Can You Mix Synthetic Oil With Regular Oil?
The short answer is yes, you can mix synthetic oil with regular oil. However, you should only use this combination as a temporary solution until you can receive a professional oil change. While mixing motor oils is safe, doing so will limit your oil’s performance.
Mixing Motor Oil
Because most motor oils comprise a combination of additives and base oil, they’re typically compatible when mixed. However, synthetic and conventional oils have different refining processes, impacting their quality and performance.
Synthetic oil is well-refined, meaning it contains higher-quality additives and minimal impurities, keeping your engine clean and lubricated for longer. Conventional motor oil is less refined than synthetic, resulting in increased residue buildup. Mixing these oils can dilute the synthetic oil’s beneficial properties by muddying it with less refined oil.
Synthetic vs. Conventional Oil
The two main types of car oil are synthetic and conventional. While both have their advantages, their effectiveness also depends on what your car needs. The main difference between synthetic and conventional oils lies in their base formulation, which makes a huge impact on the behavior of each product.
Synthetic Oil
Synthetic motor oil comprises a petroleum-based base oil and evenly distributed high-quality powder additives. This mixture is designed to improve engine performance and protection for longer than other oils.
Due to its uniform properties, synthetic oil is highly effective across a wide temperature range, allowing for faster engine startups and longer running times between oil changes. Its low impurity levels allow for cleaner burning and slower thickening, reducing engine drag. Synthetic oil also produces fewer emissions by preventing gum and varnish buildup, promoting better fuel economy by reducing friction.
Synthetic oils are ideal for older cars that don’t receive regular oil changes, as this oil can fend off contaminants and deposits, even when the vehicle isn’t in use.
There are two types of synthetic oil you can use in your engine:
- Full synthetic: This type of oil is made with a high-quality synthetic oil base and a selection of additives to increase performance.
- Synthetic blend: These oils are typically a combination of conventional and high-quality synthetic oils, and additives help boost the oil’s performance and efficiency.
Even though full synthetic oils contain crude oil, their formulation process removes more impurities than synthetic blends. This process improves:
- Oil flow
- Sludge and deposit resistance
- Wear protection
- Engine condition
- Vehicle performance
Of course, you’ll still notice improvements in your engine’s performance when you switch to a synthetic blend. However, full synthetics will give you the biggest bang for your buck.
Conventional Oil
Conventional motor oil comes from natural crude oil drilled from the earth. This oil is refined through sedimentation, which removes waste products and impurities. Finally, the oil is heated and vaporized, leaving a base oil that is combined with various fluids, such as detergents, anti-oxidants, rust inhibitors and dispersants. Which liquids are added to the base oil depend on the manufacturer.
Regular oil is well-suited for newer vehicles used in light-duty applications and short-distance travel, as these tasks are less demanding for the engine.
Advantages of Synthetic Oil
Is synthetic oil better for your engine? For most cars, the answer is yes. Here’s why:
- Reduced friction: Unlike conventional oils, the molecules in synthetic oils are uniform in size, which helps to eliminate friction.
- Longer oil change intervals: With conventional oil, you need to take your car in about every 3,000-5,000 miles, but synthetic oil allows you to stretch that interval out to every 10,000-15,000 miles. That’s an enormous improvement.
- Fewer emissions: Due to the consistency in molecular size, loads flow smoothly across the lubricant film, which decreases the number of emissions your vehicle produces and can even reduce energy consumption.
- Cleaner engines: As oil flows through your engine, it picks up contaminants, like the debris produced by moving parts. This accumulation can lead to the creation of deposits and sludge in your system. A synthetic oil is more resistant to sludge and deposit formation than conventional oils, so your engine stays cleaner for longer.
- Better flow: When you’re not driving your car, oil settles in the engine. In low temperatures, your oil will need to warm up to flow properly. Fortunately, full synthetic oils can flow quickly, even in cold climates.
- Increased protection: The engine of a car gets extremely hot, which causes motor oil to break down and evaporate over time. These oils are more resistant to increased temperatures than conventional oils, which means they’ll protect your engine for longer, even under severe conditions.
Change Intervals for Gasoline and Diesel Engine Oils
For conventional oils, most manufacturers recommend changing your oil every 3,000-5,000 miles. However, one of the main advantages of synthetic oils is the extended oil change intervals. Generally, you can change your oil every 10,000-15,000 miles when you use synthetic oil. This range can vary depending on several factors:
- Brand of oil
- Driving style
- Engine demands
- Age of vehicle
The above factors may require you to change your engine oil more often. In case you’re switching oil for the first time or need some tips, here are some signs your vehicle may need an oil change:
- Dark color: If you check your oil and notice it looks dark and slightly opaque, it’s time to bring it in — motor oil should be a transparent amber color.
- Engine noise: The lubricating properties of motor oil keep your engine quiet. If you hear rumbling or knocking sounds when you start your vehicle, you need to change your oil ASAP.
- Exhaust smell: If you can smell exhaust or gasoline from inside the car, your engine might be overheating due to low or contaminated oil. An overheating engine is a sure sign you need to bring your vehicle in.
Of course, each vehicle has different needs. If you’re unsure about how long you should wait between oil changes, talk to your auto technician or consult your vehicle’s manual.
Possible Negative Effects of Mixing Conventional and Synthetic Oil
Mixing synthetic oil with regular oil is safe but can have numerous disadvantages for your engine:
- More frequent oil changes: Because conventional oil dilutes the beneficial qualities of synthetic oil, mixing them means you’ll need to get an oil change sooner.
- Reduced efficiency: Conventional and synthetic oils feature different additives, chemicals and detergents that can destabilize your oil when mixed, impacting your engine’s performance.
- Lower value: Combining regular oil with synthetic oil lowers the value of your synthetic oil investment, meaning you won’t get the quality or performance you paid for.
Can You Use Regular Oil After Synthetic?
Switching to conventional oil after using synthetic oil in your vehicle is safe. Because both oils compromise compatible fluids, switching to regular motor oil is okay if your car has used synthetic before. Modern technologies ensure that these oils are similar enough in their properties that no complications will occur when mixed, despite synthetic oil having higher-quality ingredients.
Choose Motor Oil From Hot Shot’s Secret Today
You can ensure optimal engine performance and longevity with oil from Hot Shot’s Secret. We’re known for creating problem-specific solutions for the automotive, trucking, RV and agricultural industries designed to increase equipment efficiency and service life. Our products are backed by science and our money-back guarantee.
Contact us to learn more about our automotive products today!