Examples of "low quality" oil?

[Tom NJ]

"Synthetic" is a marketing term and always has been.

I agree it is today, but up through 1995 there was an official industry definition of "synthetic" in SAE J357, paraphrased as:

Chemical compounds...produced by chemical synthesis...and manufactured by organic reactions...from relatively pure organic starting materials.

This definition included PAO and esters, but would have excluded Group III base oils. The definition disappeared from J357 in 1996. In any case it is irrelevant as the industry redefined the term "synthetic" through practice over 25 years ago.

 

[mark pruett]

I agree it is today, but up through 1995 there was an official industry definition of "synthetic" in SAE J357, paraphrased as:

Chemical compounds...produced by chemical synthesis...and manufactured by organic reactions...from relatively pure organic starting materials.

This definition included PAO and esters, but would have excluded Group III base oils. The definition disappeared from J357 in 1996. In any case it is irrelevant as the industry redefined the term "synthetic" through practice over 25 years ago.

Fair enough.

I think the point though, and probably why they got rid of that definition is because Group III oils made that distinction one of chemistry, not one of performance.

I mean, who cares if your oil is built up from ethylene molecules, hydrocracked wax, or GTL from natural gas, if it performs appropriately?

 

[Tdbo]

City Star and Bullseye.

 

[4WD]

Interestingly, this is where Mobil's (and I'm sure there are competitor products) EHC "Group II+" (Group II) products enter the picture, due to exactly that problem. The standards and performance requirements drove up formulation costs, so the industry worked to find a way to drive those costs back down.
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There's now even a new ultra-low viscosity EHC base, EHC-20L (2.1-2.6cSt) for formulating the new ultra-light grades while avoiding the cost of Group III.

https://www.shell.com/content/dam/s...ts/v1/chs-ehc-hundredandten-lube-base-oil.pdf