Hi
What is involved with changing a car over to synthetic oil, besides having to do an oil change to do it? Is there anything I should be aware of before I do it?
Nothing. Just check the oil level(via dipstick) on a regular basis if you do not already do it.
Nothing special. Drain the old oil, replace the filter, pour in the synthetic. That’s it. You can switch back to regular oil, too, any time.
I just want to add that if your Camry is still under warranty (you did not tell us the model year or the odometer mileage!), you need to adhere to the same oil change regimen that Toyota lists in the Maintenance Schedule. While synthetic oil can be used for a longer period of time (at least theoretically) than conventional motor oil, Toyota will void your warranty if you go too far beyond the stated mileage interval for oil changes.
Once it is out of warranty, feel free to push the envelope a bit in terms of deferring oil changes. However, even if you are using synthetic motor oil, I would recommend that you change it every 7,500 miles or 6 months, whichever comes first. As one of the most experienced members of this board likes to say, the idea is to extend the life of the engine, not the life of the oil.
In your life experience, has there ever been ANYTHING synthetic that is as good, overall, as the Real McCoy??
Marketers promote synthetic oil because it is a VERY high profit product. Does it “protect” your engine better? This has never been demonstrated, except at the extreme ends of environmental conditions, primarily extreme cold…
Will using synthetic oil somehow add value to your car?? The N.A.D.A. Used Car Pricing Guide makes no distinction…
Marketers promote synthetic oil because it is a VERY high profit product. Does it “protect” your engine better? This has never been demonstrated, except at the extreme ends of environmental conditions, primarily extreme cold…
OH…it’s been PROVEN over and over again…HOWEVER…But just because synthetic is better doesn’t mean that regular dyno oil is BAD. It’s NOT…Today’s regular oil is EXCELLENT…MOST vehicles won’t have a problem using regular dyno oil for hundreds of thousands of miles.
Yeah, Caddyman, synthetic oil has been proven to be much better than the regular stuff. Great question, thanks.
If someone has unbiased proof that a car that doesn’t require synthetic oil will benefit from synthetic oil use, I would love to see it. To me, that is the important question.
Unless the owner’s manual specifies synthetic, you can change back and forth from dino to synthetic to your heart’s content with no actions beyond a simple oil change.
I’m with Whitey on this. I’d like to see evidence that synthetic extends the life of any engine that does not by design (or design error) require it.
I’ve owned cars for over 40 years, some for hudreds of thousands of miles, have used only dino (no turbocharged engines in the list), and have never worn an engine out. I’ve also yet to see any evidence that sythetic extends engine life or reliability longer than regular oil and filter changes with dino.
Because synthetic exhibits sone superior properties in a lab on the bench does not mean that the data relates to extended engine life in application. One needs to be very careful when drawing conclusions from lab tests.
If someone has unbiased proof that a car that doesn’t require synthetic oil will benefit from synthetic oil use, I would love to see it. To me, that is the important question.
Go to Alaska…or Northern Canada in the Middle of Winter when temps are -30 to -50. Synthetic is the ONLY thing to use. AGAIN…Those are EXTREME cases and 99.9999% of us don’t fall into that EXTREME case.
I would call any car in Alaska or Northern Canada one that probably requires synthetic oil because if its location, but I think we agree in principle.
Yup…Location…Location…Location.
Even I, the ornery old curmudgen, the skeptic, will concede Mike’s point. In extreme climates every little bit that might help is worth trying.
As a matter of fact, when I lived in North Dakota I learned that when buying a used car up there it’s entirely common for the car to look excellent but the internal components work out. But I’ve never seen anything that shows that snthetic would make a difference. Of course, synthetic didn’t exist when I lived in North Dakota.
Perhaps the marketers of synthetic oil should begin to compile studies in extreme climates as a selling point.
Right. Lab tests often produce conditions THAT DON’T EXIST in automobile engines. Then they promote a product that can withstand these laboratory conditions claiming it somehow benefits you. Since it costs a lot more, IT MUST be better, right?
Car makers with fragile automatic transmissions often specify “special” transmission fluids in an attempt to get these gearboxes to last through the warranty period. These magic fluids are seldom if ever synthetic based. If synthetic lubricants were so superior, you would think ALL transmission fluid would be synthetic right from the factory, since transmission failure under warranty is a nightmare for them, a FAR bigger problem than engine failure…