Please Settle an Argument

[BUBBA0420]

A friend of mine was talking about synthetic oils and said
that they were totally comprised of a man made base stock
and had nothing to do with crude oil what so ever. He said this
is why they will not break down because of the absence of crude
oil impurities. I always thought that full synthetic was a base
of crude oil that had gone through more refining processes
than dino oil. Please Clarify.

 

[TallPaul]

I thought Group III synthetic was made from crude oil, but that PAO and ester synthetics were true synthesized molecules. One of them I believe is or can be made from converting a gas (like propane).

 

[BobFout]

This explains it pretty well, Group III, IV and V.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthetic_oil

 

[StevieC]

Even PAO based synthetics will have a tiny bit of a Mineral oil content as a carrier for the additive package so no Synthetic is 100% pure. The GRP-III syns are even less pure.

With manufacturing and refining technology today though it's not a concern IMO.

 

[mechtech2]

You can point to the synthetics that are made from crude - he will point to the synthetics made from chemicals.
You will say the one from crude is real synthetic, he will only consider the man made stuff as real synthetic.
Both can be valid in their own right.

The bottom line is to hurry and get the Pennzoil Platinum on sale for $5 for a 5 qt. jug [with rebate]!

 

[StevieC]

Quote:

The bottom line is to hurry and get the Pennzoil Platinum on sale for $5 for a 5 qt. jug [with rebate]!

 

[dwendt44]

The base ingredients for both types came out of the ground.
Mobil 1 is largely made from Natural Gas.

 

[StevieC]

Natural Gas as in Methane from a cow? See I knew M1 was full of $!#@

J/K

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Natural Gas as in Methane from a cow? See I knew M1 was full of $!#@

J/K
Yes and there was a spoof ad with photo posted here many years ago about Mobil #2. Maybe one of the BITOGers with more time can search it out--here or on the web in general--and repost it.

 

[jstutz]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Natural Gas as in Methane from a cow? See I knew M1 was full of $!#@

J/K


awesome!

 

[StevieC]

I try...

 

[chevrofreak]

Originally Posted By: StevieC
Even PAO based synthetics will have a tiny bit of a Mineral oil content as a carrier for the additive package so no Synthetic is 100% pure. The GRP-III syns are even less pure.

With manufacturing and refining technology today though it's not a concern IMO.

Esters are used for additive carriers now, rather than mineral oil.