I have been told by my daughter’s know-it-all fiance that I should use non-synthetic oil for the first 10,000 miles on my new 2010 Chevy Equinox with AWD and 2.4L 4 cyl. engine, then only change over to synthetic. He claims that there are chemicals in the non-synthetic that will aid in seating the rings properly.
I say that this is nonsense. I also have a 1998 Chevy S-10 4WD that I switched to synthetic after the first 1,000 miles. The vehicle has over 150,000 miles on it with oil changes done done every 5,000 miles. I have never had any engine problems.
BTW, Madagasscar Hissing Cockroaches can be easily gotten rid of by coating a stick of dynamite with rancid borrazoni cheese, which is their favorite food next to linguini with white clam sauce. Once the roach begins to feed, simply denonate the dynamite.
Thank you
With modern engines, after 1,000 miles, the rings should be well seated.
Apparently, he doesn’t know it all.
Motor oil obsessive-compulsives have their own web-site, bobistheoilguy.com…Here, huge mining equipment is needed to move the manure piles from one spot to another…But even here, a thread like this can draw 30 or 40 posts…
The most important thing about motor oil (98% of battle) with engine life is actually changing on on a periodic basis and making sure it is topped within 1 qt.
The remaining 2% is oil brand, type, filter, synthetic vs non-synthetic.
He does not know it all! There are no magic chemicals in non-synthetic that will “seat” the rings. On the contrary, regular oil is less slippery than synthetic and will cause enough initial wear on the cylinders and rings to seat them properly so the car does not consume any oil later.
But, as others point out, today’s engines are much more precision manufcatured so that this initial seating is less important.
Having said all this, my Toyota dealer recommends synthetic after the 2nd oil chnage, which would be at 10,000 miles or so. They make a lot of money on synthetic oil, but still recommend it not be used right away. Personally, I recommend one regular oil change and then synthetic; some engines still require some “wearing” in.
Tell him to make his fortune NOW while he still knows it all. Tell him you get less intelligent as you age.
Amen.
Well, it’s like Earl Weaver, Manager of the Baltimore Orioles in their winning years said, "It’s what you learn AFTER you know it all that counts.
Thanks to all for your comments and help.
Al in MD
The rings of this era aren’t like the old ones. Now, they are malleable iron and they should be shiny and not need break-in.