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switching from synthetic to conventional oil question

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Old 12-10-05, 09:57 AM
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switching from synthetic to conventional oil question

the girl I bought my vert from has run syntec in it ever since shes had it, but I want to run conventional oil in it. She warned me against it and I am wondering why. Is there anything special I need to do to switch? Would it be ok to switch since thats all thats been in it? Im asking B/C I am new to 2nd gens....all I have had is1st gens, and I wouldnt run synthetic in them in the first place
Old 12-10-05, 10:08 AM
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well its the same as any other engine .. once u put synthetic in it u CANT go back to conventional ....its a total different type of lubrication .... as far as i know the only way to go back to conventional woul bd eot do a rebuild then go from there ... even then i would not adivse it unless its a major overhaul ... especial with the 13b ..... it relys so much on its lubrication that it would be a bad idea ull blow seals for sure
Old 12-10-05, 10:10 AM
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I have been told the same thing by some peoeple the ol' - Don't switch it buddy or you'll blow the motor, its always had synthetic so keep synthetic in it - but to be quite honest I have accidently switched oils on my old N/A 3 times and it still runs mint....

I can see where they are coming from given the different makeups of conventional vs. synthetic however I seriously can't see it having such an adverse effect that it will to major damge to the motor...because when it comes right down to it our motors will run on either oil..so really whats the difference?

I would say you are safe to switch but someone will undoubtably tell you otherwise, Ive found its best to keep your oil preferences to yourself around here, it just becomes a potaytoe potaatoe war after a while.
Old 12-10-05, 10:11 AM
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yes keep sythetic in it yes it costs more but it will keep your engine going. Just keep putting the exact same oil in that she did. If you do switch u prolly have no immediate effects but in the long run just keep to synthetic.
Old 12-10-05, 10:19 AM
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lol classic .. i saw a vidio of a honda civic running on water for 4 days b 4 the engine blew lol .. engines dont even need oil to run ..... i would stick with synthetic safest .... redline or royal purple .. check it out
Old 12-10-05, 10:22 AM
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Originally Posted by rotary downshift
lol classic .. i saw a vidio of a honda civic running on water for 4 days b 4 the engine blew lol .. engines dont even need oil to run ..... i would stick with synthetic safest .... redline or royal purple .. check it out
My builder put in Mobile! and thats what ive been sticking with, expensive and a bitch to find the 15w50 but seems worth it.
Old 12-10-05, 10:25 AM
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Dude, you can find Mobil 1 at Wal-mart. Five quarts is like $19.
Old 12-10-05, 10:25 AM
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that sounds like a load of crap. you really shouldn't run synthetics unless you've disabled the oil injection and you're premixing anyways, as most don't burn well when injected by the omp into the combustion chamber.

as far as a different kind of lubrication... mineral and synthetic do the same thing, they create a thin barrier in between metal surfaces that would otherwise directly contact. replacing one type of barrier with another of comparable quality is not going to hurt anything unless the two substances were incompatible when mixed because there would be residual synthetic after the first few oil changes. if that were true though, they wouldn't make synthetic/mineral blends.

if anyone has a real reason that this can't be done i'd like to hear it. as it is though, it sounds like an old redneck myth.
Old 12-10-05, 10:26 AM
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yeah thats the thing with synthetics ..... i know when i do my turbo swap ill be running royal purple and that willsuck thats a detergentless oil and ill be doing twice the work spending 3 times the money but having a much smoother engine and better lonjevity
Old 12-10-05, 10:30 AM
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Originally Posted by rotary downshift
as far as i know the only way to go back to conventional woul bd eot do a rebuild then go from there
what? why?

blow a seal for sure? are you kidding? just think about that for a second...

