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After only 10,000 miles? Did she have a leak? Was she using oil she bought at the Dollar store?
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@Josh_G: She probably used non-synthetic oil and maybe had some small leaks. Non-synthetic oil in an engine with a turbocharger is dicey anyway, and running it for 10k without a change means that a sludged-up engine is a sure thing.
Yeah 10K? What was she doing -- driving on the freeway/highway in 2nd gear?
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It would seem that to do that sort of damage she'd have to either be way low on oil, using crappy conventional oil, or flogging that thing to within an inch of its life all day every day.
Looks nasty though, glad it's his problem and not mine.
I personally spend the extra money on Mobil1 and change oil every 6 months or 7500 miles, whichever comes first.
Still gotta pull the dipstick occasionally and make sure there's some in there though o_O
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@RamV10:
I agree about the Mobil 1. It may cost twice as much as conventional oil but you can leave it in twice as long. I also run it in my motorcycle because of the hight RPMs.
It all depends on the oil and the car.
My new VW CC's recommended service window for oil changes is actually 10,000 miles. In my Nissan Frontier I had previously, with Mobil 1 synthetic oil, I routinely went 7500 miles between oil changes.
@rysar:
I have an 09 VW turbo diesel and it has the same 10K oil change window. Also keep in mind that it takes specific synthetic oil...
@beernut: I don't keep anything in mind other than when it needs an oil change, it goes to the dealer for the free scheduled maintenance :)
@rysar: I have a 2002 VW with a non-turbo gasoline engine, and the recommended oil-change period is also 1 year/10k instead of the typical 6mo/5k. Now that the mileage is getting up I'm needing to change it more often, but for 80,000+ it was perfectly happy on that schedule.
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@chrylis:
The recommendation for my Nissan with regular oil was a change every 3,000 miles.
With synthetic oil, every 7,000 miles.
You know, I used to run my Nissan for 6k w/o an oil change, and never had any damage(she finally got into a bad enough crash my parents refused to fix it, even though it ran). I wonder like others if this car had a leak and/or had a change and someone didn't add oil. I'd also like to see what the pan looked like.
I'm also not a mechanic, but I have been under the impression that sludge does happen, and has to either be scraped off, or run with something like pure varsol or similar to dissolve it. I do see a sheen on the parts, so it doesn't look like this car/engine was run dry.
I go to school with someone who works for an oil change company, lets call it iffy dube. I've been trying to talk him into saving some of the oil from newer cars (say under 25K miles) who go 3K between changes. At least half of the life is left in the oil, I could change oil for the cost of a filter and environmentally it would be the right thing to do. The oil change interests have people changing way to ofter (btw I am in need of an oil change on my car, w/ 180k miles, after 14 months and 6K miles).
@tator: Jesus, considering the price of a few quarts of brand-new oil one would have to be particularly cheap to go there. The reward doesn't sound worth the risk IMO.
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@tator: i'm with gitemsteve on this, yes you could save money by using \"pre-loved\" oil, but for $20 i wouldn't take the risk (unless you do have the ability to filter it adequately)
@tator: There are too many deals on new oil to do this. For instance, Pep Boys from April something to May 2nd (extended to 3rd I think) had PEAK oil (get it?) 5 quarts with a filter free after rebate, limit two per customer. If you were going to use used oil, this would be a much better choice.
And as for the brand, PEAK gets their oil from Warren, who in turn gets it from Exxon/Shell/etc depending on geographic location.
On an unrelated note, I was checking out Warren's site, and they make a microbial oil spill cleaner. Definitely a cool idea, and at $6/gallon ([www.agrisupply.com]) I'm going to try some - the street and driveway at my house have some fierce oil spots, I change a LOT of fluids.
@tator: Correct me if I am wrong, but oil/grease is acidic. Also, you'd be introducing possibly contaminated oil into your system. Do you plan on scrubbing the oil for any metal shavings/particles? B/C in most of the oil filters I buy, when they clog, they just open up and let oil pass through them w/o filtering. But if you want to screw up your car to save pretty much no money, more power to you.
