you guys make me laugh.. i used walmart 20w50 for breakin of the engine i build for my car, why? cuz it;s cheap and i am throwing 2 pans of oil away over 2k miles, after that i threw in some castol gtx 20w50, why? cause the bottle it comes in is easier too pour!

 

Haha i bought the gallon bottle the other week and underestimated the pouring distance and managed to make a nice little trail of oil to my oil filler

 

I use 10w-50 Elf Synthetic in my car. As for 2 stroke I use Valvoline Multi-Purpose TCW-3, the blue bottle.

 

I alway use synthetic but Ive been swapping brands alot throughout my different cars. I originally used mobil1, then went to RP, and now Ive been using idemitsu. I have been considering using ELF on my new project but might end up using redline for convenience.

 

20W50 Castrol GTX here also. The FSM really tells you to change oil at 7500 miles!?

 

i use gtx 20W50 too. but isnt 7500 miles too long?

 

AMEN now that it is in the states and it is priced right why not...

let me knwo if u need any more.. I still have cases of the 10w50

 

+1

 

Thats what I said, my engine would be starved on the same oil at 7500 miles. I would say MAYBE if you keep the car under 4k the entire time..

 

This topic comes up every few weeks and almost every time it sparks a 3-4 page discussion. Why?

 

It depends on what type of driving you do.

IIRC, it's 3000 for severe driving and 5000 for normal driving for turbos, 5000 and 7500 for NA's. Most rotary mechanics will recommend that you follow the turbo oil change schedule regardless. I follow my personal mechanic's advice and change between 2500-300 miles normally, 2000-2500 miles during race season.

On an interesting note about synthetics, while the good ones won't harm your engine, they don't help much either. After every race season, my mechanic gets many engines to tear down and rebuild. He says there's not one lick of difference between the engines that ran dino oil and the engines that ran synth oil after tearing the engines apart.

If you have to do any of the following, you are considered in the severe driving category:

Repeated Short Distance Driving
Driving in dusty conditions
Driving with extended use of brakes
Driving in areas with road salt or other corrosive materials
Driving on rough and/or muddy roads
Extended periods of idling and/or low speed operation
Driving for prolonged periods in cold temperature and/or extremely humid climates

That being said here are my picks:

per the FSM:

5w30 during winter time when you know the highest temperature you get will be 32 degrees. (SEVERE driving conditions if you live in this type of climate, 3000 mile oil change intervals if you even have to use 5w30)
10w30 during warmer winters when the lowest temperature you will ever see is 0F. If it does get that cold, 3000 mile oil change intervals. If you live in warmer, drier areas, you may be able to get away with the 5000 mile interval.
20w50 during winters where the lowest temperature you see is 25F. Usually, if you're in a place where you run 20w50, and don't drive your car hard, you can get away with 5000 mile intervals.

As soon as the low temperature passes 40 degrees for me, I switch to 20w50 on my next oil change. Below that, since it never really gets to 0F, even at night in the winter, I'll use 10w30.

My brand picks:

Dino: Castrol GTX, Shell
Synth: Idemitsu, RP, Mobil 1
Synth I haven't used: Redline, Amsoil, ELF

 

There is no way you went 180k miles on 1 oil change. Especially in a engine that burns oil by design.

 

Pretty much whatever's a decent name and inexpensive. Oh, and not synthetic. Usually Penzoil or Castrol. 5w30 in the winter, 10w30 in spring/fall, and sometimes 20w50 in the summer. Ohio goes through drastic weather changes, and I put on about 10k miles a year, so I change every 2500 miles/3months, and put in the oil that's recommended in the haynes manual for what the weather will be like for the next 3 months

 

Maybe he leaks/burns/consumes enough oil that he just drops in a new quart every week, keeping new mostly oil circulating through it regularly

 

I use valvoline 10w30 every 2k miles, Has worked great for me.

 

the recommendations from the factory service manual is posted above for everyone to see, in case they're interested.

Nothing wrong with good synthetics, everything wrong with bad ones.

 

Might try out some redline later this month, its getting close.