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.

Got any examples of true synthetics and does this mean that what used to be a semi is now able to be called a fully synth?

Something like the longlife oils I am guessing fall into this category of s `new synth`.

Got any examples of true synthetics and does this mean that what used to be a semi is now able to be called a fully synth?

Something like the longlife oils I am guessing fall into this category of s `new synth`.

Proper synthetics tend to be (although not exclusively) the Racy end of the market. PAO/ESTERS are very popular for competition use as they stay in grade longer

Some examples

Motul 300V Power 5W-40 Racing lubricant for racing cars

REDLINE High Performance Synthetic Racing SAE40 (15w-40)

Silkolene PRO S 5W-40 Ester Synthetic Oil For High Performance Engines

Some of these can also be used on the road

Cheers

Got any examples of true synthetics and does this mean that what used to be a semi is now able to be called a fully synth?

Something like the longlife oils I am guessing fall into this category of s `new synth`.

A good question, but what to avoid?

When I was young(er) I was always told Mobil 1 was the only fully synthetic oil, everything else was semi-synthetic, Bog standard or poo (it was a fitter who used this erudite phrase). Can you guess my age from this fact?

Depends what you call younger? As in I was younger yesterday, I was also younger 30 years ago...

I did notice that Mobil1 0w30 did perform much better than the other 5w30 semi oils.

I was pleased with the old millers oils too but that is about 10 years ago now. They had mineral, semi and fully syth in the range and the price jump to fully was large.

Am I correct in thinking that there are no fully (true) synth oils that meet Vw506.1/507 as the PD injectors and similar don't respond well to it due to some factor. Sure i read that somewhere.

Quite the contrary, longlife oils need to be top quality to meet the drain periods so many of the latest 504&507 oils are very good quality. The PD oils have to be to survive in the PD engine.

Cheers