Full Synthetic or Conv Motor Oil

dlynes

dlynes

Experienced Member
Joined
4 July 2004
Messages
1,189
Location
Augusta, GA
I have owned my NSX for 7 years and have driven over 75,000 miles.

The only oil I have ever used in all my vehicles is Castrol GTX.

I am heavily leaning towards switching to a full synthetic oil (mobil 1 or Castrol's synthetic).

I use to drive my car daily but over the last two years, I only drive my car btwn 2,500 miles to 5,000 miles.

pro's, con's?

My main reasons for switching are:

less breakdown, longer intervals and lasts longer, ability to sustain higher temps better, better gas miles, pro-long engine life

Thanks,

PS I had my entire engine rebuilt 4 years ago.
 
Full synthetic motor oil is better than conventional in almost all aspects.

I believe there is no reason to buy anything but full synthetic when you can buy a five quart jug of mobil 1 or pennzoil platinum/ultra for $25.

You cant go wrong with either mobil one or pennzoil platinum or ultra. I prefer pennzoil. The pennzoil synthetics also keep the internals very clean. I run ultra in both the nsx and my integra gsr and both look perfect under the valve covers. Pennzoil has always rated high in wear tests.

I always change oil at 3k miles even with the full synthetic. There is no reason not to, especially when you only drive around 3k miles every year.
 
Last edited:
why did you use dino oil in the past and why now do you want to switch?
 
tbnsxt said:
I always change oil at 3k miles even with the full synthetic. There is no reason not to, especially when you only drive around 3k miles every year.
Click to expand...

why change your oil every 3k miles?

you do not think that's a waste of money and a waste of oil?
 
docjohn said:
why did you use dino oil in the past and why now do you want to switch?
Click to expand...

I've always been a true believer by do as the guy that built and designed your car recommends...

why considering switching it now...after much talks with friends about it.
 
tbnsxt said:
Full synthetic motor oil is better than conventional in almost all aspects.

I believe there is no reason to buy anything but full synthetic when you can buy a five quart jug of mobil 1 or pennzoil platinum/ultra for $25.

You cant go wrong with either mobil one or pennzoil platinum or ultra. I prefer pennzoil. The pennzoil synthetics also keep the internals very clean. I run ultra in both the nsx and my integra gsr and both look perfect under the valve covers. Pennzoil has always rated high in wear tests.

I always change oil at 3k miles even with the full synthetic. There is no reason not to, especially when you only drive around 3k miles every year.
Click to expand...

The ONLY motor oil that I will put in my fleet of cars and trucks is the Pennzoil Ultra for the engine.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/uVt7eeBKvDQ?feature=player_detailpage" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Pennzoil Platnium was the best until the Ultra came out.

Funny thing is that Platinum wear ratings is so darn close to Amsoil's Signature Series (their best engine oil) that when the Ultra came out there wasn't anymore wear ratings that Amsoil released on the Ulta. I suspect that the Ultra may be better than Amsoil now.

I've mentioned this in my engine build thread when my engine builder pulled my engine apart he was amazed that there was NO varnish at all in the NSX engine with 120k~ miles.

Also the wear and tear of the lubricated parts looked like they had 20k miles.

He asked what oil I used and I said Ultra and he was a total convert.

Nothing beats opening up ur engine and inspecting for varnish and wear and tear. Certainly beats hearsay and subjective ramblings about what oil is good or not.

solidol said:
I always used Amsoil full synthetic in all my cars and NSX would be no exception.
Click to expand...

I use amsoil grease, tranny oil and brake fluid.

Torco makes the best diff fluid and the engine oil is used by the US military for their LS2 powered UAV planes.

Torco didn't even know that the US military was using their oil for over a decade. The Military said that they picked Torco since in their tests it protected the engine the most over the other oils that were tested.
 
I've recently switched to Castrol Titanium full synthetic from Mobil 1. I can say that I love the Titanium! It doesn't burn either. I've always been thinking about amsoil though. Maybe the next oil change hahaha
 
SPTNSX said:
I've recently switched to Castrol Titanium full synthetic from Mobil 1. I can say that I love the Titanium! It doesn't burn either. I've always been thinking about amsoil though. Maybe the next oil change hahaha
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's a fine product but I hate the marketing tactic of adding "titanium" to the name, especially if there is no actual titanium in the product (not that I would want titanium floating around in my oil).
 
dlynes said:
I've always been a true believer by do as the guy that built and designed your car recommends...

why considering switching it now...after much talks with friends about it.
Click to expand...

