Broke down and tried synthetic oil in my 1998 Honda Civic last month

I've been running conventional oil in that old thing since 2005 because I figured it didn't need anything fancy, but a buddy at the garage convinced me to switch after I hit 230k miles. The engine actually runs quieter and I think I'm burning less oil between changes, though I'm still skeptical it's worth the extra $12 per quart. Has anyone else seen real benefits switching to synthetic in a truly ancient car or is this just a waste of cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.jade22d ago

Oh man, I had the exact same thing happen with my old 2002 Camry! I swore by conventional oil for years, thought synthetic was just a gimmick. Then my mechanic finally talked me into trying it after I hit 210k miles and I was burning through a quart every two weeks. I noticed the engine quieted down a lot too, like it was just running smoother. And honestly I don't have to top it off near as often between changes now. I was pretty skeptical about the cost but after a few months I could feel the difference, so I think it's worth it for peace of mind. I'm sticking with it for good now.

william91722d ago

lol that's wild because @coleman.jade, I actually had the opposite experience at first. I tried synthetic in my old Accord and it started leaking everywhere, like every seal just gave up. My buddy who knows way more about cars than me said when you switch a high mileage engine that's been on conventional its whole life, the synthetic can clean out all the gunk that was actually plugging up leaks. I went back to conventional for a while and it stopped leaking, but eventually I just bit the bullet and switched anyway after getting the seals replaced. Engine definitely runs quieter now too, and I'm not topping off between changes either. Guess it just depends on the car and how bad the seals are lol.