Pontiac: Pontiac Vibe and Castrol Syntec

Hi all...

I'm looking for a general consensus on using Castrol Syntec 5W50 oil
in a 1 year old Pontiac Vibe (130 hp). The car has 25k miles on it.

I have used this oil in my 12 year old Saturn for quite a while now.
The car has 250k miles on it and no problems with the engine. But
looking at Vibe's manual, there is no mention of using a synth oil but
10w30 and 5w30.
I'm just curious if using the Syntec 5W50 year round would hurt the
engine in any way.

Thanks

Alex

No, it won't hurt.

The only thing that sometimes gets said about synth oil is that it
causes leaks, which it patently doesn't. Synth oils typically have a
detergent additive in them to remove the varnish and gunk that builds
up. Basically, it only uncovers leaky gaskets in that instance.

Anyhow.. I'd use it in the Vibe without any problems. Synth oil
generally gives you better wear performance, and if you live in areas
that get frigid conditions, you'll love synths because they typicall
freeze at a MUCH lower temp than regular or blends... also, the oil
helps dissipate heat better in warmer climes.

The only thing that I'd say is go for a true synthetic oil like Mobil
1, I seem to have remembered hearing about Castrol and calling their
SynTec oil a full synthetic when it really was not... I may be
incorrect, but I personally use Mobil 1 in all my cars, and the
engines haven't had a problem that was oil related.

On 6 Feb 2004 06:25:59 -0800, com (Alex Wiecek) wrote: