5 gallons isn’t worthwhile for oil reclaiming companies to deal with @wes. Many McParts stores welcome you to dump your oil in their tank which is occasionally picked up to recycle. The reclaiming companies don’t want to stop for small amounts. I don’t know what the market rate is for waste oil in small lots but it’s likely less than 10c/gallon. Over the years I was glad to have someone carry my waste away and give me a receipt that proved it was properly disposed of. No one ever offered to buy it. The potential liability regarding holding several hundred gallons of waste oil can break a shop.
@dagosa … I’ve noted your comment. I will probably change my mind about synthetic oil sometime in the future. I know it’s good stuff but I still am not convinced that it’s that good. Remember…I just recently changed my mind about TPMS. I have the system on my HHR and I really like it. I found it to be extremely accurate and can now hook up my little air pump to a tire and monitor the pressure from the dash. I’m “old school” but still learning. I will never accept ethanol in gasoline though as a good idea…not in a million years.
As far as the whole “synthetic vs conventional” debate goes, just remember that the line between what is synthetic and what is convetional…is getting downright blurry.
Motor oil basestock is divided into 5 groups: I, II, III, IV, V–and (in the US, at least) anything from III up can be called “synthetic.” Now, while IV and V truly are laboratory-synthesized esters and whatnot, group III is derived from dino juice…just very refined, and meeting some exacting performance criteria. So, your “synthetic” oil probably came, in large part, out of a well somewhere.
In addition, there is nothing saying a branded “conventional” can’t have some synthetic makeup. Many oil blends have to meet criteria like DEXOS and other MFR-specific criteria over and above API S[whatever], and may well decide the easiest way to meet it is to use some % synthetic stock. They aren’t required to market it as a blend if they don’t want to!
As far as I’m concerned, synthetics really shine in turbos or other high-temp operations, in extended drain intervals, and when a really broad viscosity spread is needed. Outside of that, a good API-rated oil is a lot cheaper, and will pretty much ensure that the engine will be the last part of your vehicle to wear out! I can bargain-shop and get dino for my F150 at $2.00/qt or less. I doubt that synthetic would go long enough to be cheaper in the long run, and even to try and find out, I’d need to pay for oil analysis to see where the “sweet spot” is for oil change interval.
(If I lived north of the Arctic Circle, I just might consider a switch to a synthetic 0w30, to ease starts at -40!)
Most landfill sites have a used oil tank. Ours has a tank for used oil, antifreeze, and a dock for used paint. It all gets recycled somehow.
Most landfill sites have a used oil tank. Ours has a tank for used oil, antifreeze, and a dock for used paint. It all gets recyclked somehow.
Our town uses the used oil to heat the DPW buildings.
lighter weight oil is used in newer higher tolerance motors. it increased horsepower and fuel economy (probably on an unnoticeable level). running thicker oils will be more restrictive and may cause oil starvation. there’s really not a reason to run what they recommend
also the first number is cold viscosity the second is warm viscosity and w does stand for winter not weight
wow didnt see 7 pages looks like the topic changed a little
Everyone keeps saying higher tolerance engines. Higher tolerance does not mean tighter clearances, it only means there is less tolerance for the clearance. I.e a 0.1mm clearance +/- 0.0001 would be a tighter tolerance than 0.1mm +/- 0.001. If only the tolerance is changes, then a lighter oil would not be required.
A lighter oil would be required if the clearance was tighter. Has anyone seen numbers that would indicate that modern clearances are tighter than they used to be for bearings, ring gap etc? I can see where newer engines with variable valve timing and chain tensioners that rely on oil pressure, which can vary with the viscosity of the oil, may need a tighter tolerance on the oil and therefore require synthetic oil be used.
ok good point not really tolerances as much as clearances which are different from car to car. that’s why a thicker oil may not be good in a car with smaller clearances cause it would flow enough it would be like suck molasses through a straw. there are cars that do run tighter tolerances but your rite it shouldn’t have to do with oil type.
