Oil Change—Synthetic or Conventional?

Taking your car in for an oil change is certainly one of the most important things that you can do to prolong the life of your vehicle’s engine, but it should not be as simple as pulling up to a garage and leaving it to the professionals. There are some decisions to be made, and one of the latest controversies surrounds the pros and cons of using synthetic oil.

Synthetics were introduced for the sole purpose of high performance race car usage, but it caught on in mainstream because of few advantages for the everyday user. To begin, as a society we drive in conditions that are considered severe. With synthetic introduction, perhaps the average family drove more leisurely, but today the average city driving miles accrued by the everyday driver is considered treacherous for the what a typical engine is made to withstand, and until manufacturing of vehicles catches up with what cars are actually used for presently, synthetic may be the better choice.
The initial price of the using synthetics is usually a concern among consumers as it can cost several times more per quart that the regular go to stuff of today. Consider, though that a car that runs on synthetic lubricant can go perhaps up to twenty-thousand miles between changes, and the savings begin to add up or at the very least equate to the usage of typical choices.

In addition to these reasons, conventional mined oil, which is what the regular stuff is, will naturally have by products. It comes from the ground. This immediately defeats the purpose of engine lubricant whose main function is to keep contaminants out of the engine. The synthetic choice is purer from the start.

There are some downsides that cause professionals to favor the old stand-by in lieu of manmade product. Even though the product is made to be of lengthy use even under severe conditions, the amount of time that a driver may be prone to wait between lubricant change and related maintenances can have a downside. It is proven that a vast amount of wear and tear issues with cars are intercepted at regularly scheduled filter-and-lube appointments. Therefore, if a driver is changing the oil one time to the conventional four times, he may be apt to overlook other issues with the engine, tires, etc.
Again the initial cost seems almost alarming in a price comparison, but over the life of the car, and even throughout the life of one change, synthetic can equal the cost or even surpass the savings of the less expensive conventional choice.

Conclusively, any driver who is considering an oil change can be swayed either way when making the decision. A consultation with maintenance professional can help point out the better choice for particular drivers and their respective vehicles, and ultimately, regularly scheduled changes are the goal for engine safety no matter if car owner camps in company of conventional or synthetic users. Good preventative maintenance is the key to prolonging the life of an engine.