quote:
100,000 miles, and both components are still immaculate, like new, even though I’ve never had to clean the filter or replace the valve. **** , except for a quick inspection prior to writing this letter, I’ve long since stopped checking them altogether. These guys have apparently never heard about Mobil 1…”
Finally, we asked a respected petroleum engineer why auto manufacturers don’t specify synthetic oils for use in their products. His response was both candid and revealing: “Auto manufacturers must, by necessity, stick to the ‘generic’ SAE standards in recommending oil grades and viscosities…and synthetics are way ahead of SAE standards. The top SAE motor oil classifications (SD, SE, SF, etc.), rather than being benchmarks of excellence, are merely ‘highest common denominators’. The highest SAE rating (currently ‘SL’ in 2003), for example, is determined not for the state-of-the-art performance of the better synthetics, but rather for the best possible performance of petroleum oils currently achievable by a majority of petroleum oil producers (emphasis ours). It is not surprising then that synthetics pass these qualifications effortlessly. What is needed is an entirely additional set of SAE standards, for synthetics. Such a grading system would, in effect, start where current SAE (petroleum-oriented) specs leave off. If such a premium grading system were adopted by the Society (SAE), then you’d see the automakers universally recommending lighter oils in grades and with recommended drain intervals completely beyond the reach of petroleum products…”
