what are the benefits of a full synthetic oil vs. regular oil

 

less heat, a little more power due to less friction and longer periods between oil changes

 

Synthetic, well true synthetic, has a consistent molecular base. Mainly this allows the product to deal better with extreme heat and severe cold better than a dino of a similar weight would. They also have better detergent packages to help keep the motors clean and help prevent seals from shrinking. Synthetic was developed way back in the 50's for jet engines because the conditions were just too harsh for regular oils. So they have to be doing something that dino doesnt or cant

 

The benefits of synthetic over dino these days are nowhere near as great as they used to be, but synthetic is still a better lubricant.

 

Synthetic oils handle extreme temperatures better than conventional oil. Not just cold or hot, nearly everywhere in country gets one or the other or both, but Alaska cold and heavy towing hot. The biggest advantage in using synthetics for most drivers is the ability to extend their oil change intervals. Everyone has a different theory on exactly how many miles you can go and without an expensive oil analysis its all guess work. Personally, I have no problem running 10-15,000 miles on synthetic oil depending on driving conditions. All that said, conventional oil is fine for most of the driving public, especially those who can't tear themselves away from 3-5,000 mile oil change intervals. F150s are not sludgers, its hard to find someone who has had an oil related problem with an F150 who did even somewhat regular maintenance. Read the 100,000 mile thread, all kind of folks racking up the miles on regular old oil.

 

Steelers - Have you ever done an oil analysis? I know AMSOIL and Mobil1 say you CAN get those longer intervals, but just to be safe, i'd recommend 2 (one cold weather, one warm) to make sure you CAN do that. Or that you're not leaving it in to long, letting it break down, and losing viscosity.

As far as synthetics go, yes, they have a more stable base, being synthetic, not natural. Todays oldskool oil is a Group 4 classification, meaning the base is more pure, and thus stable, than ever before. As far as detergent packages go, synthetics DO NOT!!!!!!! offer better packages. Oil companies, regardless of synthetic or dino, have their own. More is also NOT always better. There has to be balance between chemicals, as a heavy dose of one can negate a heavy/light dose of another. Certain engines even respond differently to seemingly similiar oils, just based on detergent packages. Motorcraft (i know its crazy) has returned excellent vehicle oil analysis through numerous different vehicles. From fords, hondas, and even the odd chevy, the detergent package is simple yet effective.

If you're looking for more information than you'll ever need or know what to do with, go to www.bobistheoilguy.com Read through the forums, check out the VOA, and the new(unused) oil analysis. You can find some F150s on there, and both Mobil1 Synthetics and Motorcraft SynBlend work excellently. You can also get information as to VOA companies, where to send, etc. if you are really that self conscious. I would NEVER recommend going that high on an oil change, regardless of what the oil "says" it can do, without an analysis. You may run 15k, get one, and see you can run out to 20. Or you may run 15k, and find you should be swapping oils at 12. If you're gonna do it, do it right.


EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil Theres some history for you. Notice in "disadvantages" that under a taxi cab test, there was no noticeable difference..... weird huh? Granted they didn't take into account cold starts, but if you check the viscosity levels at near freezing, and true COLD start would be well below 30. Untill you hit that point, theres enough viscosity in even regular oil to protect your engine.

 

Just to keep it in perspective, I use Mobil 1 EP 5W20 with a Mobil 1 dual stage oil filter, and I change it at 10k or 6 months, whichever happens first. I am totally confident this is okay. My oil consumption at 94k miles is about a quart every 6k.

 

There was a time when the PAO synthetics had better cold start flow and handled much more heat than a dino could. That's history folks. The PAOs are pretty much the same today as they were 15 years ago but the dino you are using today has changed dramatically. There is no more lubricity in a PAO versus any dino basestock. Any add pack that can be formulated to give a PAO an advantage can also be used in a dino basestock with the same results. The synthetic does not provide less friction. Just recently the industry has changed the groupings. Before we had the Gp I, Gp II, GIII, Gp IV, and Gp V. You can now add the Gp II+ and the GP III+. If you are using Amsoil, with the exception of the XL7500, or Royal Purple, you're still buying the old PAO synthetic. Any other OTC oil will be a dino synthetic. The new dinos have not only caught up to the PAOs but in some cases are much better. As the cost and availablity of eythelene gas used to make PAOs gets more critical, even these oils will become history for engine oil. If you want the best for your engine, buy the brand of your choice in the viscosity recommended by the manufacturer and change at the recommeded intervals. Use the correct API Certified oils and enjoy the ride. The engines are designed and built around these oil specs, not the oil built around the engine.

 

You certainly sound as if you know your oil stuff!.......