Actually, to be able to call an oil 100% synthetic it cannot contain any petroleum. The US Govt. does allow synthetics to be distilled from crude oil but it cannot be labeled "100%" or "Full" synthetic.

True synthetics have no crude or mineral oil in them at all but usually start as methane which undergoes a process called the Fischer-Tropsch Process which produces a true Polyalphaolefin or basically a fancy word for a synthetic motor oil that contains no crude oil.

If you don't see "100%" or "FULL" on the bottle then your basically getting premium priced conventional oil that has undergone a bit more refining or has a higher detergent base...

 

Ok, looking through here, I finally looked up Fram filters on youtube. I now know why some of you kinda got onto me about them. All I got to say is that the Fram filter on my truck now will be off of there within the week. And it was just put on last week. From what Ive seen, Im goin to Napa Gold.

 

I usually buy the Wix (Napa Gold) unless there is a good filter comes free with the synthetic oil. I've got a K&N in both vehicles now because last time I bought oil (Valvoline SynPower) it was free. Champion Labs makes the K&N and I like their filters. My old man is a retired mechanic and has only used Fram since before I was born, but I haven't used one in over 20 years...

 

I use mobil 1 and the mobil 1 filter. If I can't get a mobil 1 filter I will get a Bosch.

Mobil 1 filters are rebranded K&N filters (As far as I have been told). Sometimes the shop has a special on castrol edge and K&N filters.

If you want to get more life from your oil, use a quality dino oil and get a really good filter.

Some people (me) get the longer filters. They are the same thread and diameter as the filters that come up on a product search for make/model, but they are just longer. That means more surface area for filtration....which means that you can get more life from your oil.

 

Bottom line:

No matter what oil you use, if you religiously change it at 3K intervals, you can use any oil and filter.

I change the oil at 3K or 3 months. I can spring for 25-30 bucks four times a year. And it gives me something extra to do on the weekend.

 

The State of California currently has a campaign centered on oil change intervals urging people to adopt the manufacturer's warranty/owners manual change intervals which can be up to 10000 mi/conventional oil. Basically they want to stop the old 3000 mile interval practice where there is plenty of life left in the oil on modern tight fuel-injected computer controlled motors.
Our GEN II / ODB II Rams may not quite qualify but they would be close.
Living in Canada where the standard service level is equivalent to severe service for USA market cars we change a bit more often following Dodge's schedule ( there is also a stricter Severe Service Recommendation for Canada.
If you want a *really clean* engine + oil you can look at adding a bypass filter system. Because you are basically filtering the oil to a higher level a bypass system doesnt filter 100% of the pressure system oil (where a blocked filter would cause oil starvation) but only part of the circulating engine oil. You can filter well below 1 micron that way (conventional oil filters, which are left as stock with a Bypass System, filter @ about 10 microns but have some effect down to 1 micron because the patricles it traps also have a filtering effect). If you change oil often and do a filter at every change, think about that and see if you want to revert to every-other change; a brand-new filter is less effective than a good but partly dirty one.
If you don't need solid multigrade viscosity (extreme heat as in Death Valley or extreme cold as in below -25F) dino is fine. If you do, i recommend synthetic.

 

I change mine using Dino oil and do it every 5000 miles. Just gunna use a better filter from now on.

I've never looked into how the different filters where made and just followed in my elders footsteps and always used Fram. After finally looking at them, I see Fram is not to my liking.

 

I've used WIX filters for 3 years now. No problems, just the smaller sized one. Changed at 3-4k intervals. The only thing suspicious was about a year ago, i switched to full synthetic, and im pretty sure that's when my slow rear main seal leak started. I noticed it at the next change, and put regular back in. Maybe it's just my mind, but I'm fairly certain the leak slowed. Obviously I need to fix that, but I think that synthetic may have cleared up a spot that was rdy to leak, or plugged with oil crustys. Not sure lol, but that seems to be when i noticed it.

+1 on WIX filters tho.

 

Dan hit the nail on the head... Service your truck, use quality filters, and the difference between synthetic and dino is not significant...

When the state I live in (not cali) starts to tell me when to change oil, its when I leave that state.. unless, they replace my motor with a like motor when it fails due to their ridiculous rules.. even then, just the concept is enough to tweak me..

Changing your oil is more than just that.. it gives you a chance to see what else is going on with tour truck.. as you take the plug out you should also be tugging on u joints, looking at shocks for leakage, looking over tcase, diffs-- all that good stuff.. pull filter and pour it out inspecting for chunks, ect... Re-plug, re-filter, refill.. check for leaks around valve covers, vacuum lines, plug wires.. list goes on...

Point is, if you do that every three months at longest, you'll likely spot issues before they're issues.. or, so the theory goes, anyway.. too many people rely on others to do their maintenance, and too many people pay too much for repairs.. I'm thinking those two stats are related..

 

That's some darn sound advice right there! Always take any excuse to inspect the vehicle. If an oil change (including lubing the steering linkage and adjusting the rear brakes) doesn't take you at least an hour you're doing it wrong. Aim for 90 minutes, and you'll be on track for getting the most trouble-free miles out of your truck.

I've never been a professional mechanic, but I've been working on the silly things for a while and have often been the neighborhood go-to guy. Though I'm sure it must happen, I've never replaced front end parts that were properly lubricated. I've rarely had to replace brake rotors or drums when the friction parts were serviced before they made noise. And so on.