My private LR mechanic wants to move to synthetic oil. Shall I?

[Mx468]

Castrol 5w30

I stick with the castro 5w30 (Thats whats on my oil cap)and change my oil every 5-6,000 miles. The stuffs cheap at Walmart. I also use K&N oil filters. The job takes less than 35 minutes and under $45.00 total job.

 

[cmb6s]

Not totally directed at you, but since you mentioned it, I'll bring it up here. I hear about people being 'very happy' with expensive oil (Royal Purple as much as any). My question is, has anybody ever actually been unhappy with dino oil? I've just never heard anyone complain that "man, I used such and such and my engine just didn't run right" In other words I guess, what makes you particularly happy with RP that you just weren't getting with other oils? Or is it just the longer life that makes you happy? I totally get that it's an expensive vehicle and you want to put the best in it, and that's cool. But can you really notice anything special?

I'm not sure the question is whether anybody is "unhappy" with dino oil. I would guess that both dino and synthetic will protect your engine quite well as long as the oil is changed before it's protective qualities start to break down. However, that (in my opinion) is the big advantage with synthetic. It takes much longer to break down than dino... therefore, I can go 7500 to 10,000 miles between oil changes instead of every 3-4000 miles. Basically, that means as long as the synthetic is no more than twice as expensive, I'm still winning because cost is the same and I only have to inconvenience myself half as much. And trust me, it IS an inconvenience with a sump guard and the factory LR armor. Kind of a PITA just to change oil.

 

[jwest]

Do you guys think it is worth it doing to an independent LR mechanic for the servicing / top offs / oil change and pay $250-300 or go PepBoys and pay $40 with a coupon for synthetic oil change (do they do all other top offs?)?

Just don't do that. There is more value in getting the oil changed by someone who knows these vehicles who will also look over other things and do general check ups. Don't be cheap because you more often "get what you pay for" or worse.

 

[morrisdl]

If you are going to the DIY route. Have a http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ analysis, or two done. It will tell you if your change frequency matches for your driving habits also some insights to the state of your motor.

 

[CMGRover]

My dealer used to use Valvoline dino 5w30 when I got the free changes. Now I use either that or Castrol GTX since that's what the cap says.