It doesn't matter that much unless you are running a very high-performance - the main difference is that synthetic oil will take longer to break down, so you won't have to change it as often. In a really high-performance engine, it potentially gives a more margin of error for oil break-down.
If you are using conventional oil, you need to change it every 3,000-5,000 miles (I would definitely not exceed 5,000 miles no matter what!), whereas you can go 7,000-8,000 miles on synthetic as long as you don't have a dirty engine (one with a lot of piston ring wear that is getting exhaust gasses into the oil and getting it dirty much faster). Note, this doesn't mean you don't still need to check your oil LEVEL - you will probably need to top up once or twice at least between oil changes.
As I said, if you're running a twin-turbo engine or something with 700+ horse power, then, yeah, synthetic is the only way to go, but you don't "need" synthetic in your Camry, you just need to change your oil on schedule.
And for the love of all that's holy, if you have a Ford 5.4L 3-valve (or even the 4.6L 3-valve), you MUST change your oil OFTEN, synthetic or not. These are super common engines, but they are poorly engineered with oil races that are too small, so if that oil gets dirty (and it doesn't take much), those races get clogged quickly and parts of the engine get oil-starved, and you're going to end up paying $8,000+ to replace your entire engine. Across the US, there are 40-50 new engines going in every day for this reason, and lots of trucks and SUVs that just get scrapped because the person doesn't have that kind of money to spend.
This isn't the only engine with this problem, but it's the most common engine with this problem. Do not ignore your oil change intervals if you can't afford to easily replace your car every couple of years.
You may not have much of a choice. The cars we have both REQUIRE full synthetic oil. However, the oil changes are fairly far apart - at 7500mi. The synthetic oil I use says you can run it a full year or 25,000mi! I usually change the filer and top off the oil at 5000mi intervals and change the oil annually.
Synthetic oil is no different than conventional oil UNTIL you reach the extremes. High summer temps and running the A/C, pulling a trailer up hills, extreme cold in winter... That's when synthetic oil shines! It keeps lubricating your engine LONG after conventional oils would be toast. If you get a thermostat stuck closed and your engine starts to over heat, syn oil will help prevent that overheat from ruining your engine. So which one would I go for? Full synthetic oil - even though it costs more!
The last car I had ran 256,000 miles before I traded it with no engine problems ever in 11yrs of owning it. Our current vehicles have 132,000mi and the other one 165,000mi - so far, and zero major engine issues.
Which ever the manufacturer recommends. Most newer cars have the type of oil that it should take stamped on top of the oil cap. Older cars usually took a 5w-30 or 10w-30 conventional oil or a synthetic blend, these have a higher viscosity and make oil leaks less noticeable. How ever conventional oil breaks down faster which is why when using that kind of oil you’ll want to make sure to get the oil changed and filter replaced every 3000 to 3500 or 3 to 4 months. Most cars these days take full synthetic oil 0W-20 which does not break down as quickly but should still be changed every 6000 to 7000 mile or 6 months or so depending on how the car is being driven.
Best practice is find out what the manufacturer recommends.
The reason why is that the rings around the piston are either designed for conventional or synthetic. Sometimes you can get away with using either oil, but in some models the rings will be less efficient with leakage adding synthetic in a motor set for conventional.
And it can get fuzzy, because I once had an early Porsche, and had issues with burning a lot of synthetic oil to the point of seeming like a worn out engine, and theb having a friend with the same car and motor not having issues. His engine was rebuilt, and the rebuilder upgraded his rings. Mine was spec.
And there are cars with serious issues like the 2006 Toyota 2.5 motor. Many were blown because their rings were not holding up to synthetic. Most have been updated.
So before resting on a new oil, check the oil every week and see if your burning oil quickly. Ideally you need to stick with the oil primarily used for best results. Every oil is slightly different and the mains and the gallies can react differently to different oils. Maybe better, but no one can say if you're trying to get the most miles out of the motor before a teardown/rebuild.
If you look in the vehicle handbook, it will say what kind to use (usually fully synthetic). You can safely ignore the brand, but you should generally get oil of the stated "weight" (ie. viscosity) - eg. "5-W30". Having said that, if you live in an exceptionally hot or cold climate, it might be better to use oil of a higher or lower viscosity, and older cars that burn a lot of oil might do better on a more viscous oil. Personally, I'm a bit sceptical of the whole thing - my car hasn't had an oil change in the last 5 years, and is still going strong with over 220,000 miles on the clock, and previous cars have been no different. Modern engines are basically bulletproof - when a car dies these days, it's because of either rust, some other expensive component failing (dual mass flywheels, particulate filters, etc), or just a whole load of minor things that eventually start to add up. These days, even an LED headlight unit can cost £800.
With an average engine, an average road profile and an average mileage/year you can use the cheapest certified solution available. Don’t forget, parts and services is a huge business on its own and some manufacturers want to make you believe they use fairy dust collected under a full moon to justify their brazen prices. 🙄
My current car uses synthetic oil. Not my choice, it's what the dealer puts in it every time I have an oil change. All my previous cars used conventional oil. When I was younger and engines were not so complicated, I did all the routine maintenance myself.
Synthetic oil breaks down far less than regular oil but I've been told that one should use all synthetic and that adding synthetic to regular adds little but increases the cost. Most important is to keep it clean.
I mostly used conventional oil in all my vehicles. I also did oil changes every 3000 miles. I have two new vehicles and use synthetic in both of them. The owners manual recommends synthetic.
Synthetic is required for many newer cars, and it lasts longer while giving better results. Some cars, like my older Honda, can still use a blend so I save a bit of money.
Depends on the make/model. Correct Oil weight is more important. I use conventional oil and change it every 3000 miles car is over 200k miles on the odometer and 22 years old still runs great
Synthetic full is better for newer cars & last longer and cars with extremely high mileage should switch back to conventional oil & the same for older vehicles.
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