Hey guys,
Just wondering if this is myth or fact. I'm trying to get my petrol consumption down a bit in my laser and am just debating whether to buy mineral oil, semi synthetic or a full synthetic for its next service. (When theyre on sale of course ;)
Has anyone noticed much difference in older cars with better quality oil?
Cheers
It will be better, simple as that.
Did you learn that from advertising?
Good one.
Mineral oil has its place, but a full synthetic oil of the same viscosity will in nearly every case be of lower resistance.
I used mineral oil in my old 70s crown, and I used full synthetic in my AU falcon. Both work fine, but suit different applications.
And also, I learned it from doing a significant amount of research about oils, so cheers.
that would be minimal to non-existent
it's more towards the weight of oil
if you can get away with lighter oil on your old car (less protection / possible leak)
then try -10 lower , eg. from 15w-40 to 5w-30
or 0w-20 if you're living on the edge (not recommended)
I wouldn't go to much lighter in an old car. With the wear in the engine, the thinner the oil is, the more it needs to pump to fill the worn areas in the engine.
But yeah, changing from mineral to synth will have no effect on fuel economy.
Depends on the car I think. I was using fully synthetic on the Magna for year but my new mechanic told me off and that I should be using mineral oil instead. Mind you the 'ol girl has done around 250K and the mechanic was all for synthetic oils, just in the right engines. :)
it's more so "not worth it" kinda thing
not that mineral is better than synthetic for your 250k magna
just that synthetic with premium additives/detergents might dislodged the 250k sludge buildups, causing oil leaks that was previously hidden/plugged by sludge that dino mineral oil left off
Ford Laser? Wow, what a throwback!
Cheers guys, reason I asked was I saw a sale on the 15w-40 semi synthetic on this site which looks really good value.
I'm not due for a change just yet tho so waiting for a deal on a 10w-40 full synthetic might be best for me to check any differences its going to make to the car.
Super cheap had full syn 5w-30 for $20 recently which was tempting but I thought that might be getting a bit too thin for an older engine.
It's an old Laser. There is nothing that is realistically going to improve fuel economy other than upgrading to a newer vehicle or changing how you drive the vehicle. Changing the oil is a clutch at straws.
The problems you have is that the vehicle is probably either carburettor or single point fuel injection (depending on age). Neither of these are as fuel efficient as multipoint or direct injection. No oil is going to fix that.
The next issue is engine wear. As the engine wears out, the compression drops. This causes fuel to burn incomplete or poorly, giving less power and requires more right foot input to get the car up to speed. More right foot=increased consumption.
If I had an old Laser, I would be looking at replacing the car before I looked at replacing the oil to improve fuel consumption economy. You are not going to go from 10km/l to 15km/l simply by going from mineral to synthetic.
Buy more expensive oil in contrary to saving money.
Do a spread sheet of total running costs of that car, fuel will be near the bottom. TRD Lazer, guessing maintenance and servicing is silly money for it.
It will make no difference with the same viscosity. Full synthetic is just more highly refined and has better additive packages so will last longer all other things being equal.
Changing your air and fuel filters and spark plugs will probably have a greater influence than changing types of oil.
And the best way to lower consumption is to alter driving habits and routes to minimise low or no speed driving.
The synthetic oils will just be able to last longer, usually. Would be negligible fuel economy benefits, and offset by the cost of more expensive oil. I'd just be putting cheap 15w40 or 20w50 in it and driving it till it becomes too expensive to fix or you're sick of driving an old car
How old and how many kms on the car? Is it electronic fuel injected? Oil isn’t going to make a difference to fuel economy.
The biggest thing you can do for fuel economy involves the use of your right foot (or not using it). It’s all about driving style.
Edit: think about how much you’ve saved in depreciation on your old car, you can buy a lot of fuel with that!
Hi mate,
It's a 2000 model but from an old person so only 50ks. I think it's efi yes. Injector cleaners do noticeably improve performance. I'm tossing up whether to change the in tank fuel filter too. If its never been done it could be why its a bit thirsty lately
So it isn’t really worth much. Unless you love it like a classic car, put in the cheapest suitable oil you can get and drive it til it stops. Be gentle on the go pedal for the best economy, but every now and then give it a bit of a thrash to help blow he cobwebs out.
For that engine just run the cheapest brand name semi-synth you can buy. I'd try 10w-30 but I like experimenting.
run your tyres at 36-40 psi
change gears at 2000rpm and use a light foot
read the road ahead and anticipate traffic, avoid braking, avoid rapid acceleration, try and keep rolling
How are the spark plugs and air filter?
source: me
why: I won $5000 in a Shell economy run for achieving 3.6L/100km driving around the suburbs with a co-driver and a scrutineer in a 1.6L with slushbox Mk5 Golf on under-spec fuel
If the timing is adjustable you might try a bit more advance and higher octane fuel. advance until it pings and back off 1 degree
Hi Brad. Cheers.
My tyres are at 36. Its an auto so I guess that will use a bit more petrol. I just put platinum spark plugs in. Air filter isnt new but still looks like it is thanks to being hardly driven.
My next thought was the in tank fuel filter as I'd be surprised if its ever been changed. And possibly get the oxygen filter looked at when I do.
Good effort with your fuel economy. I used to drive a festiva so getting hit at the pump just annoys me :) Around 8-9L/100 is OK for me but when it breaches 10 like before my plug change its too high for a lightly driven 1.6 litre.
*I should note too my car is the Mazda 323 style laser sedan and not the little hatch
My GF has a 2000 323 1.6 manual hatch. It's a joy to drive. She puts 98ron in it - not for extra power but because she only fills up every 3 months and by then the fuel has degraded and it pings.
Personally, I'd wouldn't worry too much about economy and just drive the wheels off it. Your fuel costs can't be that huge.
If you do a lot of short trips and are physically able, start walking or riding or public transport. That's what I do.
Always a heavy mineral oil. Synthetic (fake) oil which is made up of a composition of who knows what (basically anything except real oil) overheats engines leading to problems like blown head gaskets. I wouldn't risk putting the synthetic crap in to save a few cents on fuel…
What a load of old cobblers.
Hahaha… thanks for the laugh… don’t forget to polish your “classic, not plastic” sticker.
I doubt it, it's more about the viscosity rating of the oil. Synthetic can still save you money if you're willing to stretch out the service interval to beyond the mineral oil's typical service interval (say, 5,000 km).
Or if you want the best protection.
It will be better, simple as that.
Will it be much? Not really, I would guesstimate MAYBE 0.5L/100km MAX, likely closer to the 0.1-0.2 range.
Bare in mind, a thinner synthetic oil maybe make any small oil leaks more prominent.