Mechanics will say that fully synthetic oil isn;t actually any better/different than regular oil, it just means you can go longer before changing it. The only time I replaced the Oil and not the filter was my grandpa's S10. We bought the filter, but I couldn;t get teh damn thing off his engine. I have 2 kinds of oil wrenches and nether one could get in there to remove it. Someone thought it was a brilliant idea to wrench-tighten the filter.
Matt, what I was saying really had nothing to do with conventional vs regular. If you're using regular, fine. You just have to change your oil in timely manner. Ace's oil is probably made by one of the major oil companies, but that doesn't mean it's the same quality. Considering you live in a climate with highly variable temperatures, you don't change your oil near enough, you do a lot of short drives, and you don't like to spend money (see below), you're better off here buying synthetic in the big picture. You'll pay a little bit more up front, but in the long run you'll be doing the car a favor. I'm not sure you will ever find $1.29 bottles of oil ever again. Amazon's oil prices are an absolute steal. Problems associated with switching from conventional to synthetic supposedly is now considered a myth with modern cars, I suppose one can debate that either way.
As others have stated, generally the consensus is synthetic oil is better because it maintains its properties better despite temperature fluctuations. Aka it functionally better very hot and very cold temperatures. On a related note, the vaporization point is higher, so it is less likely to burn off at high temps. Since it flows better, you get better engine performance and efficiency. It also is "cleaner" and causes oil sludge (I think it's better for the environment too). Generally in the long run it's cheaper- assuming you're buying name brand oil- depending how often you choose to change it.
Let's do some price calculations comparing synthetic versus conventional. Let's assume I'm not neurotic and change my oil every 9k miles rather than 5k using Castrol Edge Extended Performance (supposedly good for 15,000 miles, though 10,000 in common, and 9k makes a good point of comparison because it's divisible by 3). Or I stick by the 3,000 mile conventional oil rule.
Castrol Edge Synthetic every 9k miles (buying 5qt bottles)
$28.68/5qts X 7 quarts = 40.15
$10.25 Oil Filter (includes seal, o-ring, and drain washer)
Total: $50.40 per 9,000 miles (well under my $70 estimate, it's )
Castrol GTX Conventional every 3k miles (buying 5qt bottles)
$16.97/5qts X 7 quarts = 23.76
$10.25 Oil Filter (includes seal, o-ring, and drain washer)
Total: $34.01 per 3,000 miles
So now let's compare... I could pay
$34.01 per 3,000 miles using conventional. Alternatively, I could essentially pay
~$16.80 per 3000 miles using synthetic ($50.40/9,000 miles = $16.90/3,000 miles). Controlling for the mileage, synthetic here is 49% cheaper! Additionally, i
f you consider your time as being valuable, you only have to change the oil one time. Given the benefits of synthetic over conventional, this seems like a no brainer in most cases. Yes, I am changing the oil filter 1x synthetic, 3x with conventional, but keep in mind conventional has more contaminants. (P.S. if I did every 15,000 miles as Castrol says is possible, aside from being concerned about the filter after 15k, it's equivalent to $10.08 per 3000 miles).
I suggest next time you and Grandpapá go oil shopping, do your mathwork ahead of time and demonstrate the savings. If you can find oil for $1.29/qt again (which I would be shocked if you could), I will send you synthetic oil myself. Did I just make a bet? You'll have to fix your valve cover first.