1999 Hyundai Accent Natural Oil vs. Synthetic Lubricants -

GATHIS

MEMBER
1999 HYUNDAI ACCENT
4 CYL
2WD
MANUAL
120,000 MILES

This is probably one of those topics where there are as many opinions as people you ask, but I am planning to change out my car's engine oil soon. The previous owners of my car did not look after it very well and I would like to prolong the engine life as best I can. I am also a very cautious driver and have more of a granny foot than anything else.

Would it be a good idea for me to go the synthetic route or is it just going to cost me extra money with minimal extra benefits for my efforts?

Thank you.

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,867 POSTS

First, if the oil hasn't been changed on a regular basis, I would recommend using standard oil and changing it for every 1K for the first couple times. Oil has a detergent in it to help keep the engine clean inside, so use the cheap stuff to do that. After that, if you are not hard on the car, conventional oil is fine if you change it every 3K. Synthetic oil is much more expensive and is better, but was really designed for high performance vehicles that are under heavy loads most of the time.

The vehicle I just sold had 254K on it and all I ever used was conventional oil. It still ran good when I sold it. Also, always change the oil filter when you change the oil. Otherwise all you do is have the fresh oil clean out the old filter.

Let me know if you have other questions.
Joe