Looks like a VW 1.8 turbo- notorious engine for sludge buildup.A turbo engine, that one in particular, requires frequent oil changes and synthetic oil.
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@anAdmetus: You called it. I had one of these 1.8T passats and I remember the recall- to get engine service you had to PROVE that you had the oil changed every 5k with approved synthetic oil (not just any synthetic, but a synthetic on the list of VW approved oils). Luckily I never had sludge- the electrical system fried itself long before sludging became a problem.
@Inglix_the_Mad: The 2.0T is improved over the 1.8- one of the main problems with the 1.8 was an undersized oil pan, which accelerated the buildup of heat in the oil used to cool the turbo. I believe the 2.0T also has a turbo timer to keep the oil flowing after you shut off the engine, keeping the oil in the turbo from \"cooking\" if you turn off the engine too soon after driving.
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@anAdmetus: Looks like it to me, too. We actually just replaced a water pump on one and were horrified to find out that they used a PLASTIC impeller. The thing just disintegrated one day and nearly trashed the engine. This was only at 40,000 miles!
That's VW 'quality' right there...
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@FooSchnickens: Hmm. I have a 2.0T and have not had any issues. My friend owns a 1.8T and loves it. He's got about 100k on the thing and it still purrs like a kitten.
While I've seen worse, this does seem like a lot of damage for only 10,000 miles. My guess is that the radiator was low/empty and it overheated prior to blowing. Either that or the wrong oil was used for the climate (or both).
It may be the original break-in fluid, which on some turbo vehicles is supposed to be changed after 1000 miles with synthetic or regular oil.
Wow, that's gruesome. My guess is that she used full conventional (non-synthetic) oil and never checked it. It says she has a car with a turbocharger, which are notorious for being little sludge factories when conventional oil is used. Anyone who has a turbo at least needs to use a blend, if not full synthetic!!
Hey, some Toyota cars do that even with regular oil changes. Check this link from the autosafety.org place or google toyota sludge.
[www.autosafety.org]
@Inail: Chevrolet Prizms, aka rebadged Toyota Corollas, also have the oil sludge problem, which I am not facing. The crappy part about buying a used Prizm recently is that Consumer Reports recommended them over a year ago for being fuel sippers. I still love you Consumers Union, but I wish the labs would have done a Google search on inherent problems.
+1 for non-synthetic oil on a turbo car. You don't have to flog the car for this to happen (although city driving is certainly tough on a turbo vehicle). Engine oil runs through [most] turbos to lubricate them. Turbos get insanely hot (hot enough to glow if run really hard). Standard oil suffers from thermal breakdown, therefore it doesn't last very long in a turbo car. So city driving for 10k on dino oil could definitely do this...
I am very suspicious of these recent photos. I manage a fleet of vehicles and we have to be fairly religious about oil changes, but sometimes a vehicle goes longer than it should. But I KNOW that we change alot of oil that is perfectly fine. I've seen oil tested after being in a engine and the oil usually passes the test and could be used again. Also, much of the contamination in the oil can be filtered ( let the oil dribble past a rare earth magnet and it will clear up remarkably ). We have also abused our delivery truck with oil changes around the 10K mark with no problem.
If I was to see this kind of sludge - I would think contamination and sabatoge. Someone might have introduced something into the oil - such as sugar or something else that would carbonize with the heat of the engine - but what is there is NOT oil...
I don't know what oil they're using, but a certain synthetic oil that i use has a 25K mile interchange recommendation. I only have to change my oil once a year.. granted it costs me about $100 in the oil and filter.. but i've never had this issue in any of my vehicles.
Yeah, newer turbo cars don't really like conventional oil, and once oil starts breaking down, it goes downhill fast.
I've got a MKV GTI. Full synthetic (Mobil 1 0W-40) every 5K miles. Also end up having to put in around a half-3/4 of a quart due to oil consumption between changes.
Also, change your oil at home, people. It takes no mechanical knowledge, very little in the way of tools, and saves you a ton of money. Not to mention that it doesn't give Jiffy Lube or Walmart or wherever a chance to destroy your car.
