Synthetic oil users

[Conman007]

I have to do this science project, and Im doing it on Synthetic and Natural oil. To see which is better.
My teacher said, I have do to an actual experiment instead of all just research.
The only thing I have come up with is test to see if there is a difference when I put synthetic in my motor.

Do people put Synthetic oil in there atv's Motor or just natural.
I need to know if anyone uses Synthetic in thier car, truck, or quad. I want to know if you can tell a deiffrence about anything. I need help bad. thx

[bradley300]

go to amsoil's website, they have all sorts of test they have run and have results for. they also sell a kit so you can test your own oil. i bet getting two of those kits and testing synthetic and conventional oil after being in your quad would make a decent project.

there really isnt anything seat of the pants that you will notice between the two. but synthetic last noticably longer and during rebuilds you will notice a syntetic motor looks way better than a conventioanl one

[Conman007]

Thanks for the tip and site, but its due on Monday. Im thinking I will just record whats on the site. I cant back out of the project either.

I dont really want to waste all that oil, since I just recently changed the oil, with high performance yamaha oil. I might just make up some data, but I need to know somthing to test.

[Conman007]

Any one else have anything they know about the oil, or have has experiences. Any thing will help.

[Waddell]

I run amsoil and the motor still looks like a brand new one after 3 years.

Synthetic oil will keep a motor cleaner and you can go longer between changes. With a conventional oil (like honda) you should change every ride or two because it breaks down quicker than than a synthetic oil where you can change every four rides or so.

Synthetic's are more exspensive but I think they are worth the extra money in the long run.

[NacsMXer]

There's lots of info out there if you search google about synthetic oil analysis and what not.

Just a couple of generalities off the top of my head:

- Synthetics' superior viscosity characteristics allow better flow (pour point) at lower temperatures lessening start up wear and better maintenance of proper viscosity at higher temperatures.

- They usually contain higher concentrations of detergents such as esters which actively keep your motor cleaner.

- They have a higher resistance to shearing (oil film breakdown) than conventional oils allowing better overall protection against friction and longer drain intervals

- It is widely known that you should never break in a new motor with a synthetic since its superior resistance of friction does not allow proper wear-in. (Proof of the fact that it offers superior lubrication)

[Conman007]

Thankyou guys for every thing. Is there any way to test those facts though.
Like how would you test the pour point, or the shearing.

I know most of the info, but I need something to test. Like say, it gets stays cooler longer or somthing.

[NacsMXer]

Originally posted by Conman007
Thankyou guys for every thing. Is there any way to test those facts though.
Like how would you test the pour point, or the shearing.

I know most of the info, but I need something to test. Like say, it gets stays cooler longer or somthing.

I was thinking about how you could test some of these variables and I ran across this simple experiment that you could try out at home:
http://www.seed.slb.com/en/scictr/lab/viscosity/index.htm

You could try using two samples of oil, one conventional and one synthetic (say, both 5w viscosities when cold) and put them in a freezer so they are at the same temperature. Then perform the viscosity experiment and see if the synthetic performs better. I realize that if they are both 5w, theoretically the results could be the same. It might be interesting if the synthetic performs better however. It's worth a shot I guess :ermm:

[Conman007]

Thanks a lot, I think I will try that. I could do that instead of wasting my good oil in my quad.

EDIT: I cant thank you enough, I thought I was out of Options. Is there a way I can rep you.

[Scott-300ex]

Regular oil change every 3000 miles in a car.

Synthetic oil change every 6000 miles.

And Synthetic oil makes you .1(a tenth of a second) faster in the quarter mile.

[NacsMXer]

Originally posted by Conman007
Thanks a lot, I think I will try that. I could do that instead of wasting my good oil in my quad.

EDIT: I cant thank you enough, I thought I was out of Options. Is there a way I can rep you.

Don't worry about it, i'm happy to help if I can :) It was bugging me that a lot of these oil property tests like shear strength and what not require expensive lab equipment to test out so I just did a quick search. It would be cool if you actually found a difference between the two at the same temps/viscosities...let us know how it turns out :macho

[Conman007]

Yea, I will tell you how it turned out.

Do you know how to do the sheer test or the pour point.

Id like to have another graph of some sort.

[NacsMXer]

Originally posted by Conman007
Yea, I will tell you how it turned out.

Do you know how to do the sheer test or the pour point.

Id like to have another graph of some sort.

I don't know how they do the shear strength test, but I know that you need special equipment to perform it as it tests the oil film strength at the molecular level. Pour point's gonna be tough to test as well since most synthetics have pour points well into the -50's F.

Maybe you could try emailing one of these oil mfg'rs like Amsoil and see if they can give you some more ideas to try out.

[Conman007]

If I poured the oil down a glass wall, what would that be testing, if you would even know.

Does anyone no where i could get a Gradulated Cylinder?

[underpowered]

there is actually alot you can do. i run synthetic in my truck, but in my quad i run dino oil. in the truck, it comes out cleaner after say, 5k miles. but my truck does not even suggest changing it till then, even with dino oil.

in my quad however, dino oil is cleaner after about 10 hours. IMO amsoil oils are not worth it, but thats another story.

i would say buy the amsoil kits to test your stuff. for your purposes i say that should work well. also, you can do one that i have seen many places. it used a grinder and weighted arms. the grind wheel is in an oil bath as it spins and the metal lever is place on it. do one with dino oil and one with synthetic. usually the wheel will slow down more, or even stop with conventional oil where with synthetic it will continue to spin

[Scott-300ex]

Oh and at like Auto Zone type places they have the things where you spin the wheel and theres like 3 or 4 sprockets.

Regular oil just sits there. Synthetic runs all the way up.

[Conman007]

Thanks for the ideas. Yes I have seen the Auto Zone thing. Maybe I will go there and record the data.

I dont want to buy the kit, because its due on Monday next week.

[Conman007]

I want to have like one more test, and I could pour the oil down a smooth glass wall, what would that be considered. Would tat be the same as Viscosity?

[Conman007]

I did the test it and seems the pebble going through synthetic takes less time to get to the bottom, does that mean synthetic is better or what.

It took Natural a little bit longer by say(.20) seconds.

[NacsMXer]

It means that given the same viscosities (conventional vs. synthetic), that synthetic produces less friction. That's pretty cool that you tested it and synthetic came out on top! :cool:

[Conman007]

yes, I got a 95% and she might change it to a 100%.

Thanks to everyone.

Also is it more expensive to use synthetic even to you can use it much longer. I speak the truth.