and horrible sugar rush.

Tmuld.

> With a comment like that you may be banned from here and doing oil
changes.
> As for my 2 cents... as the name implies "synthetic oil" is man made oil.
> Don't worry, be HAPPY!

I haven't been around here long enough to catch your innuendo, Woodchuck.
What do you mean?

For me, the synthetic oil would taste better than DR.Pepper.

"Tavish Muldoon" > wrote in message
om...
> Thanks for the peace of mind!
>
> Now is it OK to mix Dr. Pepper and Rum - no - hang over and horrible sugar
> rush.
>
> Tmuld.

Oil change intervals, brands of oil, and dino or synthetic are
subjects of religious or political zeal. Not any worse that the vastly
experianced 21 year old driver telling the old farts that a 1.8T is
vastly superiour to a TDI. Both get you to the office when you spend
an hour in bumper to bumper traffic. Back to oil. Both oils lubricate
your engines. Most folks get rid of the car before they would see the
questionable benefits of synthetic. This comment coming from someone
who has used Mobil synthetics since about 1984.

"Brian Running" > wrote:

>> With a comment like that you may be banned from here and doing oil
>changes.
>> As for my 2 cents... as the name implies "synthetic oil" is man made oil.
>> Don't worry, be HAPPY!
>
>I haven't been around here long enough to catch your innuendo, Woodchuck.
>What do you mean?
>


Jim B.