Synthetic the most abused word in the oil industry

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If you go by the definition,

syn·thet·ic
sin'THedik/
adjective
adjective: synthetic

1.
(of a substance) made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product.
"synthetic rubber"

If only things were so simple because "synthetic" in the lubricant world is no where near close to the definition of the word.

Just a thought for the day.
smile.gif
 
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Calling something consumable 'natural' or 'organic' brings a mark up as well.
In fact, in some vitamin circles 'synthetic' gets attacked.
"With all thy getting get understanding" ...
 
If you want Euro definition - go to Amazon. I think synthesized crude or NG is very cost effective - to the point of who needs the other version in 75% of applications...

Many of them hydrocarbon based anyway ...

Let's see who actually votes with their wallet ...
 
Perhaps more precise terms for "synthetic" oils would be "hyper refined" or "more uniform molecular structure".
 
Originally Posted By: Rat407
If you go by the definition,

syn·thet·ic
sin'THedik/
adjective
adjective: synthetic

1.
(of a substance) made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product.
"synthetic rubber"

If only things were so simple because "synthetic" in the lubricant world is no where near close to the definition of the word.

Just a thought for the day.
smile.gif



Um, ok. So why not actually say what you are thinking because what you wrote didn't explain anything.

How about the definition of chemical synthesis:
Chemical synthesis is a purposeful execution of chemical reactions to obtain a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reaction.

Chemical reaction:
a process that involves rearrangement of the molecular or ionic structure of a substance, as opposed to a change in physical form or a nuclear reaction.

The problem is that people want Synthetic oil to mean one narrow thing, using specific chemical reactions and feedstocks and don't like it when products that don't fit their ideal definition are labeled "Synthetic." This is just playing around with definitions to make it fit what you wanted in the first place. And then the most absurd argument is "Well, Germany says so and so is Synthetic so that's the rule." Now that is a funny one.

In the end it means absolutely nothing about performance, specs, properties, etc.
 
MK and other experts have often pointed out that a mix of base oils goes into lubes for various effects - I just want $22 jugs that have undergone PoP testing and the little badge it earned.
Companies save limited and expensive base oil for gear oil, turbine, industrial lubes - etc - why waste those on a 5.3L pushrod roller motor getting dumped at 7500 miles or less ...
 
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Originally Posted By: Rat407
If you go by the definition,

syn·thet·ic
sin'THedik/
adjective
adjective: synthetic

1.
(of a substance) made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product.
"synthetic rubber"

If only things were so simple because "synthetic" in the lubricant world is no where near close to the definition of the word.

Just a thought for the day.
smile.gif



Um, ok. So why not actually say what you are thinking because what you wrote didn't explain anything.

How about the definition of chemical synthesis:
Chemical synthesis is a purposeful execution of chemical reactions to obtain a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reaction.

Chemical reaction:
a process that involves rearrangement of the molecular or ionic structure of a substance, as opposed to a change in physical form or a nuclear reaction.

The problem is that people want Synthetic oil to mean one narrow thing, using specific chemical reactions and feedstocks and don't like it when products that don't fit their ideal definition are labeled "Synthetic." This is just playing around with definitions to make it fit what you wanted in the first place. And then the most absurd argument is "Well, Germany says so and so is Synthetic so that's the rule." Now that is a funny one.

In the end it means absolutely nothing about performance, specs, properties, etc.


The Germans do know something about oil, alas they don't pay for legal teams to insist that full synthetic should mean an oil that was made in a chemical plant and did not involve cooking up a nasty black crude oil.
 
I agree. Synthetic is basically the "politically correct" term for "fake". Synthetic oil isn't fake oil,it's crude oil that's uber refined. Whereas a synthetic fiber shirt isn't hyper clean ultra refined cotton,but a petroleum product aka polyester that's made to resemble cotton.
 
People get so hung up on words.
From a chemical engineer's perspective, even simple mineral engine oils are very 'synthetic'. They're distilled, vacuum distilled, mixed with furfural or some other solvent to remove low VI aromatics, mixed with MEK to extract n-paraffins. Often they're mixed with hydrogen and under high pressure and temperature passed over Co-Mo catalyst to remove sulphur, nitogen and other nasties. Then they're mixed with a whole raft of additives all of which have all been synthesised. Which bit of this process is 'natural'???
 
Originally Posted By: UltrafanUK
Originally Posted By: Nate1979
Originally Posted By: Rat407
If you go by the definition,

syn·thet·ic
sin'THedik/
adjective
adjective: synthetic

1.
(of a substance) made by chemical synthesis, especially to imitate a natural product.
"synthetic rubber"

If only things were so simple because "synthetic" in the lubricant world is no where near close to the definition of the word.

Just a thought for the day.
smile.gif



Um, ok. So why not actually say what you are thinking because what you wrote didn't explain anything.

How about the definition of chemical synthesis:
Chemical synthesis is a purposeful execution of chemical reactions to obtain a product, or several products. This happens by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reaction.

Chemical reaction:
a process that involves rearrangement of the molecular or ionic structure of a substance, as opposed to a change in physical form or a nuclear reaction.

The problem is that people want Synthetic oil to mean one narrow thing, using specific chemical reactions and feedstocks and don't like it when products that don't fit their ideal definition are labeled "Synthetic." This is just playing around with definitions to make it fit what you wanted in the first place. And then the most absurd argument is "Well, Germany says so and so is Synthetic so that's the rule." Now that is a funny one.

In the end it means absolutely nothing about performance, specs, properties, etc.


The Germans do know something about oil, alas they don't pay for legal teams to insist that full synthetic should mean an oil that was made in a chemical plant and did not involve cooking up a nasty black crude oil.


Which major German oil company would you be referring to?
 
Bitog people, help me out here:

Before 2014 I used only conventional oil in my vehicles. Purchased a new one in 2014 with manufacturer recommendations to use synthetic and change every 7,500 miles. I have kept up to that schedule, except for one change when I used conventional oil.

Is the full synthetic that I get at a local Valvoline shop all that much better than conventional, or am I just paying quite a bit extra for only slightly better?
 
Originally Posted By: SeaJay
Bitog people, help me out here:

Before 2014 I used only conventional oil in my vehicles. Purchased a new one in 2014 with manufacturer recommendations to use synthetic and change every 7,500 miles. I have kept up to that schedule, except for one change when I used conventional oil.

Is the full synthetic that I get at a local Valvoline shop all that much better than conventional, or am I just paying quite a bit extra for only slightly better?



If it's Synpower it's excellent oil.
 
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