Ramps are like $35, get whatever wrench your filter takes (another $10) and a drain pan for 10$. That's it for initial costs.
For my oil change I spend around $40 on oil (6 quarts) and $14 on a filter. It takes me about 25 minutes to do. The dealership charges nearly $100 for the same service.
@Schwartz: Don't forget that when you change your own oil, you know what oil has gone in and you know the filter has been changed. No paying for top grade synthetic and getting low grade or not even synthetic at all.
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@Schwartz: This is the story... prior to this event every oil change was done at a VW Dealer. I don't know if she forgot or just did not care...but it's a sensitive subject with my sis So i don't bring it up.Bottom line..she skipped a oil change. When her low oil light turned on my brother in law changed the oil and filter with full synthetic. After that you can hear a weird noise when it was turned on and the turbo didn't sound the same. That is when we had the car towed to her usual VW Dealer to have them take a look at it..found out she had a engine and turbo for paper weights. 9k to have them replace the engine and turbo vs 2k at home. Life lesson learned the hard way. Now i think my sis checks oil levels on a daily basis.
@Schwartz: Don't forget people like myself that live in apartments. I have the knowledge to change my own oil, but doing so in our parking lot is a violation of my contract.
@discordance: I recommend not doing it until the warranty (the major warranty) is expired myself. I had a Buick (the only GM I've ever owned) Skylark that, in the first year of ownership, had the clutch assembled \"backwards\" and a head gasket blow. I brought my car into the dealer every 2400-2600 miles like clockwork to have it changed. They wanted to charge me for a split second saying it might have been related to \"improper oil change techniques\" to whit I responded they could train their own employees better in that respect.
Heh.
@Schwartz:
At home cost for me about $15
Get someplace to do it about $25
My wife has a '02 Chevy Cavalier, so I will never change that car's oil at home. My wrist simply doesn't bend that way. I've yet to actually take it somewhere that didn't bitch about the location of the oil filter. It's almost impossible to get a grip on that POS with any leverage at all. So to me the $10 I spend not doing it myself it well worth it.
I've done my Outback at home, but again the $10 I would save just isn't worth it since I only change the oil twice a year.
@Schwartz: My garage charges $30, and that includes topping up the other fluids (windshield, antifreeze, etc). Why go to a dealership that charges $100? In college I did change the oil once myself, but it was a minor pain, and by the time I disposed of the oil, I didn't come out ahead on the costs versus taking it to a garage (NOT a dealership or Jiffy-Lube, though).
Wow, these pictures are scary.
I just had my oil changed like last month or two ago but now I wonder if the Nissan dealership would even bother to tell me if the engine was looking bad.
Maybe I should take a look under the hood.
Sigh.
@tator (reply not working)
Umm, you might want to rethink that idea. You wouldn't believe the amount of metal shavings in old oil from a new vehicle! Those will tear your engine up pretty badly. Its definitely not a good idea to skimp on car maintenance! Just buy inexpensive conventional oil and use that. It doesn't cost that much.
Its the same thing with automatic transmission fluid; my 1992 Pontiac Bonneville STILL has a quantity of metal shavings clinging to the magnet in the pan after 109K.
@Megan Squier: Ah, yes, oldest trick in the Quickie Lube type places's books. Hey! You've got metal shavings in your transmission pan! You should flush the system for only $129! Yeah, I had a 94 Bonny; one of my favorite cars, it was.
Something is wrong here. That is not what you should see after only 10,000 miles without an oil change. Please don't get paranoid about oil changes. They're relatively cheap and easy, so it's painless to do them every 3000-5000 miles, but not necessary.
@scootinger: Volkswagen Turbo engine, probably with non-synthetic oil and a stick shift, hovering around 4.5k RPM a lot.
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That looks like the pan I cooked last night's dinner in.
The OP's sister must have been using olive oil, too.
