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I use Mobil 1. It's tried and true and I see no reason to shop around at this time for allegedly incremental advantages claimed by other oils. Better cold starts, better protection for severe heat/towing situations. I think the claims for better gas mileage are pretty slim, maybe 1-3% if you are lucky. So instead of 20 mpg you might get 20.5, maybe.

If you have no severe driving conditions (towing, severe climates hot or cold, racing) and no factory recommendations/requirements (like VW turbo engines MUST have synthetic), then you don't need it IMO.

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I used Mobil 1 in my Outback and Forester XT, as well as our MPV. This year, I now am running Penzoil Platinum in the MPV.

-Brian

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Mobil1 is my preference too. I've used all of them except for Royal Purple and Amsoil. No complaints with any of them. I prefer Mobil1 because it is race proven and almost always available for a good price at WalMart or Costco. The only complaint I've ever read about Mobil1 has been on Subaru forums relative to their turbocharged engines.

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I don't think synthetic oil is worth the expense so I don't use it in my (non-turbo) Outback or Quest. The Quest lived in Anchorage briefly, and my other cars lived outside there for 20 winters and they always cranked ok, even if I was away from any block heaters skiing into a cabin or something.

Now the Quest is in Boise, where we have hot summers (105 isn't all that unusual), and it's puttering along ok at 125,000 miles on plain oil changed on a 7,500 mile interval.

I drive them forever too - the Outback is a '97, the Quest is a '99 and up north I ran a Toyota on dead dino for 17 years.

Now, if you really were asking, of those of you who use synthetic, what brand... then nevermind. -)

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I've always been a Mobil 1 synthetic fan, but Valvoline Synpower 5w-30 may be a great synthetic since they are claiming they have 4 times less engine wear during the Sequence IVA test (part of the SM set of tests) than Mobil 1 5w-30. Thats a bold statement, actually making public how well it did on a Sequence IVA test, something most oil makers keep secret due to fears they will be compared with other oils! Congrats to Valvoline (Ashland Oil Co.). http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ee9950a/7866 for more info and web links.

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I don't because I change the oil every 3000 miles. Synthetic oil makes sense for extended oil changes of 10,000 miles and is a convenience if you put a lot of miles on your car per year and don't want the hassle of very frequent oil changes. There are a few other reasons to use synthetic oil that don't apply to me. One is that the lower viscosity will cause synthetic to flow easier in sub-zero weather and reduce engine wear in cars that are subject to very short daily commutes where the engine does not have time to warm up. Secondly, it is a good device to clean sludge out of your engine if you have this problem. Synthetic oil cleans engines better than conventional oil. Costwise, it is a toss up as a synthetic oil change runs about 3 times the cost of conventional oil but lasts 3 times as many miles.

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I use Royal Purple in our 2004 Chrysler T&C and noticed at least a 10% increase in the MPG.

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I don't use synthetic oil if it is more expensive. I really don't know which oil I use because I rely on the Toyota Dealer to put in the oil that is right for my car. I suppose one day it I do it myself I would look at the pros-cons - now I prefer to stick with what the manual says - get the oil changed every 5,000 miles.

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