Many drivers are unsure whether they should use synthetic oil in their new cars. Synthetic oil has a number of pluses over regular oil: it can maintain integrity in heat; lubricates better; has fairly good purity; and rarely ever becomes sludge, even after abuse. Most drivers will see the obvious benefits synthetic oil has to offer and decide to use it in their car. However, even with the synthetic oil’s numerous benefits, the real difference is made in how you care for your car.
For starters, how often do you change your oil? If you’re a disciplined car owner who replaces the oil every 3 to 5K miles, then you’ll never notice a difference between regular and synthetic oils. Oil changes are meant to prevent engine damage from oil breaking down. Synthetic’s benefit here is that it resists breakdown, even after regular use. So if you tend to forget to change your oil regularly, synthetic oil is the best option for your car. But if you’re regularly replacing your oil at the recommended mileages, then synthetic oil probably won’t add any extra protection to your engine.
One of synthetic oil’s biggest perks is that it doesn’t deteriorate until after a long time. Regular oil starts to break down after 6 months, and all oils should be replaced after 5K miles. If you’re someone who drives less than 5K every 6 months, then mileage-wise, you’re replacing your oil more often than you need to. Using synthetic oil will let you change your oil less frequently, so you can get greater mileage out of each oil change. This might save you some money, and definitely will save you on time.
One of the biggest reasons why people use synthetic oil is because of its resistance to heat. Regular oil breaks down in high temperatures, and continue to break down as the heat rises. Drivers who use their vehicles in ways that create a constantly hot engine environment should use synthetic oil. So should people who live in hot climates, such as in the desert, or at high altitudes, like in the mountains. Neither high ambient temperatures nor low air pressure are ideal conditions for keeping your engine cool, so synthetic oil would give you the best performance in these areas. Finally, if you own a high-performance vehicle or just drive like you do, consider synthetic, which is the best choice for these vehicles.
Synthetic oil is often recommended even to people who don’t especially need it. Synthetic is recommended for people driving in stop-and-go traffic, but that’s everyone at some point in time. The recommendation should only really apply to those who drive everyday in stop-and-go traffic for long enough for the car engine’s cooling fan to turn on. Drivers who only use their cars only for short trips are also advised to use synthetic oil in order to protect. However, short trips will be bad for your engine no matter what oil you decide to do, since your engine was really designed to run for at least 20 minutes at a time. Using synthetic instead of regular oil in this situation might make a difference, but it’ll be a very minor change.
If you’ve recognized yourself in one of the above situations and have decided to opt for synthetic oil, be careful when you go to make the purchase. You may be offered a synthetic “blend” instead of pure synthetic oil to save money. However, you probably won’t know exactly what’s in that blend. It could be equal amounts of synthetic and regular, or you might even be getting almost entirely regular oil with a splash of synthetic. If you’re going to go synthetic, it’s best to go all out and get the real thing, or not do it at all. Of course, if the blend is provided and produced by your vehicle’s manufacturer, then it’s probably safe to use – but that’s the exception.
You might be wondering what your vehicle manufacturer recommends for your vehicle. Most manufacturers will say that “any oil that meets API standard specifications can be used in your vehicle.” So normal is perfectly alright for most situations. Drivers will usually enjoy great performance from their new cars for a long time even without the extra benefit of synthetic oil, so long as they take proper care of their vehicles.