Is Royal Purple a Group III oil?

[deven]

I came across this article and was a bit puzzled by this statement by Mark McFann, VP of RP Marketing.
Originally Posted By: Mark McFann
Synthetic Basics
"A popular misconception is that synthetic oil is magically created in a beaker," says Mark. "The truth is, all oil comes in a natural state, and all oil starts as crude. The difference between a synthetic and a mineral-based oil is just a matter of how that crude is processed. Synthetic oil is highly refined crude with molecules that have been realigned by man. This makes them significantly different from what they were in the ground. As a result, synthetics have a uniform molecular size and lower traction properties, reducing friction. Crude has lots of impurities, but they are removed during refining when formulating a synthetic oil. However, that's not to say synthetic oils are always better than mineral-based oils. These days, additives are even more important than whether base oils are mineral or synthetic."

CHP Insider I thought that Group IV oils are not supposed to be "highly refined crude" products.
Thoughts guys? Am I misreading this?

 

[addyguy]

That's very interesting, b/c you're right - he's describing the group-III process to a 'T' there, not discussing the formulation of PAO's and Esters......

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

Don't PAO's start with crude also, in that it is produced from a gas that is the by-product of the refining process?

 

[4ever4d]

 

[JGR]

+1

 

[aquariuscsm]

RP is a grp IV oil. Pao is made from natural gas. RP I believe uses a shot of grp I for the carrier and some grp V (ester) as their Synerlec additive,right?

 

[Finklejag]

In before the Royal Purple fanboi shows up!

 

[sangyup81]

PAO comes from Natural Gas, rather than crude. Esters come from all kinds of places so maybe that's the culprit?

 

[Loobed]

Nice article. Informative about oil.

 

[CompSyn]

Although PAO Group IV base stocks are not "refined" from crude oil like Group II and III oils are, there can still be some basis in crude oil. Ethylene is a colorless gas that is commonly derived from crude oil or natural gas. I believe I heard that Ethylene can also be derived from coal tar pitch as well but much less common.

So,

Group III = Highly refined from crude oil.
Group IV = Chemical Reactions.

We don't know for sure what base oil formulations Royal Purple uses without them telling us directly.

However I believe its commonly assumed that Royal Purple's High Performance oils are Group III while the XPR race oils may have greater proportions of Group IV PAOs. I think Mark McFann's comments that "Synthetic oil is highly refined crude" is most telling that their company leans heavily on Group III Highly refined crude oil.

In Europe, Group III highly refined crude is marketed as conventional motor oil while in North America it is considered "Full Synthetic".

 

[DragRace]

Originally Posted By: CompSyn
Although PAO Group IV base stocks are not "refined" from crude oil like Group II and III oils are, there can still be some basis in crude oil. Ethylene is a colorless gas that is commonly derived from crude oil or natural gas. I believe I heard that Ethylene can also be derived from coal tar pitch as well but much less common.

So,

Group III = Highly refined from crude oil.
Group IV = Chemical Reactions.

We don't know for sure what base oil formulations Royal Purple uses without them telling us directly.

However I believe its commonly assumed that Royal Purple's High Performance oils are Group III while the XPR race oils may have greater proportions of Group IV PAOs. I think Mark McFann's comments that "Synthetic oil is highly refined crude" is most telling that their company leans heavily on Group III Highly refined crude oil.

In Europe, Group III highly refined crude is marketed as conventional motor oil while in North America it is considered "Full Synthetic".


When anyone who takes the time to email RP tech,they will be up front and tell you it's a group IV-V oil.

 

[shpankey]

It's Grp IV. XPR is Grp V

 

[sangyup81]

Originally Posted By: CompSyn
In Europe, Group III highly refined crude is marketed as conventional motor oil while in North America it is considered "Full Synthetic".

I don't remember which thread it's from but they're calling it "Synthetic Technology" on bottles now.

 

[JGR]

So is RP a Grp IV or not? I have RP 5W-30 in both of my cars right now and they seem to like it very much, but if it is a Grp III, I could go to China-Mart and save some K-kash.
Anyone know the truth?

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: JGR
So is RP a Grp IV or not? I have RP 5W-30 in both of my cars right now and they seem to like it very much, but if it is a Grp III, I could go to China-Mart and save some K-kash.
Anyone know the truth?


It`s a grp IV. Just send them an email and they`ll tell you straight up.

 

[Tom NJ]

All hydrocarbon base oils (Groups I, II, III, III+, and IV) as well as part or all of most esters, trace back to crude oil, but tracing back to crude has never been part of the definition of "synthetic".

The old definition of synthetic was based on chemically reacting small, pure molecules to create a new, larger molecule. It didn't matter where those small pure molecules came from - it was the chemical reaction to create a new molecule that made the product synthetic.

The new definition of synthetic includes refined petroleum oils with a VI above 120. As a result, the definition has become a meaningless marketing term that turns on a single VI point.

The only ways to know which base oils are used in a given motor oil is to ask the manufacturer (assuming you believe their answer), or run a gas chromatogram on the oil.

Whether it really matters is a separate argument.

Tom NJ

 

[Mokanic]

RP tech has always been up-front about the base oil they use. I have no reason to not believe them. It's PAO with some group 2 for additive carrier.

 

[lipadj46]

Originally Posted By: CompSyn

So,

Group III = Highly refined from crude oil.
Group IV = Chemical Reactions.


Hydrocracking involves chemical reactions.

 

[Jim Allen]

If a company says their oil has a mostly Gp IV base, you can bet the other companies have verified that via lab tests. The oil companies have the labs and money to do that sort of thing. If it really was Gp III, it would have come up in M1s or Amsoil's ad campaigns by now.

Personally, I don't have a problem with Gp III and don't really care whether it's called "synthetic" or not. The performance difference between good Gp III and Gp IV base oils is not all that big when looked at in a practical way. You have to look at a the whole picture not just one corner of it. In comparing Gp III to Gp IV, a synergistic additive package counts for more. Given equally effective additive packages (which will be slightly different because of the base oils), then you might consider the Gp III vs Gp IV thing. Still, I think the margins are not all that far apart.

People are too fixated on one component in an oil and this thread seems to be evidence of that.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
If a company says their oil has a mostly Gp IV base, you can bet the other companies have verified that via lab tests. The oil companies have the labs and money to do that sort of thing. If it really was Gp III, it would have come up in M1s or Amsoil's ad campaigns by now.

Personally, I don't have a problem with Gp III and don't really care whether it's called "synthetic" or not. The performance difference between good Gp III and Gp IV base oils is not all that big when looked at in a practical way. You have to look at a the whole picture not just one corner of it. In comparing Gp III to Gp IV, a synergistic additive package counts for more. Given equally effective additive packages (which will be slightly different because of the base oils), then you might consider the Gp III vs Gp IV thing. Still, I think the margins are not all that far apart.

People are too fixated on one component in an oil and this thread seems to be evidence of that.


Actually M1 doesn't comment one way or another about other oil companies products.