Group III Synthetic?

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Oh yeah they're fine. All the major brand "common" synthetic oils you can buy at Walmart and the parts chains are grp III synthetic oils. No worries.
 
"Group IIIs are a somewhat controversial class as they are derived from crude oil like Groups I & II, but their molecules have been so changed by severe processing that they are marketed as Synthetics. Most people now accept Group IIIs as synthetic, but the discussion remains heated among purists, and I’m going to duck by not taking a side here.

Synthetic base oils are manufactured by man from relatively pure and simple chemical building blocks, which are then reacted together or synthesized into new, larger molecules. The resulting synthetic basestock consists only of the preselected molecules and has no undesirable weak links that inhibit performance. This ability to preselect or design specific ideal molecules tailored for a given job, and then create those molecules and only those molecules, opens a whole new world for making superior basestocks for lubricants. In fact, the entire formulation approach is different: instead of trying to clean up a naturally occurring chemical soup to acceptable levels with a constant eye on cost, the synthetic chemist is able to focus on optimum performance in a specific application with the knowledge that he can build the necessary molecules to achieve it. And since full synthetic oils are generally a company’s premier offering, their best foot forward so to speak, the additives are often better and in higher doses as performance trumps cost.

In general, synthetic base oils offer higher oxidative and thermal stability, lower pour points, lower volatility, higher VI, higher flash points, higher lubricity, better fuel economy, and better engine cleanliness. The amount and balance of these improvements vary by synthetic type, and can be quite significant for the engine and user.

There are many types of synthetic base oils, the most common being Polyalphaolefins (PAOs), Esters, Alkylated Naphthenes (ANs), and more recently Group IIIs. These different types of synthetic base oils are often blended together (or even with mineral oils), to give the balance of properties desired. All offer improved performance, but at a higher price, which brings up the question of value – how much performance to you need, and how much should you pay for it?

For the average car owner, driving conditions are mild enough for conventional mineral oils to work satisfactorily, provided they are changed relatively frequently (3,000-5,000 miles). For those users with high performance engines, severe climates, hard driving, or utilizing long drain intervals, synthetics can offer good value and may even be required. And then there are those who so love their cars that nothing but the very best will do for their baby.

So, as you can see, modern motor oils are very simple mixtures of very complex ingredients. Choosing the right components of the right chemistry in the right dosages is a real balancing act, as each of the components have their own pluses and minuses and can interact or compete with each other. Don’t try this at home – leave it to companies you trust who have the technology, R&D, and resources to achieve the necessary balance so critical to performance."

- CourierDriver
 
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Group 1 oils are produced by simple distillation of crude oil, which separates the components of the oil by their boiling point, and by the use of solvents to extract sulfur, nitrogen, and oxygen compounds. This was the only commercial refinement process until the early 1970s, and the bulk of commercial oil products on the market are still produced by this process.

Group 2 and Group 3 oils are refined with hydrogen at much higher temperatures and pressures, in a process known as hydro-cracking. This process results in a base mineral oil with many of the higher performance characteristics of synthetic oils, and the more heavily hydro-cracked Group 3 oils have a very high viscosity index - above 120 - making them the equivalent of PAO synthetic oils.

Group 4 oils are all of the synthetic polyalphaolefins, the PAO group, and Group 5 includes all other types of synthetic oil.

~CDX Online Textbook
 
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Originally Posted By: oilchangeguy
Thank you.


No problem.
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In general...

Group 1 are monograde oils...sae30/40/... W10/20/30....oils intended for OPE engines.

Group 2 multigrades 15w40.....conventional 10w40....5w30....5w20...

Group 3 "synthetics" 0w30...0w40....5w30...5w40....synthetic 10w30/40

Group 4 PAO synthetics ( considered as "pure synthetics)

Group 5 as mentioned above other type of synthetics
 
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Originally Posted By: Kamele0N
In general...

Group 1 are monograde oils...sae30/40/... W10/20/30....oils intended for OPE engines.

Group 2 multigrades 15w40.....conventional 10w40....5w30....5w20...

Group 3 "synthetics" 0w30...0w40....5w30...5w40....synthetic 10w30/40

Group 4 PAO synthetics ( considered as "pure synthetics)

Group 5 as mentioned above other type of synthetics



Let's keep in mind GroupV (Group 5) is a base oil classification and contains some oils that are NOT synthetic.
 
Originally Posted By: MolaKule



Let's keep in mind GroupV (Group 5) is a base oil classification and contains some oils that are NOT synthetic. [/quote]

Interesting. Are these non-synthetic additional ones of similar type? Or maybe a better question - what are the non-synthetic ones and why, what function do they perform, are they added?
 
Group V base oil is defined as naphthenics (NS), esters (dibasic and polyol), alkylated benzenes (ABs), alkylated napthalenes (ANs), Polyisobutylenes (PIBs), phosphate esters, silicones, PAG’s (especially oil soluble PEGs or OSPs), virgin or refined vegetable oils (NS), and any other lubricants not included in Groups I-IV.

(NS) is non-synthesized.


See also:

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/1252107/Synlube_Overview#Post1252107

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/729310/Esters_General#Post729310

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...nth#Post1252272
 
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