At oil change time, do you ever wonder if you should splurge and treat your vehicle to synthetic oil? Yes, synthetics are more expensive, but there are a few reasons you might want to consider the investment.

Synthetic engine oil is a chemically engineered lubricant. Unlike conventional oils, synthetics contain no crude oil. That’s good for environmental and geopolitical reasons, and because of the volatile - and rising - price of crude.

Paradoxically, crude oil also contains components, such as paraffin, that actually work against the lubrication process. Paraffin is a mixture of hydrocarbons that causes conventional motor oils to thicken and loose their ability to flow in colder temperatures, and those qualities make for less effective motor oil. Also, some conventional motor oils contain nitrogen and sulfur, which can lead to the formation of sludge.

Synthetic oils contain only smooth lubricating molecules. That means they’re more effective at reducing friction. As a result, synthetic oils also provide better heat control and encourage greater fuel economy.

Another benefit: depending on what, where and how you drive, you may be able to put up to 20,000 miles on your odometer between synthetic oil changes. You might change conventional oil four or five times over that same number of miles, negating the initial cost-savings of the conventional oil.

Finally, in July 1996 Consumer Reports acknowledged that synthetic oil is "worth considering for extreme driving conditions: high ambient temperatures and high engine load, or very cold temperatures."

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