Hi Guys/Gals
My question is this. I thought about adding synthetic oil into my engine. The engine has approximately 50 miles on it and I wanted to know how much mileage should I have on the car before you believe I can change it over. My friend, who is a mechanic, told me he doesn't believe I should put synthetic in the car because I'm not putting a "load" on it. I asked him what he meant by that and he stated, Are you going to drag race it? I said no and he said it wasn't necessary. What does everyone think? I told him I thought it was good because the car wouldn't see a lot of miles and sits a lot. He said it wasn't necessary. Hes a great mechanic, but I'm still not sure what I should do and when. Thanks for your opinions.
synthetic is just better, makes parts run smoother thats all, and with synthetic you dont have to change your oil till ever 5,000 i think it is, but i use valvoline full synthetic, 10W-30 and still change it every 2500,
I baby mine,
but as far as the whole drag racing thing, no thats not what synth is for, i say if you want to baby it go ahead, nothing will come bad of using syth oil
__________________
*1994 Mustang GT Laser Red w/ White Stripes -
GT40P heads, Cobra Upper & Lower Intake w/ 1/2 Spacer, Ford Racing Ceramic Coated Shorties, 2.25" Exhaust No cats, Flowmaster 40s, 3.5" Stainless Steel Tips, Ford Racing 3.73's, K&N CAI, EdelBrock Chrome Valve Covers, 17" Silver Cobra R rims, Brembo Rotors, 94' Cobra Calipers!
*1982 GMC High Sierra6.2l Diesel 4X4-
Custom CAI, Custom 4" Stainless Steel Stacks, 4:56 Posi, Dana 44 F, Dana 70 R, 15" Bullethole Rims, 33" BFG's, A.K.A BigRED
Hello. I use Mobil1 20W50 in my car. I could go into all sorts of reasons for this, that and the other thing, but, the bottom line is that's what I put in mine, and have since I rebuilt the motor like 10 years ago. I've probably put about 150K on the motor since then with no trouble of any sort.
Is there a new cam in the motor? The reason I ask is because I know a lot of new cams require the engine to run non synthetic oil for the 1st couple thousand miles on the new cam.
__________________
65 Mustang 289 C4. Edelbrock 600cfm (no more Pony Carb Autolite), Shorty Headers with 2 1/2" collector & glasspacks, Shiftkit, 5-leaf stock height rear springs, 620lbs/1" drop front springs, Gas Adjust shocks, 14x7 American Racing S200 Daisy Rims, low-mid range cam, 1 1/8" front sway bar & 3/4" rear sway bar, & ~3.80's (I think) in the rear.
almost all of todays oils DO NOT have the anti-wear additives they need.(thanks e.p.a.) especially with a flat tappet cam,always add a good engine oil supplement. all of the cam makers have their own, but almost any brand will do. ROYAL PURPLE has one that i use and it works great!
synthetic is just better, makes parts run smoother thats all, and with synthetic you dont have to change your oil till ever 5,000 i think it is, but i use valvoline full synthetic, 10W-30 and still change it every 2500,
I baby mine,
but as far as the whole drag racing thing, no thats not what synth is for, i say if you want to baby it go ahead, nothing will come bad of using syth oil
Thanks. This is what I thought, but thought I'd ask around and see what other people thought.
Hello. I use Mobil1 20W50 in my car. I could go into all sorts of reasons for this, that and the other thing, but, the bottom line is that's what I put in mine, and have since I rebuilt the motor like 10 years ago. I've probably put about 150K on the motor since then with no trouble of any sort.
Now thats what I like to hear. 150K is a lot of miles and while I enjoy rebuilding an engine, I'd rather do another car then work on the one I already built. Thanks for the input, Veronica. Now, I just need to know how many miles I should break the car in before I switch over to synthetic or can I do it right away?
Is there a new cam in the motor? The reason I ask is because I know a lot of new cams require the engine to run non synthetic oil for the 1st couple thousand miles on the new cam.
