When should use synthetic blend?

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Originally Posted by Onetor
Welcome to BITOG BossMoss! What does your owner's manual state? As stated above ^. Every vehicle, driver, location, weather conditions are different. You will get a variety of opinions here. *There are some great people with Chemistry/Tribology experience who post. I tend to listen to them. However; there are some others with life experience/mechanics who are also wise!

Decision decision!


Thanks, it appears you're new as well! Belated welcome to you!

It says 5w-30 no mention of synthetic or blend. I live in a warm climate, so I don't think I "need" synthetic as I read on BITOG that one use for it is in extreme cold. At the same time, I want to as many on here say that it reduces engine noise, leading me to believe less friction and therefore less engine wear.

My friend has a 2000 Corolla. He has been using conventional for most of its life. They never run it hard, and it's still going strong. I think they want it to last as long as it can. They keep up with the oil changes per the manual.

I have read that synthetics may clean the engine so good that the baked-in gunk in there, as it gets cleaned, would be glued to the metal parts so well that leaks may form; the gunk essentially blocks the leak holes that synthetic would then expose.

So it may be a good idea do a few oil changes with the semi synthetic and then switch to full.
 
Originally Posted by BossMoss
When should one use synthetic blend? It appears some use conventional, some use synthetic. But what purpose does the mix of the two serve?

I mean, if you live in cold climates, what would the blend do for you? Part of the oil gets too thick, the other part would flow well?



Marketing only. Go synthetic if you are stretching OCI otherwise any API SN in the appropriate weight will do ya great. If its reaching 0F or less look at the 5wXX or lighter.
 
NEVER!!! semi syn aka blends have NO required amount of synthetic usually group III highly refined CRUDE in it. if you want more protection in hotter drives or colder starts use a brand name group III as most $5 a qt in 5 qt containers at wally's are.
 
Semi synthetic / Synthetic blends
Are not 50/50

They are conventional oils that have some Group III added, usually no more than 15% in order to get an oil to meet a specification it could not meet using a purely conventional base stocks.

I gladly use them if priced right and with the right concentration of additives i want
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
In my opinion the synthetic blends are somewhat obsolete. Most conventional oils are blends now to meet the specs and with synthetics to be had for low prices, a marketed synthetic blend makes no sense.

Years ago the price structure made blends a good compromise at a better price. Today that price structure is gone.


I agree, the blends really don't offer a good value to the consumer anymore. Wait for a sale on full synthetics and you'll pay less money too. We don't seem to hear about killer deals on the blends too often.
 
Originally Posted by Oildudeny
Synthetic blends got popular in the early days of full synthetic, giving consumers the thought they were getting a better buy and more protection without paying the heft of full synthetic.

Most your conventional oils are considered to be a blend.. Chevron and shell call their 5w20,30 and 10w30 a blend. Now synthetic blends are advertised as a heavy duty oil for SUV and trucks "I guess if you're hauling and towing". As Valvoline says - DuraBlendâ„¢ has a unique blend of premium synthetic and conventional base oils with advanced additive technology designed for tough driving conditions.

Hard to pass up full synthetic these days with the rebates available and the fact many vehicles requiring 0w20 and only being available in synthetic.



Can you share where you've seen that Shell (any of the SOPUS variants) Conventional says "Synthetic Blend"? I've read PDS that indicate Chevron, Havoline, Castrol, Mobil and Valvoline are blends but only in 5w20 and 5w30.
 
Originally Posted by wemay
Originally Posted by Oildudeny
Synthetic blends got popular in the early days of full synthetic, giving consumers the thought they were getting a better buy and more protection without paying the heft of full synthetic.

Most your conventional oils are considered to be a blend.. Chevron and shell call their 5w20,30 and 10w30 a blend. Now synthetic blends are advertised as a heavy duty oil for SUV and trucks "I guess if you're hauling and towing". As Valvoline says - DuraBlendâ„¢ has a unique blend of premium synthetic and conventional base oils with advanced additive technology designed for tough driving conditions.

Hard to pass up full synthetic these days with the rebates available and the fact many vehicles requiring 0w20 and only being available in synthetic.



Can you share where you've seen that Shell (any of the SOPUS variants) Conventional says "Synthetic Blend"? I've read PDS that indicate Chevron, Havoline, Castrol, Mobil and Valvoline are blends but only in 5w20 and 5w30.


My mistake not 10w30 just 5w20 and 5w30
 
I see what you mean. Thanks for the info.

[Linked Image]


Screenshot_20180902-013457_Drive.webp
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by benjy
NEVER!!! semi syn aka blends have NO required amount of synthetic usually group III highly refined CRUDE in it. if you want more protection in hotter drives or colder starts use a brand name group III as most $5 a qt in 5 qt containers at wally's are.


And what's the "requirement" to make an oil "Synthetic"?
 
Either conventional or synthetic for me, there's no in between! Problem with blends is you don't know what you're actually getting. Could be 1% syn and 99% conventional, not really worth it. Today's conventional oils likely perform as good or better than blends so they're pretty much obsolete in my book. A lot of people swear by them, though. My uncle for instance won't use anything but blends in his vehicles for some reason, always requests I use a synthetic blend each time I change his oil for him. Phillips 66 Shield blend or Conoco blend is what I use for his rig, cheap and easy to find.
 
Originally Posted by wemay
Originally Posted by benjy
NEVER!!! semi syn aka blends have NO required amount of synthetic usually group III highly refined CRUDE in it. if you want more protection in hotter drives or colder starts use a brand name group III as most $5 a qt in 5 qt containers at wally's are.


And what's the "requirement" to make an oil "Synthetic"?

Group III, in most of the world, some countries like Germany require Group IV.
 
Originally Posted by 53' Stude
Why use a synblend when Formula Shell 5qt is $9.88?

oops
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Yes I saw that at Home Depot yesterday I almost got some but seriously my oil storage has run out and I would likely get to it in five years.
 
Originally Posted by Patman
Originally Posted by PimTac
In my opinion the synthetic blends are somewhat obsolete. Most conventional oils are blends now to meet the specs and with synthetics to be had for low prices, a marketed synthetic blend makes no sense.

Years ago the price structure made blends a good compromise at a better price. Today that price structure is gone.


I agree, the blends really don't offer a good value to the consumer anymore. Wait for a sale on full synthetics and you'll pay less money too. We don't seem to hear about killer deals on the blends too often.


Totally agree, it's hard to justify the value of conventional or blends any more. Pennzoil Platinum or Mobil 1 are easily had for $12/ quarts with the rebates they run several months out of the year.
 
I remember in the not so distant past when Magnatec blend was really popular. Supposedly did really well in the Ecoboost engines. I don't believe it's available anymore in the U.S except in Full synthetic flavor which is apparently not half as popular. So I guess in some cases it does have its niche. I think it's still available in Canada not at Canadian Tire but at smaller auto parts stores and also Napa as far as I can tell from their website.
 
Look up most TDS and MSDS from oil brands across the board and you'll find that almost all list their 5w20 and 5w30 as blends.

If it meets your requirements, and you're interested in using it, do so.
 
Pennzoil Gold 5W30 d1G2 was a weird one, SOPUS claimed some pretty good performance numbers in their data sheet and then it pretty much disappeared from the shelves around here just after it was introduced.

I have head on here that some quick change places use it...
 
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