Changing to synthetic at 250k, Owner's manuals (archive)

OIL
When I got my '86 535i, it had about 130k miles. For a while I followed what I call the COCO (Cheap Oil Changed Often) philosophy which I had used successfully with my previous car. Maybe at about 190k miles I decided out of laziness to switch to SOCS (Synthetic Oil, Changed Semiannually). Now, at 219k, my car still doesn't use enough oil to have to add more before it's time to change. I realize this appears to support a minority position on this issue, but I have no idea what the previous owner put in the crankcase.

OWNER'S MANUALS
My '86 535i had the 1984 manual. I just purchased the later version (copyright 1986). The newer version is more appropriate to my car, which is more like an '87 or '88 than an '85. Here are the differences that I note between the two:

-The newer manual includes the M5 but not the 524td. It also constantly refers to the 535i/S, never mentioning the 535i or 535is separately, or showing a picture of the 535is. It's as if the 535i had been rechristened the 535i/S.
-The newer manual has a silver cover, which has a stylized valve cover design.
-The newer manual says "Owner's Handbook" on the cover instead of "Owner's Handbook Service Booklet."
-The newer manual has fewer pages (80 vs. almost 200), and leaves out the wonderfully stereotypical Germanness of the older one, including the Ten Commandments for energy-conscious driving, and the 3 pages dedicated to keeping fit on long journeys complete with diet advice and 12 diagrammed gymnastic exercises. The 3 pages dedicated to explaining atmospheric effects on radio waves have been reduced to 1, and, as before, there is not a single word about how to actually use the radio. The loss of 524td coverage means that the diagram explaining which oil to use is now a little simpler. For the M5, "Low friction lubricants are not permitted." The 40 pages of technical specifications and information have been reduced to 3- just a few tables.

I thought that the handbook that came with the car was not original because it was dated 1984 and did not have the 535is on page 3 (only 528e, 535i, 524td). The cover shows the front grill and I thought I saw another cover on some site. But then I saw an oil service record in the back for 1/88. Can someone clue me in on what the 87 handbook looks like?

Also, would it be a good idea to switch to synthetic oil? Engine has 250k miles.

Thanks. Ross

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