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regular oil vs synthetic

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Old Mar 1, 2008 | 11:42 AM
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regular oil vs synthetic

Anyone see a difference in milage or anything by running synthetic, I have always ran delo 15/40 in all my diesels and never had any problems. Change my oil every 3000- 5000 miles. Synthetic is also double the price is it really worth it.
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Old Mar 1, 2008 | 12:15 PM
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From: wilson,ny
it depends. where do you live??? does it get really cold outside?- how often do you want to change your oil?. delo is a good oil- if you are doing 5,000 miles changes- you'll be ok. i live where it gets below zero at times and i like to do extended oil changes. i run amsoil with a bypass filter set up. i go 20,000 miles between changes. it basically comes down to dollars and sense- and what you are trying to accomplish- extended oil changes?, more engine protection?
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Old Mar 1, 2008 | 01:24 PM
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I switched from 15-40 to 5-40 Rotella synthetic. Cold starts are alot easier and the motor is quieter while warming up. Average MPG is up .5-1 mpg over the last 20,000 miles. I have been changing the oil every 7,500 miles with a Napa 7620 or 7620XE filter. Rotella 5-40 is $16.24/gallon at Walmart.
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Old Mar 1, 2008 | 01:29 PM
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According to the studies i've read you will get 1- 1 1/2 % fuel economy gain with a 5-40 over a 15-40. The syn guys will say you will get 2-3% using syn as well. syn tranny and gear oil helps too.
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Old Mar 1, 2008 | 01:54 PM
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I picked up .5 mpg switching from 15/40 to 5/40 synthetic. Upped my change interval to 10,000 from 5,000 and the cost is about the same.
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Old Mar 2, 2008 | 06:43 PM
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Synthetic with a bypass filter will save you a bundle in oil. I ran my last truck for 140,000 miles changing filters every 5000 miles and toping up the oil. I sent oil samples to the lab every 20,000 miles to be sure everything was ok and it was. Check Amsoil for everything you need to do this.
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Old Mar 2, 2008 | 08:16 PM
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If you plan on extending your oil intervals, then you realize the benefit of using sythetic. I definately agree that for cold wx ops, the syn 5W-40 is better. However, if you are changing oil in the 3-5K range and plan to continue to do that, switching to synthetic will increase your oil change costs while not gaining you a whole lot.
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Old Mar 2, 2008 | 09:45 PM
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Just changing oil from 15-40 to 5-40 will increase your MPG? How? I need all the help I can get to help with that $4/gal diesel price.
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Old Mar 3, 2008 | 10:43 AM
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How it does it I could care less, all I know is that I get better fuel mileage by using it. I went from Delvac 15w40 to Rotella 5w40 and got a 0.50 mpg increase, when I went to Amsoil 5w30 HDD and I saw an increase of 0.60. So by switching to synthetic oil I gained a total of 1.1 mpg compared to using Delvac 15w40 dino oil.
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Old Mar 3, 2008 | 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by DBLR
How it does it I could care less, all I know is that I get better fuel mileage by using it. I went from Delvac 15w40 to Rotella 5w40 and got a 0.50 mpg increase, when I went to Amsoil 5w30 HDD and I saw an increase of 0.60. So by switching to synthetic oil I gained a total of 1.1 mpg compared to using Delvac 15w40 dino oil.
I don't doubt that's possible, but could it be your engine was still breaking in, and thus your mileage improved a bit? (I don't know how many miles on your truck when you changed- maybe the engine was already well broken in.)
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Old Mar 4, 2008 | 02:04 AM
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I switched from 15-40 to 5-40 Rotella at 57,000 miles.
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Old Mar 4, 2008 | 09:10 AM
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From: MA
Walmart Roteela Synthetic is the way to go. So if you go to a fast lube place most let you bring your own oil. I also saw.50 MPG and starts alot nicer on cold mornings
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Old Mar 4, 2008 | 09:16 AM
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im a stickler so when i did the first oil change when i bought it(53k) i used synthetic. doing an oil change this week, plan on throwing rotella 5w-40 back in it again with a fleetguard filter. runs smoothe, and i did gain a couple mpg's doing so.
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Old Mar 20, 2008 | 08:36 PM
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i've changed from regular oil to Royal Purple i've noticed a little bit better mpg but i have a stiff foot also
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Old Mar 21, 2008 | 07:43 AM
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The weight difference (15w vs 5w) is the cause for increased mpg. I saw the same increase, and noticed cooler engine temps in the summer and the truck starts like it's 50 F in -15 F, increased from 5000 - 10,000 change interval. I will be changing filter at 7500 and change oil at 15,000 this time and see what oil test shows.
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