True oil story. My grandmother had my little sister drive her and her car into an oil change place for an oil change. She was worried because she had not changed the oil in 18 months. The mechanic looked at the dip stick and told her that the oil was new. My grandmother, 85, insisted that it was old. They discussed it, with the oil change people not wanting to change her oil. They looked at her old receipt and checked the mileage. She had driven 279 miles in that time. She still made them change it- you can't argue with her at all!
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That's a VAG 1.8T for sure. They're prone to oil seepage, which leads me to believe this car was not well-taken care of considering the wealth of information available on 1.8T sludge-ups.
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Sounds fishy to me. I had a VW with a 1.8 turbo engine. VW has very specific oil recommendations for their engines and I'm guessing it's to avoid this kind of thing. Open you owner's manual people.
Oh, and change your own oil! It's simple, but won't save you much money. More importantly, you'll know your oil was changed properly and with the correct oil.
I call BS. Poster probably works for Jiffy.
NO engine requires synthetic oil. It is highly recommended though due to its higher resistance to thermal breakdown and loss of viscosity over time vs. MOST non-synthetics. However, oils like Castrol non-synthetic are excellent oils, and to be honest, almost any oil driven 10,000 miles is asking for trouble, synthetic or not.
In the VW 1.8T motor, thanks to the turbo and placement, the engine endures much more heat than a normal naturally aspirated motor. Also, there's a lot of variation in results based on how she drove the car. If she drove it hard, I can see the results being this way.
@PageEris: You are extremely WRONG in your opinion that no engine requires synthetic oil. The only oils approved for VW diesel engines from 2004 on are VW spec 505.01 (2004 - 2006 PDs except the V-10 which uses 506.00) or 507.00 (2009 CRD and all PDs except V-10). Non synthetic oils would kill these engines.
Furthermore, in the 2002-2003 timeframe, VWoA retroactively changed the oil requirement, making synthetic oil the only oil now approved for use in the 1.8T.
As for the newer gas engine, the VW 2.0T, the oil requirement is synthetic only - 502.00 or 507.00.
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I'm reminded of a conversation I had with a dear-but-clueless friend. She called in a panic because 'something is wrong with my car!'; after a few minutes, I was able to calm her down and start working through possibilities. When I got to 'When was the last time you had you oil changed?' her response was '. . .my oil changed? What do you mean?' -- well, ma'am, I think we've found the problem!
It had been quite some time since she'd bought the car and she hadn't had the oil changed once. Fortunately, the car survived (how I do not know) and now she gets it changed regularly.
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I am surprised Consumerist is pushing over-changing of oil-- The Jiffy Lube's of the world, who recommend 3K, are close cousin to the \"shampoo rinse repeat\" crowd--
You do need to do a 3K oil change on a new car/engine. Otherwise, 6K as described by some posters works just fine.
@JGKojak:
Depends on driving conditions. A lot of short trips will cause condensation and water build-up in the oil. This is probably more true in colder climates. If the engine fully warms up on most trips, then 6K is perfectly acceptable. I believe my manual says even 7.5K is ok if all your trips are 10 miles or more.
I am sure she had more then a few missed oil changes. I had a 1.8T and I would drive it 10,000 between each oil change.
She probably pushes the car really hard and never changes the oil in it. My car was fine for about 4 years. But it is a VW and it died. Not from oil, but from being a 2004 Jetta.
@SoniaHabitus: Looks like it's the same kinda car. A 2004 Jetta 1.8T with 32,000 miles. She drives up hill to work. A very steep hill. Did your car die with a decent amount of miles?
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I have that exact same 1.8t engine in my Audi TT, they are know for being excessively hard on engine oil. Turbocharged cars are the most susceptible engine types to experience oil breakdown and sludge buildup due to the heat generated at the turbo. Turbos are oil lubricated and often oil cooled. As the turbocharger heats up past 1,000 degrees f, (They actually glow red if ran hard) it breaks down the oil very quickly.
To make matters worse, many people run their cars hard just moments after starting. Engines must be brought to proper operating temperature prior to hard driving, as the lubricant's viscosity is much lower when cold. Until the engine and oil heat up, the engine is not properly lubricated causing excessive wear. Once at temperature, everything should run fine.. So with a Turbo Car, you get both extremes, the damage from Cold Running and Damage from excessive heat.
