cerberusM5

Hey guys,

If I change my oil every 2,000 miles on my 05' with a Comptech supercharger, is there any advantage of using a synthetic versus conventional oil?

Thanks.

kleecker

Not even from a technical standpoint, what price can you put on peace of mind in spending the extra $25-$40 per oil change?

Then you get into deciding between the petroleum based (common) synthetics (e.g. Mobil 1) and the pure synthetics ($$$).

xviper

I don't know about Comptech, but Vortech specifically recommends the use of synthetic oil in the engine. I believe this has to do with the flow characteristics and flash point of synthetics for supercharger duty. The oil feed is a very narrow passageway for which synthetics can negotiate far better when oil temps aren't up to operating and the oil jacket around the main bearing is subject to tremendous heat and friction - far greater than the engine would ever encounter.
You might want to read the Comptech manual thoroughly to see if it mentions anything about using synthetic.

cerberusM5

Hey guys,

I am an easy sell; I will continue to use Mobil One.

However, what is the difference between Mobil One, which I thought was already a full synthetic and premium pure synthetic oils?

Thanks again.

cerberusM5

Another question.

What viscosity do you guys recommend in chilly Las Vegas? The car does see high RPM use all the time.

Thanks.

xviper

I always thought that Mobil 1 is a "full" synthetic. And what's the difference between "full" synthetic and "pure" synthetic anyway? Sounds like marketing.

I live in one of the coldest climates you can daily drive an S2000 and I've been using Mobil 1 5W30 in the cold winter months for the first 4 years of the car's life. This past year, I decided I'd just stick with M 1 10W30 all winter. Never a problem. M1 actually flows very well in extreme cold as opposed to dino oil of the same viscosity.

gomarlins3

Mobil1 10W30 for me.

Harpoon

Redline is considered to be a full synthetic, right?

kleecker

Here's some info I got from Motul some years back which I have edited a bit:

The most common synthetic oils are PAOs, short for POLY-ALPHA-OLEFINE -or easier to understand, it is a SYNTHESIZED Petroleum oil. It is refined in a special process, or in simple words " synthesized". It still starts out by being pumped out of the ground. PAO's are better than regular petroleum oil for handling heat, oxidation, low temperature startups and higher film strength. The drawback is- PAO and petroleum based , you have to build up oil pressure and have rotation BEFORE a film is produced. Simply put,you have to hydroplane the engine parts like you hydroplane a car in the rain to create a film of oil! (Or in the case of water-skiing, you have to build speed for the skier to get up and plane on the water) PAO's are NOT VERY expensive because they are made from crude oil and produced in large quantities. You can usually tell when PAO's are the main ingredient used, the cost of the 100% synthetic oil is less than $7.00 per quart.

The other main type of synthetics are, SYNTHETIC ESTERS. (Diesters, Polyolesters, polyeseters and complex esters) ESTERS ARE MOSTLY MADE OF VEGETABLES, minerals and animal fatty acids. Esters are much more expensive because the ingredients all have to be collected from natural resources and synthesized in smaller quantities. ESTERS CAN HANDLE HEAT BETTER THAN PAO's AND WHEN BURNED LEAVE FAR LESS (COKING) DEPOSITS. ESTERS ARE STATIC types of oil, and are attracted to metal parts with an ELECTRO-CHEMICAL BOND; no more metal-to-metal start ups - there is a film there before the oil pressure light goes out, preventing premature wear of high stressed parts like cam lobes.

THE NUMBER 1 REASON TO RUN AN ESTER SYNTHETIC OIL is BOND. The electro-chemical bond is made beacause the Ester molecule is polar. Sort of like a refrigerator magnet; it is attracted to metal and sticks. PAO MOLECULES ARE NEUTRAL and act like a piece of plastic placed on the fridge, they just fall off. All commercial jet plane flying, use an ester synthetic of some type , not a PAO.


With petroleum oils there is a much better risk of failure from volatility problems than with synthetics. HAVE YOU EVER BURNED BUTTER while cooking? The running temp or maximum temp is low. When butter reaches its maximum running temp it starts to evaporate (volatility) then it carbonizes and then it sticks to the metal pan. Now compare butter to VEGETABLE OIL, in which you deep fry "French fries". Carbonization of vegetable oils occurs at much higher temperature than butter.

Petroleum based oils are like butter as far as handling heat. And (ester) SYNTHETICS are like VEGETABLE oils; (ester) synthetics won't burn up and stick to your engine parts or go out the breather as fast as petroleum oils will. Ester synthetics leave almost no DEPOSITS if they do burn; THIS IS THE SECOND REASON to run an (ester) SYNTHETIC OIL .

That help?

Harpoon

Which oils are synthetic esters?