That's a bad method... you will quickly go broke. If you follow your DIC, you wouldn't have to do it so much! Haha!

 

Can this be set up to bump each and every month??? Wouldnt want Whopper to miss out on a quality oil change.....

 

You guys that switched to synthetic on 1st oil change are crazy... the rings will nevr seat on synthetic, you need at least 5000 miles before switching

 

Oh boy...here we go again....This has been discussed (and cussed) many times and found to be false....do a search.

But since you are making the statement, would you care to provide reasonable(and responsible) proof to support it. I have already provided statements from GM, indicating that your statement is BS (I call them, like I see them).

 

But now I am in a quandary with this whole issue with recommendations to use synthetic oil - do I use synthetic or non-synthetic!!!

I already have to pick up pop bottles in my spare time to afford all these dang oil changes - and I have been using non-synthetic so far. To change to synthetic, I would have to sell the car in order to afford the oil......... but that seems rather counter-productive.

 

GM won't void your warranty for switching to synthetic at mile 1, that's true. I've been in a dealership most of my adult life and am General Sales Manager of a GM store. The effect of an improperly broken in engine isn't within the warranty period anyways, it's at high mileage or race use... neither are a warranty concern, so GM could care less.
But, I've also spent the better part of a decade as an engine specialist. I know engines and have allot of experience from minor patches to performance build ups. I think I'll trust my opinion thanks, yours seems to reflect you to be a kind of person that feels you have to be right no matter what... I call it like it like I see it also. So no point in arguing your opinion, I won't be putting synthetic in my new engine or recommending it to any others.

 

Just as I thought.....an opinion....no facts or documentation. I spoke nothing of warranty. And I spoke nothing of proper or improper break in. The issue, as you claimed, is the harm to the engine.

If you do a search, you may find the statement by GM that I posted. But in a nutshell it states, the switch does NO harm to an engine and THAT CLAIM IS A MYTH. AND all regular (not crate)production engines, those built for "fossil" oil and synthetic, are built utilizing the same materials and technologies. So their multi million engines that are on the road, use synthetic directly from the factory to support that claim (not to mention, all the competitors as well).

As others know, I worked at GM's advanced engineering facility probably for more years than you turned a wrench (the sales experience means very little). So I'll stick with the MILLIONS of miles I witnessed on test vehicles.....especially after seeing them disassembled, measured and reassembled....then continue to accrue additional miles, measured and reassembled.

And you are correct, I feel I am correct and need to challenge misstatements when I see them. It is not a "personal thing" against you. That is just me....because I very much dislike lies (not that you are) mis-truths and misleading statements.

But, as you say, you can do what you wish......all I'm saying is don't supply info, that is contrary to the norm, without some valid support.

 

Snoopy I tend to agree with you that basically an engine will still break-in ok using synthetic. A number of bike owners have done it for years. And I have used semi-synthetic for years in my Goldwing - yeah it's not a full synthetic, but the darned full-synthetic is WAY expensive up here, and very hard to get.

I actually tried a full synthetic in the HHR last fall - the car had about 80 or 90K km at the time, and between oil changes would use at most, a quarter of a litre of oil, if any, over perhaps 5-7000 miles. I was quite surprised tho' with the synthetic when I checked the oil level to find it was down a bit more than a litre after maybe 3000m/5000Km.

I switched back to dino oil - and the oil consumption stopped. At first thought was it must have leaked - but nope - no leaks. So I'm back to using regular oil.

Any thoughts what might have caused it to go thru so much synthetic so quick?

 

After using dino oil for years, as it broke down with use, "cruds" up seals etc. Many synthetics have high detergent levels and it dissolves the crud allowing oil to leak. I had a buddy switch to synthetic on a high mileage car and it became his "hazmat" car as it leaked oil quite noticably. My 87 vintage car has used dino oil since new. My 88 vintage car had an engine swap years ago and it gets synthetic for the last 60K miles. The HHR had one oil change (a freebe from the dealer) at 5000 miles using dino oil. After that, it has gotten synthetic with no issues. Corvettes get synthetic oil from day one at the factory..that can't be a bad recommendation.

 

Yeah, since about 1990-91. And an addendum of others who get a factory fill of synthetic.....essentially any turbo or supercharged vehicle...and any real HyPer vehicle.


Whopper, the only answer I can give is what Old Lar wrote....SOMETIMES vehicles with higher mileage will yield unusual characteristics from a change to a synthetic oil.... although it may have be an anomoly/fluke. I personally have never had that experience.

And understand, I am not attempting to tell owners to change to OR use synthetic oil, or for that matter, how long you drive between changes. That is a personal decision based on your driving and environmental considerations.