Synthetic Oil

GRGRY

MEMBER
MITSUBISHI

I have recently purchased a 2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT from a private seller with 94,000 miles. The previous owner used synthetic oil. My question - do I have to continue to use synthetic oil or can I use petroleum based oil? Thanks

Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 AT 5:12 AM

6 Replies

LOSONE

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1,616 POSTS

There is an old wives tale that says you must use the same kind of oil. I have never seen any proof of it.
Synthetic oil is a superior oil that flows well in all temperature conditions but you still have to change it. It is up to you but personally I would continue to use it.

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Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 AT 12:32 PM

GRGRY

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Lee, thank you for the response. How often should synthetic oil be changed?

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Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 AT 2:07 PM

LOSONE

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I add about 1500 miles to a normal oil change.

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Wednesday, May 17th, 2006 AT 3:18 PM

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I would certainly stay with the synthetic oil. It is far superior and will limit your exposure to sludge, bad valves, and a lot of other wear and heat related problems. Mobil 1 is highly rated. I like Castrol Syntex. You can order Amsoil, and for about the same money and it is rated the best. Use a quality oil filter. Amsoil makes good ones. K&N and Mobil 1 filters are the best you find in a regular store. If you must go cheap on the oil filter, buy Purolator or Purolator Plus. Don't ever buy the entry level Fram or Penzoil oil filters. They can cause more damage than good. The oil will drain from a cheap filter overnight and the car starts up without any oil momentarily with cheap filters. The good filters have anti-drain back valves that work, and are made of quality materials unlike the cardboard that is in the Fram filters.

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Sunday, May 28th, 2006 AT 11:14 AM

LOSONE

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Thanks for the great post on oils. I concur with everything you said especially the oil filters. If you ever have to build an engine that has pieces of Fram oil filter clogging the oil gallerys then it will break one from buying cheap oil filters.

There is also a dufference in Fram filters sold in Europe, they are far superior to US /China filters. They are made in England by Hastings.

For a while I thought the Motorcraft filters sold by discount parts houses were good. I read the small print and they are made in China for the parts houses. They are lighter than Ford filters and have a cheap look about them.

Thanks again, good job!
Losone