Further danger can occur from seals either internal to the engine or the turbocharger allowing cross-contamination between the coolant and oil system. When you check your oil, look for small \"bubbles\" in the oil, that typically indicates coolant in the oil. Also check your coolant, if it goes from clear/yellow/green to Brown/Black, then you have a leak as well.
Finally, when checking engine oil, it should appear as maple syrup, light to mid brown. Engine oil is worn if it is coal black.
Consumer Reports tested oils in heavily used New York Taxicabs and found no significant loss of viscosity after 6000 miles. Their recommendation was to follow the owner's manual's requirements for normal duty use which is typically changing every 7500 miles. So to see an engine this clogged up with muck at 10,000 miles seems highly suspicious to me.
Ref: [www.moneybluebook.com]
Quote:
\"The bottom line. Modern motor oils needn't be changed as often as oils did years ago. More frequent oil changes won't hurt your car, but you could be spending money unnecessarily and adding to the nation's energy and oil-disposal problems.
Even in the severe driving conditions that a New York City taxi endures, we noted no benefit from changing the oil every 3,000 miles rather than every 6,000. If your driving falls into the \"normal\" service category, changing the oil every 7,500 miles (or at the automaker's suggested intervals) should certainly provide adequate protection. (We recommend changing the oil filter with each oil change.)\"
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I have been skeptical about synthetics, but my wife's 1zzfe (the infamous Toyota Corolla sludger; 110k miles) is at 7k with Mobil1 extended life and the oil still looks great.
It really has lasted a lot longer than the previous oil. I am going to change it out of religion, not because it looks bad. (I have a bunch of experience with being able to do a visual check for bad oil, though it is obviously not a perfect science.)
I should also note that I just regasketed the engine prior to the oil change, so it is pretty tight--I also topped off the oil a month ago and had changed the oil filter at 3k miles.
Anyway, I am amazed that the synthetic (which I had only bought on a whim/sale) really did seem to be better!
This is the story... prior to this event every oil change was done at a VW Dealer. I don't know if she forgot or just did not care...but it's a sensitive subject with my sis So i don't bring it up.Bottom line..she skipped a oil change. When her low oil light turned on my brother in law changed the oil and filter with full synthetic. After that you can hear a weird noise when it was turned on and the turbo didn't sound the same. That is when we had the car towed to her usual VW Dealer to have them take a look at it..and found out she had a engine and turbo for paper weights. 9k to have them replace the engine and turbo vs 2k at home. Life lesson learned the hard way. Now i think my sis checks oil levels on a daily basis.
@NeutronDecker: Ahh, the truth comes out... 10,000 miles between oil changes is not the culprit, but DRIVING THE CAR WITH LOW OIL PRESSURE seems like it's the real culprit.
Not checking the oil levels contributed, but it's the driving with low oil pressure, low enough to allow the engine to get way too hot, that would do such damage to an engine.
Yeah, by the time the low oil light comes on it's too late. That's actually a low oil pressure light, not a low oil level. You've got a few seconds to get the car turned off when that light comes on.
Sounds like a VW 1.8t, I have one of these with over 150k miles on it and no major problems. But you HAVE to use synthetic oil and change it every 6k miles. Turbo charged engines run hotter and when you use standard petroleum based oil this is what you get.
NEVER ever try to flush the sludge from your engine as another commenter suggested. If there is any sludge and it's broken loose it may not be flushed completely and could clog an oil channel and destroy your motor. If you suspect you have sludge build up then run a high quality synthetic oil with a detergent and change it often. This may or may not work depending on how bad the sludge is.
good article at popular mechanics on services you don't need (like engine flushes) [www.popularmechanics.com]
FYI if you do have a VW or Audi with a 1.8t I use Mobil 1 0W-40 it adheres to the VW 502.00 spec required for these cars.
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If it's a turbo they need supreme care when talking about oil. It needs synthetic, and it needs to be changed on its precise schedule, if not earlier.