Last edited by alexdimen; 12-10-05 at 10:34 AM.
Old 12-10-05, 10:35 AM
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detergentlesss oil man ... after every oil change i will have to run a detergent through my engine then change that out .. then put the oil in again ... the cost of royal purple is rediculous .. and the the cost of ddetergent ... then just the time to do it ... it will take almost an hour to change my oil
Old 12-10-05, 10:42 AM
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what? just change the oil if u can make the switch to syn from the mineral u can go the other way around if its lubricating its lubricating? its not gunna BLOW UP or SEIZE its just gunna have residual oil from the syn im gunna make the move to castrol GTX 10-30 for this winter(i have 10 30 RP) i notice NO CHANGE everyone as RETed mentioned the PR stuff will show no real gains on this engine.... BTW everyone AMSOIL is the best as it has the greatest tolerances BUT its the hardest oil to move through the OMP and BTW i have STATS on this...from a chem engineer....just at work if u call me out on this i will back it up NOW everyone says run mineral it burns better but RP the rumor just comes from MAZDA NOT wanting to play favorites and picking WHAT syn to run and what SYN NOT to run... so they just call the whole thing off....RP is fine its not gunna hurt BUT im gong to switch to castrol its cheaper and will do the SAME **** if u inject water into motor once i month and remove carbon deposites i dont really see the harm in everything...
Old 12-10-05, 10:45 AM
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Originally Posted by alexdimen
that sounds like a load of crap. you really shouldn't run synthetics unless you've disabled the oil injection and you're premixing anyways, as most don't burn well when injected by the omp into the combustion chamber.

as far as a different kind of lubrication... mineral and synthetic do the same thing, they create a thin barrier in between metal surfaces that would otherwise directly contact. replacing one type of barrier with another of comparable quality is not going to hurt anything unless the two substances were incompatible when mixed because there would be residual synthetic after the first few oil changes. if that were true though, they wouldn't make synthetic/mineral blends.

if anyone has a real reason that this can't be done i'd like to hear it. as it is though, it sounds like an old redneck myth.

ahhh someone as well who has the ***** to defy the swirling redneck myths....

there is no question that synthetics as a straight lubricant have benefits over conventional, but nothing will be damaged in swicthing back and forth. But in the rotary when the bone stock oil injection system is in place (i.e.engine oil being ran through the OMP) one must consider how their choice of oil will affect things such as carbon build up on the rotor face.....synthetic is bad for this since its so hard to break down...but niether syn. nor conventionsl will burn off the rotor faces as well as 2 stroke....

either way, run whatever you want in there, its not gonna blow the motor to switch them once..
Old 12-10-05, 10:51 AM
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^ thank you!

i know mazda is reputed to have originally said not to run synthetics for the reason you said, but what i'm saying is that synthetics are more resistant to combustion and when you're using stock oil injection that can cause buildup... correct me if i'm wrong though

besides a more likely explanation that i heard is that mazda didn't test the engines using synthetics so they didn't take a chance by endorsing the use of them.
Old 12-10-05, 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by alexdimen
besides a more likely explanation that i heard is that mazda didn't test the engines using synthetics so they didn't take a chance by endorsing the use of them.
That is correct. Although Ted has claimed to see some engines with increased film build up inside the housings with synthetic oil run through, I never have.

And there is no reason what so every that you could not switch back and forth between using a synthetic and a conventional oil.

Hell you could even run 2 quarts synth and 4 quarts conventional oil if you wanted and there would be no issues with the mixed up oil.

Modern synthetics are completely compatible with all types of conventional oils.

So to again answer the thread starters question, you can just switch with no worries.
Old 12-10-05, 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by rotary downshift
well its the same as any other engine .. once u put synthetic in it u CANT go back to conventional ....its a total different type of lubrication .... as far as i know the only way to go back to conventional woul bd eot do a rebuild then go from there ... even then i would not adivse it unless its a major overhaul ... especial with the 13b ..... it relys so much on its lubrication that it would be a bad idea ull blow seals for sure
Are you for real? Please do not post misinformation.

I've gone back and forth between conventional during break-in, to synthetic after, to conventional when the store was out of Redline, and back to synthetic. No issues, no problems. Get your facts straight before you go spouting stuff like this please.
Old 12-10-05, 02:27 PM
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Originally Posted by Icemark
So to again answer the thread starters question, you can just switch with no worries.
Thanks Icemark
Old 12-11-05, 09:41 AM
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You can switch back and forth between synthetic and conventional oil as much as you like. The only risk is if have a high mileage engine that was run with conventional oil for a long period and then you decide to switch to synthetic. The risk is synthetic may dislodge sludge that has built up over time and cause problems for you.