Hi tbunker. Yes, the whole engine other than the block is new. The block is a 1988 5.0 bored and stroked to 347. Its your opinion I should run regular oil for the first couple thousand miles? I still have the original break in oil and I think I should change that right after break in. How long can you run the break in oil for, or should you change it right after the 20-25 minute break in? Thank all for the information and Cindys SN 95 I'll look into Royal Purple. Although, I am running a hydralic roller cam and valve train. I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but I think it does.
Last edited by bubbamace; 11-18-2008 at 11:49 AM.
Reason: forgot information
You are suppose to change the oil after break in, but when I was checking out cams to buy, I think almost all the ones I was looking at said to change the oil after break in and then put in non synthetic for the first few thousand miles and then you can put whatever in. My Crane Cam (hydrallic roller) said specifically to change the oil & filter after break in with non-synthetic and run that for 500miles and then change the oil & filter again with non-synthetic and run for 2-3 thousands miles and then change oil & filter and run whatever I want (I still have a 1 or 2 thousand to go). It should say in the break in instructions.
Did you have to break it in with mineral oil?
__________________
65 Mustang 289 C4. Edelbrock 600cfm (no more Pony Carb Autolite), Shorty Headers with 2 1/2" collector & glasspacks, Shiftkit, 5-leaf stock height rear springs, 620lbs/1" drop front springs, Gas Adjust shocks, 14x7 American Racing S200 Daisy Rims, low-mid range cam, 1 1/8" front sway bar & 3/4" rear sway bar, & ~3.80's (I think) in the rear.
Hi again. My car has never had anything but Mobil1 in it. That's what I put in it when I dropped the motor back in, and have never used anything else. There are a lot of folks that feel like one needs to use something else to break a motor in, but, my husband always drives a new car, and, over the last five or six years, he has had one beamer, one landrover and one mercedes, and they all come straight out of the factory with full synthetic. If you try that ' break-in oil' thing on one of those cars, it will void your warranty. That's what the engineers at BMW, Landrover and Mercedes-Benz think about some break-in oil.
You are suppose to change the oil after break in, but when I was checking out cams to buy, I think almost all the ones I was looking at said to change the oil after break in and then put in non synthetic for the first few thousand miles and then you can put whatever in. My Crane Cam (hydrallic roller) said specifically to change the oil & filter after break in with non-synthetic and run that for 500miles and then change the oil & filter again with non-synthetic and run for 2-3 thousands miles and then change oil & filter and run whatever I want (I still have a 1 or 2 thousand to go). It should say in the break in instructions.
Did you have to break it in with mineral oil?
Hi tbunker and Veronica. You guys made me go back and read the Comp Cams installation manual. This was a good thing, because it states in the manual that Comp Cams does not recommend the use of Synthetic oils with their cam and lifter package during the first one hundred miles of break in. So I'm guessing after a hundred miles I can use synthetic oil. I guess that solves the problem. Thanks all.
The reason for using non synthetic oil is to allow a couple of things, the most important of which is to allow the Rings to seat to the cylinder walls. I cant answer what BMW/Volvo/Merc. uses and why but I know this much, Syn. is so slippery that it does not allow the Ductile Iron and Chrome(ium) rings to wear off the imperfections on the cyl. walls and rings resulting in Blow by. The excessive blow by can result in oil consumption that never stops, plugged emission systems and the sort(even though a 66's emissions is a PCV valve and oil breather cap)
The rule I was taught is use comp cams or some other break in additive for flat tappet cams and then conventional oil for 3-5 thousand miles, then put what you want and put your foot through the floorpan.
This is just my opinion and what I do - wrong or right I will keep doing this, it has served me well to date.
Joe
Synthetic oil in 1966 Mustang 
What does everyone think? I told him I thought it was good because the car wouldn't see a lot of miles and sits a lot. He said it wasn't necessary. Hes a great mechanic, but I'm still not sure what I should do and when. Thanks for your opinions. 
I use Mobil1 20W50 in my car. I could go into all sorts of reasons for this, that and the other thing, but, the bottom line is that's what I put in mine, and have since I rebuilt the motor like 10 years ago. I've probably put about 150K on the motor since then with no trouble of any sort. 