I have 2.0T that just went out of warranty and it has a timer like thing that circulates the oil on the turbo for some time after the engine has shut off, this avoids the turbo burning the oil. Adding to that I just installed an oil radiator to aid with keeping the oil temp low.
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I just wanted to correct the update. Lots of turbo cars do fine with non-synthetic. Lots of turbocharged cars also have a liter or two extra oil for the intercooler. It can be a real PITA to drain that and prime it afterwards so most times the recommended oil change interval is decreased or the requirement for synthetic is used. Then you just replace the filter and drain the pan (wet sump style) and leave some of the old oil each time.
The VW 1.8T had a requirement for synthetic only, in fact they made it a requirement after two years in. The reason for this was that the system only had something like half a quart extra oil. Due to the heat the oil would look like burned chocolate frosting. They sent letters to owners about the change. In fact you had to bring in your car and they would check. Those first cars originally had a guideline that the oil needed to be changed at 5K miles and only oils that had marks that they met certain VW specs or two others. A lot of people lost their warranty over sludge if they could not document that they changed the oil at the proper interval with good quality oil.
For my wife's Honda CR-V (2008) and my Honda Civic (2008), the manual clearly states to use the \"Oil Life Gauge\" or 12 months - which ever comes first. I rthought as a new car it should be sooner, but three independent mechanics confirmed it...
we'll be getting hers done soon as her oil life meter is down to 30%, but still, none the less...I go by what the manual says...
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I remember changing the oil in VW's back when I worked at Jiffy Lube (yes they are evil). The VW engines would always come in with oil that looked like molasses when you drained it, even when the customer changed it every 3000. I, personally, think the 3-5000 thing is B.S. anyway. I change my Jeep's oil about every 10,000 w/ Mobil 1 and a good oil filter and haven't noticed and negative effects of it, even when the pan was dropped to replace the gasket.
If you're going to keep the car a long time, how hard is it to send a sample every so often during an oil change to a testing lab like Blackstone? No guessing or hocus pokus.
If that's the VW 1.8 T, they are very prone to sludge especially in the heavier Passat. There have been a couple of recalls and an extended warranty (but you have to change the friggin' oil) to offset. Also they even specified a new oil filter to increase capacity and disperse heat better.FWIW - the timing belt on those is another weak point - that's what killed mine.
Bogus story.
jayster68- what worries me about these flushes are the ones that are pressurized . Will the pressure jam something into an opening or blow a seal that would have ok under normal operationg conditions . I don't care if it's the engine ,radiator or transmission alot of these mechanics who should know better just want commission or pay for their equipment .
I agree just change the oil more frequently or give it a couple of changes with in short/shorter time period .
I also wonder besides reving the engine would driving the car/working the engine with no warm-up cause oil to burn/scorch and or degrade faster with rapid changes in temperature ?
I always heard starting your car is actually one of the worse things you can do to it . Also heard the first 15-30s after start up is where most of the wear can occur.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-95687-100x100.png\")
I wouldn't say anything with a turbo requires synthetic oil. My Powerstroke Diesel has a fairly large Garrett sitting on top of it and I've run Pennzoil 15W40 in it for as long as I've had the truck. It goes 5000 miles between oil changes just fine. Though the oil gets black as pitch (characteristic of Diesel engines). According to Navistar their version of my engine (T444E) has a 10000 mile oil change interval.
If you follow the reccomendations in the owner's manual you have nothing to worry about.
As a VW Certified technician for about 6 years. I see this type of thing on a weekly basis. The problem is caused by, extreme heat produced by the engine and turbo that causes oil to break down and burn.It is not uncommon for a 1.8l vw turbo motor to burn 1qt of oil every 1000mi the engine only holds about 5qt of oil (4 in the pan and filter and about 1 to 1.5 in the engine block, passages and cooler) the recommended oil change interval is 5000mi. If you do the math it is possible to burn all your oil between oil services. I have see engines with 40 to 50k miles with regular oil changes sludge up like this because even though the oil is changed it was still allowed to get low. The lower the oil gets the more stress it is subjected to and the faster it breaks down, and more sludge is built up. VW has done a very good job addressing this problem they have in some cases extended the warranty even going so far as replacing whole engines. The catch is YOU NEED KEEP RECORDS OF YOUR SERVICE HISTORY!!! Without that they will do nothing. I think the moral of this story is no matter what kind of car you drive, you need to do 3 things: Change your oil when recommended, keep your service history, and most important CHECK YOUR OIL ATLEAST ONCE A MONTH!!!!!
