Gas Mileage increase with Synth oil?

[bmdubyou]

For the past 10,000 miles my 02 GSA Ive been getting 38-42 mpg. I reached 20,000 mi on the odometer this year and switched to synthetic oil. The first fill up I noticed an increase in the mpg and in my last fill up I was near 50mpg (and I didnt change riding habits). Hoping this isnt just a fluke! Anyone else notice an increase in MPG upon switching from Dino oils??

[DarkCloud]

You really have to check the average of three tanks of gas to get an average gas mileage. 15-40 weight oil will also increase gas mileage. JON

[PGlaves]

You really have to check the average of three tanks of gas to get an average gas mileage. 15-40 weight oil will also increase gas mileage. JON

But, is out of spec if the ambient temperatures exceed 68 degrees F!

[jossblom]

My '06 GS returned the same mileage (45-50 +) after I switched to Mobil One.
Good on us!!

[osbornk]

I've tried synthetic in cars, trucks, motorcycles and even my John Deere Lawn and Garden tractor and I never found a difference in the fuel mileage.

[Rad]

20% increase in MPG using a different oil?.....Sorry, not a chance:brow

[cycleman2]

Sync oil may give you slighlty better gas mileage as it does cut down on friction & operating temp but not a 7 mpg increase. Something like maybe 3-5% or 1-2 mpg would be more realistic.

[ANDYVH]

You've monitored the fuel mileage of your John Deere lawn tractor??!!

You need to mow less and ride more!!

[bmdubyou]

That was just one tank so, Im not getting TOO excited yet! It does seem that the lifters seem noisier at startup. Is there a synth oil in 20-50?

[osbornk]

You've monitored the fuel mileage of your John Deere lawn tractor??!!

You need to mow less and ride more!!

Sad to say but I buy more gas for my lawn mowers than I do my bikes. I get 3 MPG with my newer John Deere. It uses a gallon per hour and I mow at about 3 MPH. I mow my 2 or 3 acres at my house and the acre at the Ruritan Club and fill it up at the gas station when I am through. No difference. I have 2 of the same size and HP but with different brands of engines. The Kawasaki engine uses a little more gas than the Onan engine.

[RoboRider]

Is there a synth oil in 20-50?

BMW has a synth 20-50 as does Mobile 1 V-Twin.

[jcridge]

I would guess that your MPG has been steadily increasing as the engine breaks in. Now with 15W-40 you are probably seeing an increase from the lower viscosity and most likely a better additive package then the oil you were using previously.

If you change the spark plugs every 15K and keep a good state of tune, you will see a more consistent MPG return as well.

Tire inflation is a player over the long run, when you look at short term inflation doesn't seem like much maybe 1-2MPG, but that adds up over 15K miles.

Octane in the 87-92 range doesn't vary the MPG very much here at 600', let's not discuss ethanol ...

But I would be interested in hearing if others have documented MPG increases using 20w-50 synthetic oil.

What I have found with 100's of customers over the years, if they are looking to improve their MPG, they will...simply by driving or riding with some thought about how to best to get every mile out of a gallon of gasoline. Vehicles with MPG readouts are more likely to get better MPG then the same vehicle that doesn't.

Funny how people will throw good money at mechanical ways to improve MPG, when the easiest thing to do is drive slower and accelerate smoothly and evenly.

But wheres the fun it that...

John

[DarkCloud]

But, is out of spec if the ambient temperatures exceed 68 degrees F!

I have done some powerful thinking on this.

How is ambient temperature relative to the lubrication system in an engine.

Seems like internal engine temperature should be the deciding factor.

If you put 20-50 in an engine and run it for 3,000 miles and regrade it for viscosity , would it be 20-50 or something with lower numbers? If you ran the same oil 6,000 miles what would the viscosity be then?

JON

[jcridge]

JON,

Congrats on the powerful thinking,

The ambient temperature on the side of the oil bottle is a relative number that the typical consumer can reasonably understand.
Oil viscosity is still engine temperature dependent, but when you first start the engine, that critical first few seconds is where the correct oil come into play. The multi-weight oils give us a wide range of operating temperatures. Our Bavarian brethren have designed the Oilheads to run pretty well on 20w50 in almost all but sub zero conditions. I ride in the single digits, and when starting the bike after sitting at 5 degrees all day, it needs quite a few seconds to get the oil where it needs to be with 20w50. This is where I've been thinking...synthetic.



John

[AndyMcLain]

Just started using AMSOIL 20W-50 Motorcycle synthetic in my R1100S. I am a little leary as I've heard boxer motor seals don't like synthetic, but no seepage so far. Can't really say about the mileage as I've found that has more to do with whether or not I am gentle with the throttle. But I had what seems to be a slight decrease in oil consumption. I generally like and want to use synthetics in my cars and motorcycles as I had a real bad dino oil experience with a VW, a turbo engine and tons of sludge. Synthetic simply performs and stands up better.

[racer7]

In tuning cars on dynos, there have been many who have made comparisons between all dino juice and all synthetic at the same viscosities in all parts of the driveline (engine, tranny, diff). Differences on the order of 0-5% are found always in favor of synthetics. So an oil change in the motor alone might generate a slight effect but not a lot and for obvious reasons- the viscosity grade tells you about a few key fluid flow properties though not the fact that synthetics have inherently better multigrade capabilty and are less dependent on additive packages to achieve their ratings.

[pbranden@schoolhousegraphics.com]

My BMW dealer doesn't "allow or sell" synth oil, they offer some very over price BMW vegie oil and regular oil.

I went in for my 18000 mile service and told them if they didn't have synth oil don't change the oil. I was told a oil change was part of the check up and may void the warranty - so I opted for the regular oil, went home drained it and put in Mobil one.

One other pleasant treat the dealer provided is a Oil filter that is so over tightened it is almost impossible to get off. They do it every time, makes you think twice about going to the dealer for anything.