Tom, this may be an 'intertesting', if not contentious thread, but,
FWIW, based upon my ownership/drivership of my 57 Doggie D500 since
1981....
There's folks who swear by synthetic oils.
The primary benefit of s.o.'s is their long, uniform molecular threads.
The m.t.'s are what provide oil's lubricating capability. The threads
break down, with usage, etc. .
All 'natural' oils have significantly better chemical
properties/additives, than they did, in the 50's.
The general rule of toe, was that the (natural-only-then) engine oil
should be changed about every 3,000 miles, but that H.D. (towing/racing)
&/or stop/go &/or short-term partial-warm-up &/or dusty/dirty
environmental conditions would warrant "more frequent" oil changes,
using high-viscosity-rated oil.
Speaking personally, NONE-of-the-above describes how dearest Horrie has
been routinely driven.
Now, the question becomes: in what present internal condition is YOUR
car's engine? Have "you" dropped, or proctologically examined
(figgure-that-out!) the oil pan, or removed the valve covers, to check
for sludge (OR, the prior or present use of "Pennzoil" (PA CRUDE--well
named!!) with its distinctive grungy parafin-base
build-up, on the operating-surfaces.
I gotta admit, I used to use, & praise, Pennzoil, til I was shamed
outa-it , by a disgusted mechanic, who showed me what its continued
useage looked-like.
So, if your mo-tore is greasy/grimey, you might wanna consider a
high-detergent oil, for a while.
As H. had been dead-stored in IN for a decade or so, he had developed
corrosion in his cylinder walls, which required a bore job (I went with
40-over, as I had parted out another rebuilt, but un-driven(!) D-500
engine, and used its pistons.
Anyway, since then I have continued to use NATURAL oil (typically
Valvoline 10-30, but, for a while, I thought I was doing H. a favor by
running 20-50, in the desert-summertime, til I realized that 10-40 was
FINE, for my relatively discretionary driving habits, & 20-50 will get
ya crummier mpg; mo-thicker oil, & costs more (IIRC).
Speaking of COST: the techno-weenies, & Viper owners will "only" run
MoBil-1 (or Royal Purple, there are 'others') , but they, too, change
their oil usually LONG before the full-benefis of the long, uniform
lubricating-molecules are ralized.
My point is simply this: if you drive your car moderately, try always
fully to warm-up the engine (evaporating the water that condenses inside
the oil pan, and burning-off combustion by-products [that create
corrosion and break-down the engine oil molecules) each time you
start/run it, AND change the oil "regularly", then 5/30 , or 10-30, in
winter time, and 10-30 or 10-40 in summertime should be fimne.
Finally, I've 'heard' that, within a short time of usage, a
multi-viscosity (natural, anyway) oil will 'break-down'/revert
(whatever) to its HIGHER viscosity-rating.
So, your first priority is to determine the INTERNAL health of your
car's engine; if its bearings are elderly, then, your 'doctor' will
probably recommend a higher viscosity oil,
JFG, (just for grins--MAYBE) , I have recently starting using, as the
'final' quart, Marvel Mystery Oil, which is available in
gallon-containers, which is reported to contain Harry Potter
Restorative/Rejuvinative properties.
You Do replace your oil filter w/each oil change?
They are readily avilable, & easy to install--I've only performed, what?
30+ oil changes , since 1981, on Horrie...
Neil Vedder
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