synthetic engine oil...worth it?
Thread Starter
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 21
Likes: 0
From: Westville, OK.
synthetic engine oil...worth it?
ive got a couple of buddies that tell me that i cant do w/o royal purple, because of performance and long life. another friend tells me to stick with rotella. im currently changing between 3-4k miles, and the first two are saying if i were to switch to synthetic, i could go for 15k miles. just looking for a little insight. iknow the synthetic is quite a bit more expensive, but would it be worth it?
DTR's 'Go to Guy'
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 3,811
Likes: 4
From: Indiana
I change every 5K. My oil analysis' say I can go longer, but ......hey, it doesn't cost that much, and I need the practice right?! 
I have researched the whole synthetic thing myself. The ONE thing that really made up my mind was when I talked to the oil analysis people. NONE of their employees , or the owners, use any synthetic lubricants. They have done the analysis' and IMHO, if it isn't worth it for them........who am I to say they are wrong?!? Just my .02 !
I have researched the whole synthetic thing myself. The ONE thing that really made up my mind was when I talked to the oil analysis people. NONE of their employees , or the owners, use any synthetic lubricants. They have done the analysis' and IMHO, if it isn't worth it for them........who am I to say they are wrong?!? Just my .02 !
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 131
Likes: 0
From: Victoria
do a search, there are a lot of threads on this. I run Rotella 15w40 during summer and Rotella 5w40 Synthetic during winter. Makes a HUGE difference for -20C cold starts. Other than that I have read there are no major longevity differences for the Cummins.
Chapter President
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 1,124
Likes: 1
From: Elk River, MN
and then there's me. I run synthetic in everything I own. I will never run conventional oil again. My Harley, lawnmowers, chainsaw, cars, truck, well you get the picture. I get easier cold weather starts and the bonus of extended drain intervals. I change oil once a year. I do the analysis. You must remember, the people who work in these testing labs are for the most part uninformed, all they do is test. It might as well be hair conditioner for all they care.
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 186
Likes: 1
From: Alaska
I run synthetic in all the gear boxes and engine. I saw 1 more additional mile in improvement on my mileage. Also it helps extend the life of my engine and starter motor for those very, very cold morning starts here in Alaska. I asked the semi truck owners, they said they have been running synthetic for years. I'll take their word. As for Royal purple, I think it is overpriced. I run Valvoline in most everthing except the diffs, which I run Royal purple.
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 972
Likes: 0
From: Texas
Well I used to use Rotella, then I heard about switching to synthetic so I went to Royal Purple. I saw a HUGE difference, ran smoother and turbo spooled a bit better too! Then I heard about Amsoil on here, thought I'd give it a try, I knew going from reg. to syn. was a huge difference, but never thought brands of syn. would be so different too! It even ran smoother than the Royal Purple! I was shocked!!! I just had my new trany filled with Amsoil synthetic. I can't wait till I can drive it with all Amsoil syn. in it! You won't be sorry!!! It's so worth it!
Trending Topics
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 6,564
Likes: 6
From: Cummins Technical Center, IN
Hink, that's urban legend that was debunked over on BITOG quite awhile back.
Moly is an excellent anti-wear additive, and the Cummins concern is related to aftermarket "dump in" additives, not formulation-level additives like a lube blender would use.
I've tried all the major syn brands except Torco. To me, the Redline and Amsoil were the most impressive. RP, not so much-- the max gear tranny stuff was NOT a good choice for the 6-speed. The engine oil made the truck feel about the same as thinner dino oil (like the 15w-40 RP seemed about like 10w-30 rotella).
This is all just conjecture, as I haven't a shred of proof at all (oil analysis).
Keep in mind that as petro oils get better and better, it makes it harder for synthetics to justify their cost premium. I used to run syn in everything, and I pretty much still do. But I can make a pretty good case for doing Dino in the CTD and syn everywhere else. Especially in an uprated truck that will soot the oil up faster and hence must run shorter oil change intervals.
IMO, one of the best things you can do for your engine is use Lube Control oil additive--- it's very highly regarded by Dyson oil analysis..
www.lubecontrol.com
JH
Moly is an excellent anti-wear additive, and the Cummins concern is related to aftermarket "dump in" additives, not formulation-level additives like a lube blender would use.
I've tried all the major syn brands except Torco. To me, the Redline and Amsoil were the most impressive. RP, not so much-- the max gear tranny stuff was NOT a good choice for the 6-speed. The engine oil made the truck feel about the same as thinner dino oil (like the 15w-40 RP seemed about like 10w-30 rotella).
This is all just conjecture, as I haven't a shred of proof at all (oil analysis).