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What's with all the VW hate? My '97 Jetta GLS, with a 2.0L California Gas engine, 5-speed (Hecho in Mexico) has 229,000 miles on the original engine. Oil changes were sporadic, between every 7500 and every 15,000 miles, always synthetic (Castrol Syntec). The only reason I had the factory clutch replaced at 185,000, was because they had the tranny out. (I lost 4th and 5th on I-35E south of Dallas.)
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I need to get my oil changed. 88 toyota with a leak or 1 quart every 1-2 fillups. So I think 10k miles since last change means it should be changed now.
But I have a problem that everytime I get the oil changed something breaks. Like last time I lost 5th gear. Right now all I got is 1st 2nd and 4th. I don't want to lose another gear
Some people don't seem to understand the benefits of synthetic oil. The main difference between conventional and synthetic oil is the base stock and detergents they use.
Conventional oil use what's known as Group 2 base stock while Synthetic oil uses either Group 3, Group 4 or a combo of both. The higher the Group number is, the more refined the Base Stock is. Since Group 2 is not as refined, the oil molecules are all different sizes while Group 3 and Group 4 have molecules that are roughly the same size.
Also, Synthetic oils use better detergents to help extend the life of the oil.
I wish I could find the article but this website wanted to test out how far they could go on synthetic oil before they had to change it. The car was a Camaro. I don't know the model year but it was one of those Camaros that look like a cockroach. The car had pretty low miles on it. They did a fresh oil change with Mobil 1 and drove the car normally. They would take a sample every 1000 miles and send it into Blackstone labs to have the oil analyzed. The analysis consists of looking for metal shavings, viscosity, mineral depletion and some other things I'm forgetting. Its a pretty thorough test that anyone could do for I believe $25 bucks. That Camaro went for 18,000 miles before Blackstone recommend they have the oil change.
I'd imagine that in the not too distant future that synthetics will replace conventional oil. In the Mini Cooper, the oil change interval is 15,000 miles and that car uses synthetic.
I own a 98 Acura Integra with 183,000 miles on it which has only used synthetics and I've never changed the oil under 7,000 miles on it and the engine feels as strong as the day I bought the car.
One last thing. EVERY car burns oil. My car burns about 1 quart every 7500 miles. I've read about some cars that burn a full quart of oil every 1,000 miles. So check your oil often. Its the blood of an engine.
Oh, one last last thing. Someone had mentioned that oil cools a turbocharged car's intercooler. That couldn't be further from the truth. An intercooler's job is to cool the super hot compressed air coming out of a turbo before its fed into the engine. Cooler air is more condensed containing more oxygen which in turn creates more power. NO OIL goes into the intercooler.
As an actual certified Level II Machinery Lubrication Analyst let me say, ouch! (I don't change oil in a garage, I interpret machinery condition based on oil analysis results in a nuclear power plant)
Some manufacturers do require syn oils. Comply or not at the danger that warranty claims will be denied.
As for syn vice conv oils, syn will outlast conv oils. In high temp or high stress situations syns become a near necessity.
The extreme temps seen in turbos will kill a conv oil quickly. You can get away with it, just change it often. It'll be cheaper to just use the proper syn oil.
And finally, never fall for the *iffy *ube recommended 3,00 mile oil change. Follow owners manual for warranty, use syns and double that afterward. 1.5 times if you're shy.
Finally, the real key to longevity. Filters.
Use a good oil. Name brand, etc. Use a GREAT filter.
Wix Gold, Purolator pure one, even the Frams with the black ends, they provide effiiciency ratings. Stay away from any oil filter that says they are good, but won't provide data.
Your engine will love you for it.
That's frightening.