Synthetic label - are you sure?

[wemay]

Originally Posted By: chrisri
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: chrisri
They all swear on Motul and Fuchs oils.

We all have our favorites. Many people here swear by Amsoil and Redline, and Royal Purple. But does that automatically prove that these oils are somehow superior?

Use the correct oil for your application, that's all I say.


I guess you're right, you can't go wrong with manufacturer specifications.


"meets, exceeds, recommended for..." Lots of wordplay and wiggle room.

 

[d00df00d]

That's why it's best not to take any of it seriously unless the product is explictly approved for whatever standard you're looking at.

 

[boxcartommie22]

how do we know that red line is what it says it is?

 

[fdcg27]

There is a difference.
Kia cars don't play fake engine noises over the stereo.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: Trav
Originally Posted By: Olas
I agree with the posters who say you should buy an oil that meets spec, regardless of the base oil..

HOWEVER

I cant help feeling that you US guys are bending over for the marketers, in Europe, group 1&2 based oils are 'mineral' because they come out of the ground.
group 3 based oils are 'semi synthetic' because a naturally occuring product has been altered somewhat, and,
only group 4&5 stuff can be called synthetic, simply because.they do not appear in nature but have to be synthesised.

logic has a nice way of letting us label things, lawyers, unfortunately, have a very tenuous and profitable way of allowing us.to mislabel things..


True but only applicable in Germany, Blighty isn't included. I guess the Germans knew what they were doing when they passed that.
It keeps the buggers honest and they certainly don't like it, they are always trying to wordsmith their way around it.


...and the oil blenders are thinking "For Pete's sake, we can blend a better oil at lower cost using Grps III, IV and V, but these bureaucrats who know nothing of blending finished oil won't allow it, so we'll punish the Germans by making them pay the highest motor oil prices in the EU."
Such is the price of a hard-headed regulatory regime that fails to keep up with current developments.
Doesn't matter what a finished oil is comprised of.
The certs it meets are what matters, and German car makers have those certs well covered with no help from the bureaucrats.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: HKPolice
then you're probably getting real synthetic Group III or above.

Except that a lot of hard core synthetic fans don't consider group III to be real synthetic.

Well it isn't is it at least by German legal definition. That doesn't mean it cant match the performance or have the same qualities though.
It probably made a difference at some point but like everything else things change.

 

[kschachn]

True. Even if you trust the manufacturer, the statement "recommended for" does not mean that it meets the specification and they just don't feel like obtaining the approval. It may mean that out of all the oils they sell, the one that is recommended comes closest to meeting it. Which might still be a long ways off.

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
That's why it's best not to take any of it seriously unless the product is explictly approved for whatever standard you're looking at.