synth vs. dino

[Dnyce]

why cant you go back to dino after u go full synth? no smartass answers like why would you wana go back, etc etc. everyone says once you switch, you cant switch back. why the hell not? never got a straight answer. some oils are semi synth....im not changing oils-but i like knowing how shit works.

[marko138]

I had heard that years ago...but I'm told now it isn't a big deal if you get all the old Synth out first.

[Trip]

it has something to do with mineral oil coating being thicker than synthetic and the tolerances your engine develops running synthetic.

[6doublefive321]

I would think you can, as long as you do a good flush out. That is, drain the syth, fill up with dino, run for a few minutes. Drain and repeat. Its hard for me to believe that what little synth is left could damage your engine.

Speaking of which, what about "semi-synthetic" oils? What's the difference between having a little synth left over and using a semi-synth oil? Maybe there are some stabilizers in play to eliminate any incompatibilities?

[t-homo]

I use a "parasynthetc" or blended oil. They say if I ever run low and need to get some, I can get conventional and add to it but not synthetic. Don't really know why.

[Amber Lamps]

I got this from Mobile1's website,


Can different synthetic motor oils be mixed together?

Mobil 1 is fully compatible with conventional motor oils, semi-synthetic motor oils and other synthetic motor oils, should it be necessary to mix them. However, it is important to note that the superior performance of Mobil 1 will be reduced by diluting it in any way.

They also dispute the need to breakin a motor using dino and the need to flush a motor before using synth. There wasn't any mention of flushing before going back to dino. Altho',I don't get why you'd want to flush out the good stuff before putting in the cheap crap. That'd be like making sure you rinse your glass before switching from Grey Goose to Heaven Hill!

Originally Posted by Trip

it has something to do with mineral oil coating being thicker than synthetic and the tolerances your engine develops running synthetic.

Um doesn't viscosity determine an oil's "thickness" and if so wouldn't ANY 10W40 oil be the same? I always thought the "superiority" of synth was it's ability to retain it's viscosity for longer under harsher conditions.

[Trip]

Originally Posted by TIGGER

Um doesn't viscosity determine an oil's "thickness" and if so wouldn't ANY 10W40 oil be the same? I always thought the "superiority" of synth was it's ability to retain it's viscosity for longer under harsher conditions.

Not the viscosity of the oil, the thickness of the coating on the parts they are lubricating.

Parts getting use to running with a thinner gap than is required with dino lubricants, where dino runs at a larger gap.