Synthetic Oil vs Regular Oil

Well, we all know what the ads say, but advertisements really can't give you honest information since they are biased by design. When looking at synthetic oil vs regular oil, it's important to look at it from a scientific angle.

Synthetic oils such as Royal Purple, Mobile 1, or Pennzoil synthetic are considered premium brands. They also cost a lot more than dino oils. So what's the difference?

Well, synthetics take a lot longer to break down. Though they might cost more, you can go up to 8,000 or 10,000 miles between oil changes - compared with the 3,000 to 6,000 miles you can get by on using normal oil.

They also provide more power (cue Tim Taylor grunt here), since you have reduced internal friction. As you may have guessed, this also results in improved MPG.

So is it worth it? Yes, but studies haven't shown a whole lot of difference between brands. Cheap synthetic oil is probably the best of both worlds.

Don't forget your filter either. Whatever you do, don't buy Fram filters. You also don't need to spend $15 on one, but just purchase a middle-of-the-road item that seems to be of high quality and has positive reviews.