Keep in mind that as petro oils get better and better, it makes it harder for synthetics to justify their cost premium. I used to run syn in everything, and I pretty much still do. But I can make a pretty good case for doing Dino in the CTD and syn everywhere else. Especially in an uprated truck that will soot the oil up faster and hence must run shorter oil change intervals.
IMO, one of the best things you can do for your engine is use Lube Control oil additive--- it's very highly regarded by Dyson oil analysis..
www.lubecontrol.com
JH
Registered User
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 220
Likes: 0
The turbo spooled better with diff oil? I am trying to figure out how one affects the other. Better lubrication of the turbo bearings? I too have tried diff oils and they all seem the same to me. I run synthetic rotella. I am sure there are motors out there that have died from bad oil but i have not heard of one? If anyone out there has one that has suffered from bad oil please let us know. In snowmobiles motors there are new oils out that say they make more power. On a dyno most of that myth has been shot down. My thought on the sled motor is if it makes a substantial amount more power then it must be flashing. Does anyone have any dyno numbers for our trucks on diff. oils?
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 325
Likes: 0
From: weston,wv
i don't think any of us will ever know if synthetics are worth it ...
the way i figure it is i buy the best filters from geno's at a great price ... get 'em when i get a free shipping offer in the mail ...like the one they have now for christmas ...so the extra that the rotella synthetic costs is offset by the money i save doing it myself ...
here is a story i love to tell to upset all the oil experts ... every word is true although some will never believe it ...
way back when the cummins' first came out i bought a '91 ... friend bought 3 for his surveying business ... father in law bought one and another friend with a construction business bought one ...
all were flawless, 15 to 20mpg, trannies left something to be desired though
...
the biggest difference was that the friend with the construction business would only change his oil when there was no oil on the dipstick ....
dino oil changed every 30 or 40 thousand ...at the local dealership who confirmed his "filthy oil with nothing showing on the dipstick" story
yep i know, we all told him he was an idiot ....
he had over 300k when he sold it ...
so for me the synthetic is worth it, if only for the fact that it will ease my worried mind
the way i figure it is i buy the best filters from geno's at a great price ... get 'em when i get a free shipping offer in the mail ...like the one they have now for christmas ...so the extra that the rotella synthetic costs is offset by the money i save doing it myself ...
here is a story i love to tell to upset all the oil experts ... every word is true although some will never believe it ...
way back when the cummins' first came out i bought a '91 ... friend bought 3 for his surveying business ... father in law bought one and another friend with a construction business bought one ...
all were flawless, 15 to 20mpg, trannies left something to be desired though
... the biggest difference was that the friend with the construction business would only change his oil when there was no oil on the dipstick ....
dino oil changed every 30 or 40 thousand ...at the local dealership who confirmed his "filthy oil with nothing showing on the dipstick" story
yep i know, we all told him he was an idiot ....
he had over 300k when he sold it ...
so for me the synthetic is worth it, if only for the fact that it will ease my worried mind
Registered User
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 96
Likes: 0
From: Centeral WI
The only reason i dont run sythetic (yet) is because i would have to go 10k to 15k on an oil change to justify it but i dont want 15k miles worth of soot in my oil. i want to get a bypass filter setup. then i would run amsoil with out think twice. i run amsoil in everything else i own except my 2007 raptor 700 because i wanted to make sure its good and broke in before i switch it over.
one thing that made me a beleaver is i run it in my snowmobile, a polaris 2001 xc 800, 2 stroke by the way. i was runing so lean that going across a lake at WOT i hit 95 mph and held that for about 5 seconds and started losing power slowly and got down to 85 mph. Then i was like crap and let off and kinda feathered it then shut it down and checked my spark plugs. i know this probably isnt the right board to mention sparks plugs on but bear with me. they where completly white! that means it was running so lean that i should have melted pistons that seazed up tight in the bore. but some how (amsoil) it kept running fine.
one thing that made me a beleaver is i run it in my snowmobile, a polaris 2001 xc 800, 2 stroke by the way. i was runing so lean that going across a lake at WOT i hit 95 mph and held that for about 5 seconds and started losing power slowly and got down to 85 mph. Then i was like crap and let off and kinda feathered it then shut it down and checked my spark plugs. i know this probably isnt the right board to mention sparks plugs on but bear with me. they where completly white! that means it was running so lean that i should have melted pistons that seazed up tight in the bore. but some how (amsoil) it kept running fine.