I have another bigger question, but it is really for the oil companies, why didn’t they add a dye to the oil so that it would be readily visible. The reason I ask is that I took my new Subaru in for its 3000 first oil change under the two year maintenance contract.
This is done with antifreeze and with some ATFs. It should be controlled by API so that all the oil companies comply to the same standard.
The car specifies 0w20, but immediately after the oil change, my gas mileage dropped by about 1 mpg and its performance degraded slightly. The engine also makes much more noise under harder acceleration (CVT above 2200 rpm) and when cold. The changes were immediate and it makes me wonder if they used the wrong oil.
At the 7500 mile oil change, I am going to watch a lot closer. The engine does have a timing chain and variable valve timing. The 6 cylinder engines still use the timing belt and call for 5w30.
Opinions on oil is like politics or religion. That being said, I like the comment about the additive packages. Also, the base oil may have a much better film strength when compared to a conventional oil. The Toyota extended change interval reminds me a lot of the European makes and their specified oils. I am not familiar with the Toyota spec but am wondering if it also meets the Euro requirements. If so, this is good stuff. Use it but decide if you want to change it sooner than specified.
Also, the viscosity range may be important for proper operation of hydraulic components as previously mentioned. This includes valve lifters/lash adjusters, variable valve timing, tensioners, and such. There are some engines where using too thick of an oil can overpump hydraulic lifters and lead to burned valves.
I use 0W20 IN my 2012 Camry because that is what it calls for. The requirement is to change at one year or 100000 miles whichever comes first. I drive about 7000 miles a year so that seems about right. If I drove 10000 a year I don’t know if I could make myself go that many miles.
I still check it at least once a month, which coincidentally is what the manual recommends.
I have to laugh though, my first 7 cars either had a metal canister filter with a replaceable element or no filter at all.
When they first came out with the metal spin on filters we had to pay dearly for them because “they cost more to make” . Now we are paying more for a tiny replaceable element and dealing with more of a mess.
@oldtimer_11: “The requirement is to change at one year or 100000 miles whichever comes first.”
I think you might have typed an extra zero in that number.
Oh, I should have told you I bought the ULTRA long life oil :). Of course you are right!
I suspect motor oils, especially synthetics, could last for 100,000 miles if it weren’t for all the soot, moisture, and dilution from fuel that oils have to deal with each time an engine is run. AS someone else commented, other types of lubes have much longer lives.
I suspect motor oils, especially synthetics, could last for 100,000 miles if it weren't for all the soot, moisture, and dilution from fuel that oils have to deal with each time an engine is run. AS someone else commented, other types of lubes have much longer lives.
100k…maybe not that far…but 25k isn’t unheard of. This is well documented on vehicles that run on NG or Propane. The gas burns so much cleaner that there’s very little byproduct to pollute the oil with.
http://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/natural_gas_maintenance_safety.html
True. I was meaning if an engine could run without generating the gasses or moisture at all. I am not an expert but would suspect that LP and NG engines generate the same amount of water vapor as all the rest of the dirtier burning engines out there. I wonder how long an engine could run on a fill of oil if one could run with no heat generation, moisture, or soot, just the mechanical stress on the oil. I bet it would be long time but of course that isn’t how it is in the real world.
Oil is degraded by heat and sheer forces. There is very little contamination in todays engines. The better the oil can handle sheer and heat, the longer it will last.
There is an oil that would not only last the live of your vehicle, you would drain it out and use it in your next new vehicle. Its called Fullerium aka Bucky Balls. Instead of being a hydrocarbon where sheets of carbon atoms, surrounded by hydrogen atoms, slip against each other, it is pure carbon with 60 atoms forming a sphere similar to a soccer ball. It has a surface hardness of a diamond, but it is as flexible as a deflated rubber ball. It lubricates without sheering.
The problem is that it can’t be mass produced, yet.