Am not sure if this topic has been debated on here before but does anyone think there are any benefits in using fully synthetic &semi synthetic oils over mineral oils? The oil companies have been shouting about the benefits of synthetics a lot over the past 10 years or so mentioning benefits such as extended oil change intervals,reduced engine wear better fuel economy etc but in practice operators experience has been mixed with some not willing to pay the higher price for synthetics and some having increased oil consumption.Also must the latest euro 4 engines use these low saps oils?
my actros ran on fully synth for the 1st 4 yrs and 6 months ago i changed to mineral as i was sick of paying £400 for an oil change, dont know if its just me but i now change it every 3 months and it seems to run a lot better
speak to an independent oil supplier they can sometimes offer an alternative if you have your handbook there will be a spec list which they can match up to.
Euro 4 engines do need low saps oil. Using normal oil can void the warranty and cause damage. I wouldn’t say there’s that much difference between mineral and synthetic for euro 3, I just buy whatever is in the petrol station and you can mix them as well so not that bothered which I use.
Been thinking of trying the above if I can be arsed.
is it really £400 for an oil change■■? how does that work then■■?
m111wud:
is it really £400 for an oil change■■? how does that work then■■?
tht be main dealer prices then 
i can do a full service for less than £100
i get the filters, oil and everything else and do it myself
i thought that was rediculous, it wud have to hold 200 ltrs to cost that much!!!
m111wud:
i thought that was rediculous, it wud have to hold 200 ltrs to cost that much!!!
it would be for the oil, filters, labour at extortionate rates (£70 per hour from my local DAF main dealer)
and possibly the dealer collects and delivers the truck, or provides a courtesy car while the truck is in for service
I was on mineral but changed to synthetic because the change intervals are longer. I thought it would work out cheaper in the long run. I’ve noticed no difference in performance…it was crap before and its still crap now!!! 
I use synth. from Millers oils in Brighouse, bloody expensive but SO much slicker in the ZF box. Also, their specialist Mick Fenton knows his onions, he’s ex. David Browns.
Change interval with this stuff is 300k km.
Done 200 at the mo and dropeed some to have a look as you do, looks like the day it went in.
From memory it was about £5.50/litre.
Promised reduced fuel consumption of upto 0.5 mpg however it’s impossible to quantify with the mixture of short runs/hills and other funny jobs I do.
I agree with Madders, I have used Miller for over 20 years. First class advice, service and also free oil testing.
I reckon over the years I have saved a lot of money by taken Millers advice
Another big up for Millers - the only people.
I think there will be people around who have paid the extra cost for synthetic, then change it at normal service intervals! Not that they’re going to admit it!
Glad you posted about the change interval madders.
BTW that Borpower additive looks good stuff. A friend in Thailand drew my attention to it. It WILL be quite expensive to do a truck though.