oilman 7 Posted June 13, 2008 SYNTHETIC? What is it and what does it really mean? The Oxford Dictionary says: “made by synthesis; manufactured as opposed to produced naturally” When it comes to oil we think of synthetics as the best that we can buy and that all synthetics are the same but, it’s not so simple. Synthetic oils are not all the same, some are manmade in laboratories with uniform sized molecules and represent the finest quality that money can buy; others are merely highly refined mineral oils also known as hydrocracked oils. So, some synthetics are not really synthetics at all in the true sense of the word and certainly not from a chemists point of view. Granted, these highly refined mineral oils have some advantages over less refined mineral oils but they do cost more. Why are highly refined mineral oils called synthetic and is this legal when they are not really synthetic in the true sense of the word? A legal battle took place in the USA some years ago and the final ruling was that certain mineral fractions that had undergone extra chemical treatments could be called “synthetic”. The Marketing Executives were delighted as they realised that “synthetic” could be printed on a can of cheap oil provided that the contents included this specially processed mineral oil which cost a fraction of the price to produce than real synthetics. The profit implications where fairly exciting too! So how does this affect the average motorist with a standard road going car or bike? Very little other than you may be paying for something that is not quite what you think it is. Quality-wise it will still be better than that old 20w-50 dino oil in the back of the garage that cost next to nothing. The economics are pretty simple too. If you like the look of well-marketed can with “synthetic” printed on it that does not cost you a lot, you now know why this is the case. But, if you have a high performance, modified or track car/bike and you want to keep it in the best condition then you need the real thing as it offers the highest levels of protection. It will cost you more but then it’s still cheap against the cost of an engine failure! Cheers The Opie Oils Team. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars Posted June 13, 2008 Synthetic oils are not all the same, some are manmade in laboratories with uniform sized molecules and represent the finest quality that money can buy; others are merely highly refined mineral oils also known as hydrocracked oils.But how can you tell which is which? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonnieG 0 Posted June 14, 2008 Yeh - I remember reading/hearing about this at the time and Mobil took Castrol to court over Castrol's Hydrocracked Synthetic and Mobil lost. I never buy Castrol products now since they invented this way to con you & me...... Unless it's an Ester based fully Synthetic oil costing £40+ for 5 Ltrs I believe it's extremely difficult to tell the true quality of any alleged fully synthetic oil. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DamirGTI 333 Posted June 14, 2008 I always have an dilemma when buying oils , i never know for sure whether i've bought semi synthetic or straight synthetic oil ?! and i usually can't find any detail description written on the bottle , if it's straight synthetic or semi synthetic oil . How can i know which is which ? (I presume that 15W-40 and 10W-40 oils are semi synthetic , and 5w-40 0w-40 etc. are almost always synthetic oils ...) Thanks ! Damir Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oilman 7 Posted June 23, 2008 Yeh - I remember reading/hearing about this at the time and Mobil took Castrol to court over Castrol's Hydrocracked Synthetic and Mobil lost. I never buy Castrol products now since they invented this way to con you & me...... Unless it's an Ester based fully Synthetic oil costing £40+ for 5 Ltrs I believe it's extremely difficult to tell the true quality of any alleged fully synthetic oil. It is hard to tell, they dont really want you to know what you are buying. Price is a good indicator. 15w-40 oils are generally basic mineral multigrade, 10w-40 are usually semi synthetic (still 100% mineral base) then you are into the grey area. All 0w oils are true synthetic, its the only way they can reach such a low viscosity. Cheers Guy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KRISKARRERA 2 1 Cars Posted June 23, 2008 Ah so the cheap 5w40 "synthetics" are probably really just semi synthetic? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
