Not in all cases. Synthetics generally need less VIIs than dino oil, for a given viscosity range.
Perhaps a 5w20 synth can be formulated without VII, but 0w40 or 5w50 certainly will need VII.
So what auto manufacturer has a different OEM filter for regular oil and synthetic?
Of the filters Rockauto lists for the CLK320, thereâs a 3000 mile Beck Arnley:
And a 10,000 mile one which is only $0.38 more:
The so called synthetic oil filters use fiberglass instead of paper for the filtering element. It lasts longer. But you can use synthetic oil with a paper filter and there is nothing stopping you from using a fiberglass filter with dino oil. The âsyntheticâ oil filters would be more accurately called long life filters.
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I know many aftermarket filter companies make synthetic and paper filters. But what manufacturer sellls different filters. I know Toyota and Nissan donât. I think their filters are made by Denso.
Stop âexercisingâ your car. For godâs sakes, its not a human bodyâŠlol. Run it at most monthly if you must. As far as oil changes, they claim minimum once a year but where did that âmagicâ number come from? I would though, if going by miles, do it the 7000 as that combined with your low miles driven (not properly heating the motor every time) make some sense.
The Blackstone guy found old oil in the original cans, in some cases decades old. He actually used some of them in his own cars or pickups. They tested like new, which does not mean to current standards for new oil today. He concluded oil does not deteriorate in the can, at least not a significant amount.
I see good in almost all opinions here. It comes down to each person investigating and making a thoughtful decision, then sticking by it.
in the case of my 2002 Sienna parked in Texas for months at a time, with Mobil-1 EP, I went back and drove it around a few hundred miles after being parked for 8 months. I did not change the oil nor filter, and next year will (NOT) do the same thing. That oil is fine and will be fine for several years without changing.
I will probably eventually pull a sample and have Blackstone tell me who is correct as I did some years ago to resolve the question of whether synthetic oil will last longer than Dino. It indeed does.
Blanket rules are for people who lack detailed information or the ability to evaluate the information they have. And, of course, to try to convince dummies to open the hood once in a while, heh, heh.
My personal opinion is to tell newbies here that they should follow the manufacturerâs recommendation until and unless they get sufficient experience to differ in rare case. AND IN EVERY CASE WHILE THE WARRANTY IS STILL IN EFFECT!!!
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Recently, it was time to do a transmission fluid and filter service on my momâs car
In my garage, I had several sealed quart containers of the correct fluid, factory fluid, not some generic stuff, FWIW
Now let me add a few details, to make it more interesting . . .
The fluid was at least 10-15 years old, but as I said, the seal had never been broken. Unopened quart containers
The fluid meets the spec listed in the ownerâs manual
But at some point in the past, the car manufacturer issued a bulletin instructing dealership personnel to start using fluid meeting a newer spec . . . which was, naturally, CONSIDERABLY more expensive. The stated reason was quite logical. They wanted to only stock one atf, for logistical reasons. And the newer atf was backwards compatible.
I figured, since my supply was factory fluid which met the manufacturerâs specs when the car was built, Iâll use it. Financially, it would have been foolish to throw it out unused.
It would be like if a guy had unused supplies of genuine AC Delco Dexron 3, and decided to not use it, because itâs been superseded by Dexron 6. Never mind that his truck is a 1992 Silverado, and Dexron 6 wasnât even around.
In case anybodyâs curious . . . this wasnât the first time I used atf from old, unopened, sealed containers. I did it a few years ago on that same car. No ill effects. And now it was time to do it again. Unfortunately, Iâve now used up my supply of factory atf. So Iâll actually have to buy atf next time.
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You canât eyeball oil and tell definitivelywhether it is good or not.
As to motor oil, the problem is contaminants in the oil. That means moisture, combustion byproducts, dust inhalation, and so on. Synthetic oil will take on those contaminants just as easily as regular dino oil will.
The only advantage synthetic has is that it will stand up to heat a little better.
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