Christopher M. Smith wrote:
> > If anyone is still unsure about synthetic oil and you think it's just as
> > good as conventional oil then 1) You're wrong, and; 2) If you do some
> > research like I did you will see how much better the stuff really is.
> > Remember, technology is our friend :)
> 
> What research ? I'm curious! I would on intuition think synthetics are
> recyclable, but as for them being "accross-the-board" *better* than
> conventional "cracked" oils ... not necessarily. The specific heat of
> synthetics is relatively lower than conventional oils, thus they are not
> as good conductors/transducers of (engine) heat. Although the primary
> function of oil in an air-cooled engine is lubrication, the secondary is
> "cooling" (c.f., oil-coolers popular with older model buses or baja bugs).
> Thus an oils heat absorbing properties (e.i., specific heat capacity) are
> also a critical component of it's functionality and usefulness in any
> vehicle. Synthetics generally lack this functionality (relative to
> conventional oils). To be just to synthetics, it's also my understanding
> that this "problem"is addressed (to a limited degree) is via the addition
> of "heat-absorbing additives" to their synthetic oils.
> 

Chris,
I must say categorically that your intuition referenced above is wrong. Trust the 
facts not your intuition. The facts concerning the -Superiority- of syn-based 
lubricating oils is massive. The best way to prove this to yourself is to simply 
ask any Indy Car/Nascar/SCCA car/Dragster/Baja-racer etc. what oil they are using 
on thier team vehicles. These folks, with many times upwards of $200K invested in 
one of many team engines have been mostly synthetic for sometime. You may notice 
Pennzoil stickers on Indy cars, this means that corporation paid a lot of money for 
that ad space. The contract normally reads they can and will use any oil in thier 
$200K engine they please, and that would be Red Line/Royal Purple/Bel Ray and other 
fully synthetic race oils developed by the Shell's Exxons that are not for public 
consumption.
There is some controversies in this arena, but the vast majority of racing 
machinery in the USA today is running fully synthetic for the owners of this 
expensive machinery have fully examined the facts and gone with synthetics to 
protect thier investments. Most find measurable HP increases in just switching from 
mineral based oils to fully synthetic gained solely from the reduction in friction 
at high rpm. Check for yourself.
> Two other reasons I refrain from using synthetics are costs ($3-4/qt vs.
> $1/quart) and that I change my oil about every 3/4K miles ... not so much
> because of conventional oil breakdown, but because of the grim and dirt
> that accumulates in our oil. Synthetics don't have this breakdown
> "problem" (generally 12K miles/oil change), but I for one wouldn't want
> 12K/miles worth of grim and grit running through my engine. Conventional
> oil is cheap, new engines aren't.Here you are correct. The filter is the problem, this is why I have been using 
submicronic (1/10 micron) engine oil filtration for over ten years in various 
vehicles: all with fantastic results. The normal spin on cartridge removes down to 
30-50 microns. Wear metals, carbon and silica (dirt) are usually in the 1-5 micron 
range and freely pass through the spin-on element due to their small size. The 
filters I use remove down to the molecular size of the oil and remove any water as 
well. Therefore I use the best synthetics, presently Royal Purple, with Prolong 
additive (same molecular size as syn oil). And I have not changed my oil for years 
and after spectrographic laboratory oil analysis the oil is in like-new condtion. I 
only change replaceable elements in the filters. This saves me money while giving 
me the benefits of the superiority of the syn oil.
I used to sell these filters (Frantz, Engine Oil Purifier etc.) but don't mess with 
it any longer for their is no money in it.
You can find many companies selling sub-micronic oil filters on the net by typing 
in sub-micronic oil filtration into your search engine.

Regards
Mark B. Magee
87GL 77K (Royal Purple, Engine Oil Purifier, Prolong)