synthetic in e30?

[dreamchasin]

Some cars dont react well to synthetic oil. I owned a 92 celica before this and if i ran synthetic through it, it wouldnt react well for some reason. So now i have moved on to a better car i am wondering for an e30 would it be better to run synthetic or non-synthetic. I'll be running 10-40 most likely. Thanks for the help. (obviously im new to e30's and a friend recently got me into them, obviously driving a 92 celica, revving to redline and not being able to catch up to an e30 thats not redlining made me want the e30 even more)

[JLegleiter]

In my opinion, any benefit of the synthetic wouldn't outweigh its additional cost.
Though I'm sure someone will disagree.

I wouldn't run 10W-40. 15W-50 would be a better choice in colder climates. I run 20W-50 year long, though we seldom have a stretch of day where in gets below 30.

Not sure what the weather is like in your area on Pennsylvania.

Try searching, there are almost certainly over 200 topic posted strictly on oil.

[thereisnoyun]

total waste of money IMO. Just run conventional. E30s arent build to run on synthetics. Besides do you really want to pay for a 50 dollar oil change when it can be 16 dollars? I wouldnt run synthetic even if i had a rebuild motor.

[dreamchasin]

oil change will be done myself and fcsteve...he who got banned

[KenC]

Run 15w50 in the M20.

[nando]

my stock engine hated 20w50, way too thick. I ran 10w40 in it all year round (moderate climate), but 10w30 would have been fine too. the stroker gets 20w50 synthetic year round, and it loves it, although I think next oil change I'm switching to Rotella.

[dreamchasin]

a friend who has an e30 runs 10-40 year round

[Knockenwelle]

Valvoline VR-1 conventional oil is a great choice for the M20, as is Rotella. VR-1 has an additive package a bit more appropriate for gasoline motors (duh...), and especially those with non-roller camshafts. Even Rotella has been losing ZDDP and other good (EPA says bad) additives lately, though I still run it in my shitbox daily with flat-follower SOHC. It wiped a cam running Mobil 1 10W30.

I agree with the others in that the M20 is not a motor which will benefit much from synthetic oil. They have too much sliding friction between moving parts, and synthetics are designed primarily for low-friction rollerized modern engines having tight bearing clearances. Also, the M20 just does not have issues with oil temps: you won't cook conventional oil.

[dreamchasin]

so run Valvoline VR-1 conventional oil? ill be running 10-40

[alpinweib30]

i use nothing but castrol in any car i own and so far the last 3 i used synthetic and no probs. (tacoma,MK2 Jetta, current e30) i run 10w30 and a quart of lucas. my motor has over 260k orig miles on it and runs great ;)

[Knockenwelle]

Anstead:
VR-1 is race oil, and is formulated for "older" engines. It's in the same class as Kendall GT-1 and Swepco, and is much easier to find, though those other two are great oils, too. It will provide superior protection to ANY conventional DD-grade oil. Supplanting blind brand preferences, it's got the properties M20s need for a long, happy life. As far as viscosity, that's up to you, but pick one appropriate for the temperature. Although many people on this board will tell you to run 20W50 year-round, even in temps below 30 deg F, I would consider 10W40 for COLD weather. It's true that M20s like a thick oil film on bearings and cam lobes, but have you ever tried to pour a quart of 20W50 below freezing? I don't want my oil pump trying to pump that in the morning, and grease just doesn't get to all the places it's supposed to get to upon startup. Dry start FTMFL. Besides, the hydrodynamic cushion thickness provided by 10W40 in cold weather, even when warmed up (read: oil temps), is similar to that provided by 20W50 at warmer oil temps.

[guibo09]

im gonna be trying Motul 6100 15w50 oil in my m20. its not a 100% synthetic, but it's synthetic based or something like that. i just want something that doesnt create sludge or gunk up my engine internals like they were when i got it from the previous owner (he used quakerstate 20w50)

[bostonbmw]

im gonna be trying Motul 6100 15w50 oil in my m20. its not a 100% synthetic, but it's synthetic based or something like that. i just want something that doesnt create sludge or gunk up my engine internals like they were when i got it from the previous owner (he used quakerstate 20w50)

How do you know it hated it? I am asking becuause I believe the M20 was designed to run 20-50w....

[nando]

How do you know it hated it? I am asking becuause I believe the M20 was designed to run 20-50w....

because it bogged like crazy and was way down on power.

the manual has a chart for what oil you should run in what climate. It wasn't designed to run 20w-50 when it's 35 degrees outside.

[EvoStevo]

When I first bought my car, I changed out the oil with 10w-30 Castrol Syntec. It turned out to be a huge waste of money as I lost about a quart a week on it. The next oil change I switched to Mobil 1 15w-50 and I still lost oil, but not as fast. For the last two oil changes I've been running 20w-50 VR-1 and I haven't had to top off once between intervals. It comes out a bit less black too. Lesson learned.