Jack Williams

Synthetic or Conventional Motor Oil – Which is Best?

The next time you take your car in for an oil change, you may be asked if you want synthetic or regular. It's a tough call, unless your auto's manufacturer recommends one or the other. In a nutshell, here are a few things to consider about both types of motor oil:

Conventional motor oil is:

· Cheaper

· Derived from petroleum, thus harder on the environment.

Synthetic motor oil:

· Uses chemicals to produce

· Lasts longer - 10,000, 15,000, up to 20,000 miles between oil changes with some brands of synthetic, depending on where you drive (dusty, dirty climates), how much and how far you drive

· Greater ability to handle extreme high temperatures

· Cleaner and meaner (just not necessarily any greener). Its composition is much cleaner because it is derived in a laboratory rather than nature, and it has been proven to have a lower volatility and therefore not vaporize out the exhaust as quickly.

· Produces less resistance in the engine and therefore offers more horsepower and overall efficiency.

If you are looking for the best of both worlds, the synthetic blend could be your answer. This mixes the two together to give you moderately better oil at better cost to you. The blend doesn't quite have the longevity of the full synthetics, so it really all comes out equal in the end.

If you want to be on the safe side, you can follow what your manufacturer recommends for motor oil.

Until the choice becomes more obvious, we can continue to make our best informed decisions on engine oil. Sometimes it is not so much a choice of right and a wrong, as it is a choice of the lesser of the two wrongs. For now, most experts would agree that synthetic is the lesser of the two evils.

Jack Williams Tire and Auto Service Centers specialize in all of your vehicle's service needs. Whether your vehicle needs factory scheduled maintenance, state inspections or mission inspections, Jack Williams' ASE certified professionals know just how to help you. Visit any of our 29 locations to meet with Jack Williams' team of experts for alignments, brakes, shocks, struts, exhausts, batteries, fluid services, oil changes, filters, belts, hoses, diagnostics and more! Jack Williams Tire is proud to employ ASE certified technicians.