Anyway, just FYI, Syntec ain't a real synthetic oil anyway. Its merely conventional oil that has been refined a lot-severely hydrocracked.
Old 12-11-05, 09:50 AM
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Originally Posted by rotary downshift
well its the same as any other engine .. once u put synthetic in it u CANT go back to conventional ....its a total different type of lubrication .... as far as i know the only way to go back to conventional woul bd eot do a rebuild then go from there ... even then i would not adivse it unless its a major overhaul ... especial with the 13b ..... it relys so much on its lubrication that it would be a bad idea ull blow seals for sure
Dude, I think you need to put the crack pipe down for a bit. I have never in my 26 years heard such nonsense.
Old 12-11-05, 10:06 AM
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Originally Posted by rotary downshift
detergentlesss oil man ... after every oil change i will have to run a detergent through my engine then change that out .. then put the oil in again ... the cost of royal purple is rediculous .. and the the cost of detergent ... then just the time to do it ... it will take almost an hour to change my oil
I'm not sure what to think of this.

Taken from Royal Purple's website; Royal Purple's racing oils are formulated with detergents / dispersants necessary for daily use. So

Non detergent motor oil was common in cars up until the sixties. Your car NEEDS detergent oils. Detergents in the oil keep the dirt under suspension so it can be ran through the oil pump and filter. Non detergent oils just let the dirt settle out. Which is perfect for OLD vehicles that do not have oil pumps. Back in the old days there were no oil filters or pumps, just oil dippers on the connecting rod caps. Just another way modern technology helps us.

Anyways, to the author, run what you want and don't worry about it. I personally run Castrol 20w50 in mine.

Last edited by inflatablepets; 12-11-05 at 10:11 AM.
Old 12-20-05, 12:21 AM
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they had a test on royal purple and it added like 4 hp by just changing the oil probably from conventional not totally sure but that was on a piston engine that didnt have oil injection
Old 12-28-05, 01:42 AM
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i have switched to syntetic in all my vehicles just done a 5oo mile flush (incase of sludge breaking up) never a problem
Old 12-28-05, 02:57 AM
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Originally Posted by inflatablepets
I'm not sure what to think of this.

Taken from Royal Purple's website; Royal Purple's racing oils are formulated with detergents / dispersants necessary for daily use. So

Non detergent motor oil was common in cars up until the sixties. Your car NEEDS detergent oils. Detergents in the oil keep the dirt under suspension so it can be ran through the oil pump and filter. Non detergent oils just let the dirt settle out. Which is perfect for OLD vehicles that do not have oil pumps. Back in the old days there were no oil filters or pumps, just oil dippers on the connecting rod caps. Just another way modern technology helps us.

Anyways, to the author, run what you want and don't worry about it. I personally run Castrol 20w50 in mine.


uh dude not trying to flame but what do you me an old cars dont have oil pumps I have replace the oil pump on my 1964 dodge darts origanal engine before i swapped it no flame intended just curious
Old 12-29-05, 06:07 PM
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Originally Posted by 1989fcvert
uh dude not trying to flame but what do you me an old cars dont have oil pumps I have replace the oil pump on my 1964 dodge darts origanal engine before i swapped it no flame intended just curious

Go back even older. Had a 1950 Chevrolet pick-up. It had a 216 ci Thriftmaster inline six. No oil pump. The demise of this engine was due to the dipstick vibrating and coming in contact with one of the oil dippers on a connecting rod cap thusly breaking the dipper off. The bearing was then destroyed due to a lack of lubrication. The old system befor pumps were used was called "spash lubrication" To sum it up, that old truck motor wasn't meant for running 60-70 mph on a trip to tyhe northwestern trip to Iowa. About a 10 hour drive from where I live. Damn I miss that old truck. There were a few other motors out there I've dealt with like that as well, but I can't remember what makes there were. When I was in High school I had a friend that had a 67 Olds Delta 88 with a 330 "Super Rocket V-8" that didn't use an oil filter. I think it was also splash lubricated but can't remember for sure.
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