Synthetic vs. Conventional Rotella

So its oil change time and I have been reading the threads about oil and such. I am wondering which one would be best for a Climate like Indiana. is the synthetic too thin or the conventional too thick? Also what filter do you guys who run rotella recommend. I was either gonna grab the usual mopar or a Wix from napa. any opinions would be great. I would like to go ahead and do it this week just thought i'd ask for some guidance first. Also I was gonna run a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer with it like i do now.

I've had good luck with napa gold filters. As far as conventional vs synthetic I always go synthetic just for the performance vs conventional. Besides, 10w30 conventional and 10w30 synthetic should be exactly the same right? :dunno:

Wix filter.

I prefer the conventional just for cost--As I don't drive many miles I change my oil every 3 months.

Milford Cubicle II said:

I've had good luck with napa gold filters. As far as conventional vs synthetic I always go synthetic just for the performance vs conventional. Besides, 10w30 conventional and 10w30 synthetic should be exactly the same right? :dunno:

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Well the Rotella is 15w40 in conventional and 5w40 in synthetic thats why I asked.

If you believe the Ferrari and Porsche experts, (and I believe common sense), most of the wear is at start up. A 5w40 is going to be flowing between your bearings a lot quicker than a 15w40. There are also differences in the way that viscosity ranges are achieved and also the zinc levels (ZDDP) that we supposedly need to reduce cam and lifter scuffing. If you search and read threads about this, you can go on forever. If anyone says they have the complete answer to this question, they are just misleading themselves and you. IMHO, you can't go wrong with the synthetic, especially if you like extended oil change intervals (in itself controversial). But I have not compared the two oils for ZDDP levels. If you are going with short oil change intervals like 3K or 5k miles and are going to change it before winter, it probably doesn't matter. For winter, the 5w40 synth should be an obvious choice (but other opinions will surface).

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=992751&highlight=ZDDP

what am i looking at for an average oil change interval with synthetic. I was thinking somewhere between 5,000-7,500 miles, then again I only put about 8000 miles a year on my Jeep so it may be more or less depending on how the oil looks. I'm not sure if i should believe the synthetic oil leaks out if the motor is older and didn't leak before but I don't think it would be that big of a difference.

It doesn't matter, the numbers refer to the time it takes for oil to drain at specific temperatures, so 5 is 5 no matter if its gold or goose shit

FlexdXJ said:

what am i looking at for an average oil change interval with synthetic. I was thinking somewhere between 5,000-7,500 miles, then again I only put about 8000 miles a year on my Jeep so it may be more or less depending on how the oil looks. I'm not sure if i should believe the synthetic oil leaks out if the motor is older and didn't leak before but I don't think it would be that big of a difference.

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Color is no indication of oil condition.

Synthetic oil is, in my opinion, fantastic at standing up to HEAT and PRESSURE. Period. No magic.

You should run an oil analysis, kits available from NAPA, to determine optimal change intervals.

That said, I would like to start the war of words by saying I change my oil because of the contaminants that form in the crankcase, but that is based on my vehicle usage--numerous small in-city trips where the engine doesn't fully warm up, and slow 4L driving in hills for long hours.

Don't believe the oil leak thing. I run oil changes a little too long and had over 100k on 2 vehicles before I changed to synthetic. Oil usage stayed the same, even with a lower viscosity number.

Well judging by the advice you guys have given me i'll just throw synthetic in her and a Wix Gold and call it a day. I'll check into an oil analysis kit as well. I was originally leaning toward synthetic in the first place but thought i would ask anyways.