Base stock + carrier oil + additives = x% + x% + X%

[moribundman]

A "100% synthetic" still contains a petroleum carrier oil, from what I keep reading here. Yet the final product can be labeled "100% synthetic," because those "100%" refer only to the base stock.

Now, I'm sure that the amount of base stock and carrier oil vary from brand to brand, and probably it has to do with the additives, too. How much of the actual oil that we pour out of a bottle is actually 100% synthetic base stock?

[ July 24, 2003, 03:31 PM: Message edited by: moribundman ]

 

[MolaKule]

By weight:

For dino oils: (also do a search for "additive percentages" I posted some time ago) 75% mineral oil, 25% additives.

Synthetic Oils - 82% synthetic base oils, 17.95% additives, 0.05% mineral oils.

Some oils are mixes of Group III oils, some esters, and a little PAO.

Some PAO is often used as a VII additive to enhance the VI.

So the above will vary by a few percentages.

If you have read some of the Posts in "Question of the Day" (which I highly recommend to educate yourselves) where additives have been discussed in detail, you will have read that many additives today are in ester format or have been "esterified." Now in the above list, the ester additives are NOT counted in the makeup of the synthetic oil.

Does that help ya?

 

[moribundman]

That does indeed help, and I'll make sure to check out the recommended reading.

Esterified additives, eh? Well, I do take esterified vitamin C.