I realize this question comes up every now and then, so here is the latest rendition. I would go with synth, but I was under the impression that you shouldnt start using synth in an engine that has been using petro the whole time.

 

well i'm assuming you mean it to be used in a third gen. honestly, i'd just use regular oil.

Synthetic can cause leakage problems in older engine. But i'm not a huge fan of synthetic oil, in my opinion all its good for is it has much better temperature extremes resistance than dyno oil.

I'd say unless you really plan on beating on this car, just stick with the regular oil...

 

I swear by dead dinosaurs.
Used synthetic oil once and had sludge problems from there on out. May have been coincidence, but I'm not gonna try it again.


~M~

 

You'll be fine switching to synthetic. Though if you have a lot of miles, it may not be worth the extra cost.

Synthetic doesn't cause leaks, though it may worsen ones that are there.

 

Yeah synthetic doesn't cause problems but it can worsen ones that you already have. Synthetic will help clean out all that "crap" and sludge deposits that in many cases are the only things sealing older motors causing leaks. Also synthetic can "slip" by worn rings and valve guides into the cylinders, increasing oil consumption and blowby. Not to say you can't use it on olders motors. If an engine has been regularly maintained and not pounded on, you can switch over to synthetic no prob because it won't already have those "problems" i listed. If you change your oil and filter when you're supposed to, dinosaur juice will keep your motor going a lot longer than you'll ever need it to.

 

As a dealer of AMSOIL, 100% systhetic oil, i truly live by it, I run 10-40 in my Trans-Am,You can go 15,000 before an oil change on thirdgen and my dad goes 25,000 on his daily driver, It is fine to use it in your car if you have been running normal oil, but Its not recommended to switch back to normal petro oil after you have been runing a systhetic oil like AMSOIL...
Aj

 

I put synthetic oil in my Z when it had 76,000 miles on it and have had no problems with it.

 

I put Mobil 1 synthetic on my rebuilt engine from day 1. My engine has a hydraulic roller camshaft so it needs not break in.

 

I've used Red Line in my car from day one, and I have not had any problems with it yet, I have noticed that my saturn with 177,000 miles doesn't like synthetic motor oil though.