what is synthetic oil?

Answer 1

oil that does not come out of the ground but is produced by chemical processes

Answer 2

Synthetic oil is oil that is engineered, therefore containing specific hydrocarbons or other chemicals the company makes to have a smaller range of viscosity (thickness) and coefficient of friction.

Older, non-synthetic oil is a combination of a larger number of chemicals, distilled from crude oil mostly, which is not ideally suited to the purpose but is quite good.

Synthetic oil's main advantages are that it doesn't break down into other substances as well (it is more stable) and it is of more ideal viscosity when you start the car cold (normal oil needs to warm into the proper range). It therefore can be used much longer and in more extreme conditions (cold and very hot climates)

However, both really come from crude oil for the most part. At least they did years ago, this may have changed.

Answer 3

Synthetic oil is to a silicone base not Corbin .

Answer 4

One form of synthetic oil is that manufactured using the Fischer-Tropsch process which converts carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane into liquid hydrocarbons of various forms. This process was developed and used extensively in World War II by Germany, which had limited access to crude oil supplies. Germany's yearly synthetic oil production reached millions of tons in 1944. It is today used in South Africa to produce most of that country's diesel. Dr. Hermann Zorn of I.G. Farben Industrie in Germany actually began to search for lubricants with the properties of natural oils but without the tendencies to gel or gum when used in an engine environment. His work led to the preparation of over 3500 esters in the late 1930’s and early 1940’s including diesters and polyol esters.

Another form of synthetic oil is that produced at kcmq Syncrude sands plant in Alberta, Canada. This huge facility removes highly viscous bitumen from oil sands mined nearby, and uses a variety of processes of hydrogenation to turn it into high-quality synthetic crude oil. The Syncrude plant supplies about 14% of Canada's petroleum output. A similar plant is the smaller nearby facility owned by Suncor.


[edit] Synthetic engine oil
In the early 1970s, synthetic oils began to be marketed as a substitute for mineral oils for engine lubrication. Although in use in the aerospace industry for some years prior, synthetic oil first became commercially available in an API-approved formula for automobile engines when the French Oil company MOTUL introduced a commercial ester-based synthetic oil in 1971[1]. Other early synthetic motor oils included All-Proof, a 10W-50 polyolester-based motor oil introduced in 1970, Amsoil, introduced in 1972[2] (with a diester-based 10W-40 formula developed by Hatco) and Mobil 1, introduced in North America in 1974[3] (with a PAO-based 5W-20 formula).


[edit] Synthetic Base Stocks
Synthetic motor oils have been made from the following classes of lubricants:

Polyalphaolefin (PAO) = API (American Petroleum Institute) Group IV base oil
Synthetic esters, etc = API Group V base oils (non-PAO synthetics, including diesters, polyolesters, alklylated napthlenes, alkyklated benzenes, etc.)
Hydrocracked/Hydroisomerized = API Group III base oils. Chevron, Mobil, and other petrochemical companies developed processes involving catalytic conversion of feed stocks under pressure in the presence of hydrogen into high quality mineral lubricating oil. In 2005 production of GTL (Gas-to-liquid) Group III base stocks began. The best of these perform much like polyalphaolefin. Group III base stocks are considered synthetic motor oil in North America.[4][5]

[edit] Required applications
Many vehicle manufacturers specify synthetic motor oils.

VW 502.00/505.00/503.01 (includes both diesel and petrol or gasoline engines)
MB 229.5 ( (4G63 engine)
Honda HTO-06
Porsche Approval list 2002
Some Briggs & Stratton small engines.
Dodge Viper V10
Ridley Motorcycle Company
Various motor oils made from Group III, Group IV, and/or Group V base oils are on the market that meet one or more of these


[edit] Advantages
The technical advantages of synthetic motor oils include:

Measurably better low and high temperature viscosity performance
Better chemical & shear stability
Decreased evaporative loss
Resistance to oxidation, thermal breakdown and oil sludge problems
Extended drain intervals with the environmental benefit of less waste oil created.

[edit] Disadvantages
The disadvantages of synthetic motor oils include:

Initial costs are usually multiplied by 3 compared to petroleum based oils, though at one time man-made oils were ten times greater[citation needed]
Initial costs are usually mitigated by extended change intervals, but each particular user may find as useful confirmation of that through used oil analysis (UOA).

The lower friction makes them unsuitable for break-in i.e. during the initial run-in period of the vehicle where friction is desirable to cause wear.
Potential decomposition problems in certain chemical environments (industrial use dominantly)
Potential stress cracking of plastic componentry like POM (polyoxymethylene) in the presence of PAO's.
Potential on some older pushrod race engines with roller lifters for the roller itself not to spin with camshaft movement, but rather slide whilst the roller itself remains either stationary or at a lower circumference speed that that of the camshaft lobe[citation needed]

[edit] Semi-synthetic oil
Semi-synthetic oils (also called 'synthetic blends') are blends of mineral oil with no more than 30% synthetic oil. Designed to have many of the benefits of synthetic oil without matching the cost of pureoil. MOTUL introduced the first semi-synthetic motor oil in 1966.[6]