synthetic oil------yes or no

[Soundguy]

anyone running synthetic motor oil in their diesel-------supposidly better lub with lower wear if one believes the hype- if you are-what brand, how often do you change it and does it affect tractor performance--thanks -getting near time for maint and thinking this might be the way to go.

how often you planning on changing it?

if it's an application where it's gonna set alot.. I like dino oil so I can change it more often. On the other hand.. in arctic areas.. or other super severe usage.. I'd go syn.. just because.

 

[Iowan]

I've been using synthetics for most of twenty years, started using synthetic gear lube in my drag car to try and make the ring and pinon last longer than 100 pass's. With the synthetic gear lube I started just taking them out at 250 pass's and selling them at swap meets. I'm sold on full synthetic lubricant's, I use them in gas, diesel, atf, grease and the hydro. My brand of choice is Amsoil but I've used Castrol for years without fail.:2cents:

 

[sandyc]

mobil 1

 

[crazyal]

My Kubota is the only engine that gets synthetic, T6. Between winter use and the long periods of time of sitting where the oil has lots of time to drain out of the bearings I wanted something that will flow quickly.

 

[MBTRAC]

Synthetics in everything - Tractors, Farm/Earthmoving Equipment, Trucks,Vehicles & Lawn Gear/pumps/generators/augers...etc

Since changing decades ago to almost exclusve use of synthetics we regularly achieve a c.+25%+ increase an engine/transmission life:
- for our diesels now 20,000+ hours on our larger 200hp+ engines is not uncommon, with sub 200hp engines easily making 10,000hrs+ & anything under 30hp good for 3000hrs or more
- in petrol engines there's also a noticeable increase in engine life, c.10-15% for 5-25hp Honda/Kohler/Kawasaki/Suzuki/Robin/Chinese copies & c.20%+ for vehicles

We are meticulous on all service maintenance with lubrication/oil replacement & filter cleaning/replacement ..etc over & above factory recommendations & use oil sampling to guide/schedule maintenance practices on all larger gear.
The way we see it the "best" oils/filters are cheap insurance compared to any false economies using inferior products, & overall cost of repairing/replacing gear ("overall cost" being your time, equipment downtime/inconvenience & inflationary costs for new replacements...etc)

 

[Iowan]

Synthetics in everything - Tractors, Farm/Earthmoving Equipment, Trucks,Vehicles & Lawn Gear/pumps/generators/augers...etc

Since changing decades ago to almost exclusve use of synthetics we regularly achieve a c.+25%+ increase an engine/transmission life:
- for our diesels now 20,000+ hours on our larger 200hp+ engines is not uncommon, with sub 200hp engines easily making 10,000hrs+ & anything under 30hp good for 3000hrs or more
- in petrol engines there's also a noticeable increase in engine life, c.10-15% for 5-25hp Honda/Kohler/Kawasaki/Suzuki/Robin/Chinese copies & c.20%+ for vehicles

We are meticulous on all service maintenance with lubrication/oil replacement & filter cleaning/replacement ..etc over & above factory recommendations & use oil sampling to guide/schedule maintenance practices on all larger gear.
The way we see it the "best" oils/filters are cheap insurance compared to any false economies using inferior products, & overall cost of repairing/replacing gear ("overall cost" being your time, equipment downtime/inconvenience & inflationary costs for new replacements...etc)

Well said!

 

[Iowan]

Synthetics in everything - Tractors, Farm/Earthmoving Equipment, Trucks,Vehicles & Lawn Gear/pumps/generators/augers...etc

Since changing decades ago to almost exclusve use of synthetics we regularly achieve a c.+25%+ increase an engine/transmission life:
- for our diesels now 20,000+ hours on our larger 200hp+ engines is not uncommon, with sub 200hp engines easily making 10,000hrs+ & anything under 30hp good for 3000hrs or more
- in petrol engines there's also a noticeable increase in engine life, c.10-15% for 5-25hp Honda/Kohler/Kawasaki/Suzuki/Robin/Chinese copies & c.20%+ for vehicles

We are meticulous on all service maintenance with lubrication/oil replacement & filter cleaning/replacement ..etc over & above factory recommendations & use oil sampling to guide/schedule maintenance practices on all larger gear.
The way we see it the "best" oils/filters are cheap insurance compared to any false economies using inferior products, & overall cost of repairing/replacing gear ("overall cost" being your time, equipment downtime/inconvenience & inflationary costs for new replacements...etc)

Well said!

 

[Bob77064]

When my truck hit 48k miles, I switched to synthetic oil. So far so good at 121k miles. Also synthetic is available in 0w20, which works well in the cold weather.

 

[JOHNTHOMAS]

My first car in 1964 was a 1935 Dodge that smoked so bad you could follow it thru town 5 minutes after it went by.:laughing: I used the cheapest stuff that could be bought in bottles and ocassionally added Motor Honey with no change.
Since then I've bought approx 160 different cars and trucks and 15 Kubotas. I've never used any oil other than regular name brand oil (Kubota branded oil for Kubotas) and never had any of them ever develop engine problems related to lubrication. I used to change oil and filters at 3000 miles. Now on cars/trucks it's any where between 3000 and 5000 miles. I change Kubotas according to owners manual recommendations unless I have a machine with very low hour usage per year then I may change the oil and filters sooner than the hours usage recommended by owners manual.
Is synthetic oil beter than regular oil? Probably. Do I need that extra protection for the extra cost with my usage? No, I don't think so. If I had/did extreme usage then I might be willing to pay extra for more expensive oil. I don't so I don't and sleep good at night knowing my equipment has more than adequate lubrication for it's needs/usage.

 

[bglz42]

I use synthetics when called for by the manufacturer, I.E the German cars I have owned called for M1 0w40. On my diesels, (trucks & tractors) I use Rotella dino, in the factory specified weight. Have for years, and change it on time. Never had a lube related problem in any of my vehicles.