Banned
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 29
Likes: 0
From: Texas
uhhh..Ive run royal purple in my truck....since day one(215,000 miles)...andddd...my dad has in his cummins 128,000 miles...and my co-worker in his cummins 185,000 miles..and our dealership puts it in their trucks.. So whatever you heard Hink was either another oil company bashing Royal Purple...happens alot....or somebody who blamed a valvetrain problem on their oil...so i dont care what "they" say....ive got facts...Royal Purple is the only way to go! Quick true story in short form..
We had a back to back race one night, so 2 features in 1 night!
My brothers IMCA Modified 383ci Chevrolet, in the lanes before the 1st feature race, lost oil pressure on the gauge, said run it. He run the whole race, and won. Ok, we get back to the trailer, replace the oil psi. gauge, still no pressure and its about time to race...and pop's says run it. So here we go...go back on the track and finish 4th. Load up the car...head for the shop. Next week, pull the pan and the pick-up tube was laying in the bottom of the pan...so we pull the #1 main cap...hmmm looks good..put a whole new pump in the beast and ran it for 2 more seasons...and 2 track championships in a row. Honest to God true story. Ever since then, im Royal Purple all the way. And at 215,000 miles, my cummins is still running strong, and my old Powerstroke ran royal purple from day one up to 281,000 miles when I traded it off. So theres some stats from first hand. Thanks..
-Randy hoover
We had a back to back race one night, so 2 features in 1 night!
My brothers IMCA Modified 383ci Chevrolet, in the lanes before the 1st feature race, lost oil pressure on the gauge, said run it. He run the whole race, and won. Ok, we get back to the trailer, replace the oil psi. gauge, still no pressure and its about time to race...and pop's says run it. So here we go...go back on the track and finish 4th. Load up the car...head for the shop. Next week, pull the pan and the pick-up tube was laying in the bottom of the pan...so we pull the #1 main cap...hmmm looks good..put a whole new pump in the beast and ran it for 2 more seasons...and 2 track championships in a row. Honest to God true story. Ever since then, im Royal Purple all the way. And at 215,000 miles, my cummins is still running strong, and my old Powerstroke ran royal purple from day one up to 281,000 miles when I traded it off. So theres some stats from first hand. Thanks..
-Randy hoover
Registered User
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 695
Likes: 0
Royal Purple uses a different chemistry than most. They are one of only a handful of marketers using Moly in their oil. Moly is a solid, specifically banned by Cummins, due to excessive valve train wear.
Moly (Molybdenum Disulfide) is a processed mineral that is similar in appearance to graphite. Moly has good lubricating properties when used either by itself (in dry power form or as an additive to oil or other lubricants). Particles of the Moly can come out of suspension and agglomerate. This can actually clog oil filters or oil lines and the rest normally settles in the bottom of the oil pan. This seems to be more likely when using extended drain intervals. The only test we ran on RP involved their 20W50 Racing oil versus our AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic 20W50 Racing Oil (TRO). We ran two 4 ball wear tests with different parameters, a spectrographic baseline, FTIR scan and volatility tests. The Royal Purple showed a significantly high volatility rate with a 12.51% boil off rate. This compares to TRO with a 4.47% volatility rating. Wear scars were also smaller with the TRO. For example the TRO left a .41mm scar and the RP oil left a .66mm scar. There was also a surprising difference in the viscosity index. The RP has a VI of 129 versus 155 for the TRO. The higher the VI, the better the viscosity stays in place at high temperatures.
This information was provided by AMSOIL Tech Department. They had an independent lab test Royal Purple against AMSOIL. They have found Moly in Royal Purple. As stated above, this can have negative effects on your engine.
Moly (Molybdenum Disulfide) is a processed mineral that is similar in appearance to graphite. Moly has good lubricating properties when used either by itself (in dry power form or as an additive to oil or other lubricants). Particles of the Moly can come out of suspension and agglomerate. This can actually clog oil filters or oil lines and the rest normally settles in the bottom of the oil pan. This seems to be more likely when using extended drain intervals. The only test we ran on RP involved their 20W50 Racing oil versus our AMSOIL Series 2000 Synthetic 20W50 Racing Oil (TRO). We ran two 4 ball wear tests with different parameters, a spectrographic baseline, FTIR scan and volatility tests. The Royal Purple showed a significantly high volatility rate with a 12.51% boil off rate. This compares to TRO with a 4.47% volatility rating. Wear scars were also smaller with the TRO. For example the TRO left a .41mm scar and the RP oil left a .66mm scar. There was also a surprising difference in the viscosity index. The RP has a VI of 129 versus 155 for the TRO. The higher the VI, the better the viscosity stays in place at high temperatures.
This information was provided by AMSOIL Tech Department. They had an independent lab test Royal Purple against AMSOIL. They have found Moly in Royal Purple. As stated above, this can have negative effects on your engine.
