Synthetic oil

[Fish&Fowl]

I am thinking of switching my '04 Silverado with a 5.3 to synthetic after hearing a lot of good things. It just turned 50K. Any recommendations for or against?

Also, if I do switch over, do I need to do anything special before doing so?

And any recommendations on brands for oil, weight, and filters?

[thedeadsea]

Supposed to get better mileage and you don't have to change it as often, which balances out the higher cost of synthetic.

Haven't used it in many years but was very happy with Mobil 1 in the past.

Their HSOforum says to use 5w-30 for motors like yours that were originally built to use standard 5w-30.

Just use a quality brand of filter like a GM replacement filter. Some aftermarket are good and some are junk. Haven't seen the display in a while but some places cut apart all of the major mfg's for comparison. Things may have changed but Fram was always the poorest quality in the past.

A question I have is if the oil sensor in the newer GM trucks like yours and mine (07') will accurately detect the synthetic and know that you can go longer between oil changes?

Steve

[Eric Wettschreck]

Just my opinion here.........but........while I'm a huge fan of synthetic oils for 2 stroke motors and gearcases, I'm not at all a fan of synthetics for 4 stroke motor oil.

The contaminates that enter the oil from the process of combustion are still there whether you use a synthetic or not. The longer you go between oil changes the more time the contaminates have to do their damage.

Just my opinion.

[jwhjr]

A question I have is if the oil sensor in the newer GM trucks like yours and mine (07') will accurately detect the synthetic and know that you can go longer between oil changes?

The algorithm that is used to determine the oil life takes into account engine temp/rpms etc. to calculate. I don't believe it actually has anything to do with the oil itself, so it doesn't take into account whether or not it is synthetic.

[crothmeier]

it doesnt take into account synthetic. When i ran amsoil in my 2000 silverado i just reset the oil light when it came up. Usually by the 3rd time it springs on im due for a change

[oilguy]

Shell Rotella Synthetic 5W-40 280,000 Mi on powerstroke runs like new. Change filters at 5,000 and oil at 15,000