You builder told you to use conventional oil because it is necessary to help seat the rings properly in the cylinder. Using synthetic oil prevents the friction necessary to seat the rings properly. That is why most engine builders specify regular oil for the initial break-in period.

Based on your post, you have had plenty of time/miles to break in the engine and switching to synth now is fine. There is nothig wrong with continuing to use Castrol GTX, as long as you follow the regular change interval. Switching to synth however may extend the life of the engine by reducing overall friction and cleaning better. I use Mobil 1 10W-30 in my NSX. The Pennzoil Ultra mentioned by Batman is also great stuff.
 
Honcho said:
You builder told you to use conventional oil because it is necessary to help seat the rings properly in the cylinder. Using synthetic oil prevents the friction necessary to seat the rings properly. That is why most engine builders specify regular oil for the initial break-in period.

Based on your post, you have had plenty of time/miles to break in the engine and switching to synth now is fine. There is nothig wrong with continuing to use Castrol GTX, as long as you follow the regular change interval. Switching to synth however may extend the life of the engine by reducing overall friction and cleaning better. I use Mobil 1 10W-30 in my NSX. The Pennzoil Ultra mentioned by Batman is also great stuff.
Click to expand...

thanks,

It's been a long time since I ever priced synthetic but yesterday I looked and I was amazed to see it's only $10 or so more to switch per gallon.

I'll definatley be switching...

mobil one or pennzoil ultra...
 
sso_4ball_400px.gif
 
Dave


Mobil 1 they invented synthetic so I think they know their stuff.

but some of the specs of the other oil do look nice your choice.

Mobil 1 always in any of my cars.

my NSX I change the oil once a month.

like others have said its the load and driving that eats the oil.

redline to redline my NSX needs it changed almost weekly LOL

where you been man.
 
Last edited:
I run Mobil 1 in all my cars and my motorcycles. Mercedes recommends it so there is no question there. and the NSX seems to run a little smoother (of course that is a seat of the pants assesment)

The bikes just seem to shift smoother with Mobil 1 vs other brands i have tried.
 
shawn110975 said:
Dave


Mobil 1 they invented synthetic so I think they know their stuff.

but some of the specs of the other oil do look nice your choice.

Mobil 1 always in any of my cars.

my NSX I change the oil once a month.

like others have said its the load and driving that eats the oil.

redline to redline my NSX needs it changed almost weekly LOL

where you been man.
Click to expand...

u may want to use blackstone labs for ur oil analysis. ur oil change intervals seems like a waste of $ considering that one of the advantages of synthetics is a longer change interval.

i change my nsx oil every 10k miles and im the only NSX owner that had the engine opened up after almost 100k of doing just that.

the shop was stunned at how little wear and tear there was. and how there was no varnish.

Synthetic oil has been around since the late 1930's when German scientist Dr. Hermann Zornteri invented it. The first synthetic oil was used in German aircraft engines in the Second World War. By the mid 1960's Chevron was the first company to produce a complete range of 100% synthetic oils. Although synthetic oil was used in the aerospace industry for many years it did not become available for*automobile*engines until the American Petroleum Institute (API) approved the formula. In 1972 Amsoil sold one of the first synthetic oils for*cars, which was their 10W-40.*
 

Similar threads

L
1991 Acura NSX, Red, Ivory Interior, Manual 9.2k miles
Replies
22
Views
1K
whs520
whs520
N
  • Locked
***SOLD*** 1991 NSX, 5MT, Red/Ivory, 68600 miles, JH4NA1156MT002504
Replies
2
Views
2K
dansplan
dansplan
LooseNut
  • Locked
SOLD! 1994 NSX For Sale 66k miles 2 owners Comptech SC
Replies
2
Views
3K
LooseNut
LooseNut
Old Guy
Motor Oil Dilema?
Replies
16
Views
3K
The King
The King
mchang
1992 NSX Supercharged Red/Black 5-Speed 114,300 jh4na1151nt000158
Replies
1
Views
4K
mchang
mchang
Back
Top