Would engine benefit from synthetic oil after 85,000

[94PontV6]

I've had my 94 Firebird since Apr. 2, 2001. When I bought it it had 54,000 original miles. Since that it has 85,140. I've started to notice some ticks and knocks that weren't there in the beginning. I just wanted to know would it benefit my motor any at all to switch to synthetic oil at this point. I've noticed alot of people getting 200k out of these engines and I'd like mine to last that long.

I forgot to say that all of the miles I put on there were highway miles..

[Shadly]

If you baby your car, it won't matter what oil you put in, as long as it's the right viscosity and is changed when it's supposed to. If you drive it pretty hard, synthetic will decrease wear and make it last longer.

[94CaliCamaro]

If you switch to synthetic you might start noticing leaks that weren't there before. I switched last oil change and I found some new leaks. Synthetic tends to finds the holes alot easier. I say don't switch.

[pvtschultz]

It sounds like your car may have had a rough beginning if it is ticking and knocking after only 80k miles. I don't know too much about the 3.4L but I would say that you may even want to consider using that oil for high milage vehicles. I am thinking about it with my 3.8 at 120k. I use Mobile 1 Tri-Synthetic now and my engine feels like it runs smoother. I think that using a synthetic, you might slow down the wear that has already occured. I didn't notice any leaks with my car when I switched.

[DeathBuzzz]

It is supposedly not good to change to synthetic after major milage is on the car. I have heard this from more than few sources. Synthetic oil is said to wear the motor differently because it heats up and cools down at much different rates than natural oil. This is just what I have heard. When I got my car new, they said run natural oil for the first 1K miles and then if you want, change to synthetic. They said that the engine will be flushing out a lot of dirt and metal from being new and the natural oil will pick it up more. I dont know how much of this stuff is true, but I do think it would be a bad idea to change at 84K.

The knocks may be fixed with better gas, or if they are really loud it could be a bigger problem.

~Brian

[pgriffith]

I would use synthetic. But if you have any leaks at all dont use it. It could get pretty expensive. I have never heard of synthetic causing leaks though. The only way it will cause a leak is if you use synthetic then try to switch back to the cheap sh!t. Just remember. If you switch to full synthetic oil then your stuck in it for life. Maybee see if you can find a synthetic blend.

[94CaliCamaro]

The synthetic doesn't cause leaks, it just has an easier time leaking if there are any to begin with. While regular oil virtually plugs a leak, a synthetic will not be able to, same concept as flushing an old radiator.

[94PontV6]

I think that I'm gonna stick with my regular oil. I've been using that Valvoline for high mileage cars. I used it for the first time my last oil change. I'm gonna start running 92 Octane to see if the engines quiets down any. The ticking isn't really loud. Sounds like a faint tick. Nothing that would make me think something major is wrong.

Thanks for the replies guys..