What defines a full synthetic motor oil?

Synthetic motor oil is very different from regular engine oil in several very important areas. These differences and performance differences all stem from the difference in the way the 2 oils are produced.

Synthetic motor oil vs crude based engine oil.

Regular motor oil is derived from crude oil that is taken from the earth and then through a distillation

Will changing to synthetic engine oil damage the seals?

Owners of recently purchased pre-owned cars often want to start off with a fresh charge of synthetic motor oil, but are worried that synthetic engine oil damages seals.

Many people believe that switching a higher mileage engine from a conventional oil to a Group IV synthetic polyalphaolefin (PAO) can lead to seal leakage: but is there less inherent risk with switching to a Group III oil? The rational here

Can an engine oil change be effected by a deteriorating Motor oil base number?

Why would it be of interest to know if an engine oil change can be determined by a deterioration in the Motor oil base number? Well quite simply; with the cost of motor oil (and oil filters) increasing every other month, no one wants to change oil unless it’s necessary.

Why does the deterioration in the motor oil base number indicate an engine oil change is due?

Base number testing, which measures

With the ever increasing range of synthetic oil, how do you know what synthetic oil is the best? Or even whether you should use regular or synthetic oil, for your application.

How to choose the right synthetic oil

The first step in choosing the right synthetic oil for the application is to be certain you’re comparing apples with apples - or more accurately don’t confuse “synthetic oil” with fully synthetic oil! As we’ve already seen in earlier posts, not all synthetic lubes are 100% synthetic.
Here’s a summary of the groups again:

• Groups I and II are universally referred to as mineral oils.
• Group III is the tricky collection. In the USA these are referred to as synthetic though they might be extremely refined or blended mineral oils.

What is synthetic oil? Everyone knows the answer... it’s an artificial oil! Well; right and wrong. Today we’re going to try and shed some more light on what is synthetic oil.

Synthetic base stocks are man-made and tailored to have a controlled molecular structure with predictable properties, unlike mineral base oils, which are complex mixtures of naturally occurring hydrocarbons.

In order to understand what is synthetic oil, it’ll be helpful to know that Dr. Hermann Zorn of I.G. Farben Industries in Germany began