Winterizing: OIL - synthetic or non ?
10-24-2014, 03:54 PM
#1
Winterizing: OIL - synthetic or non ?
A lot of people are swearing by synthetic oil these days and won't use anything else.
That's fine for those people, but it is a lot more expensive so before you pony up the extra for the old truck you might want to consider what it is you're buying.
The oil over in Saudi Arabia for example, comes out of the ground a lot purer than a lot of other places. That's why everyone wants it even when they have their own. Stuff's like honey compared to a lot of other oilfields.
So it doesn't take much in the way of refining to get the impurities out.
On the reverse end, a lot of you will have heard of the oil sands up in Fort Mcmurray in Northern Alberta, which is where I first heard of synthetic oil more decades ago than I care to think about.
The oil there is trapped in sand and even after steaming it off the sand, the only way to get all the impurities out is to separate all the different molecules and then just put back the ones you want. Theoretically, much cleaner oil.
Because it has been scientifically taken apart and put back together a law was made that it must be labelled as synthetic oil. Originally it was a bit of a tough sell because people were very suspicious of something that wasn't "the real thing"
The important thing here is that manufacturers have jacked the prices really high on anything that says synthetic, but not all synthetics are created equal.
Semi synthetic is just when they mix synthetic and regular oil together.
It depends what they put back. And while some are very well made and much cleaner than regular old oil, other companies will put back some things better left out (like carbon which builds sludge etc.).
So - it might be worth doing some homework on the different brands and not just assume that because it says synthetic it will be better than the regular oil beside it.
Personally, I've used regular oil for a very long time and never had any problems related to oil brands. And I can afford to change regular oil 2 to 3 times more often for the same price.
But to each their own.
That's fine for those people, but it is a lot more expensive so before you pony up the extra for the old truck you might want to consider what it is you're buying.
The oil over in Saudi Arabia for example, comes out of the ground a lot purer than a lot of other places. That's why everyone wants it even when they have their own. Stuff's like honey compared to a lot of other oilfields.
So it doesn't take much in the way of refining to get the impurities out.
On the reverse end, a lot of you will have heard of the oil sands up in Fort Mcmurray in Northern Alberta, which is where I first heard of synthetic oil more decades ago than I care to think about.
The oil there is trapped in sand and even after steaming it off the sand, the only way to get all the impurities out is to separate all the different molecules and then just put back the ones you want. Theoretically, much cleaner oil.
Because it has been scientifically taken apart and put back together a law was made that it must be labelled as synthetic oil. Originally it was a bit of a tough sell because people were very suspicious of something that wasn't "the real thing"
The important thing here is that manufacturers have jacked the prices really high on anything that says synthetic, but not all synthetics are created equal.
Semi synthetic is just when they mix synthetic and regular oil together.
It depends what they put back. And while some are very well made and much cleaner than regular old oil, other companies will put back some things better left out (like carbon which builds sludge etc.).
So - it might be worth doing some homework on the different brands and not just assume that because it says synthetic it will be better than the regular oil beside it.
Personally, I've used regular oil for a very long time and never had any problems related to oil brands. And I can afford to change regular oil 2 to 3 times more often for the same price.
But to each their own.
10-24-2014, 07:38 PM
#3
Senior Member
10-25-2014, 12:44 PM
#6
Senior Member
And thinner oil leaks faster
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10-25-2014, 03:11 PM
#9
No, I don't. Possibly they could contain additives to help deal with the wear. But I don't know. Personally, I would use regular oil and choose my own additives.
The # 1 main thing you can do for your motor is keep the oil clean.
I have heard people hesitate to change their oil early because they just paid $50 + tax for synthetic.
I'd rather pay 20 for Castrol on sale and change it twice as often. IMHO clean regular oil is far superior to slightly dirty synthetic. But that's a personal choice, everybody has to make their own decisions.
I was just trying to shed a little light on just exactly what it is you're paying so much extra for.
The # 1 main thing you can do for your motor is keep the oil clean.
I have heard people hesitate to change their oil early because they just paid $50 + tax for synthetic.
I'd rather pay 20 for Castrol on sale and change it twice as often. IMHO clean regular oil is far superior to slightly dirty synthetic. But that's a personal choice, everybody has to make their own decisions.
I was just trying to shed a little light on just exactly what it is you're paying so much extra for.