benjen

I think his comments are pointed at me as I did say synthetic oil does not come from the ground. I DID say it is made from natural gas. I DID say it was not made from crude. Yes, natural gas does come from the ground..........you are right. I think that the readers knew what I was saying. But, again you are right in that natural gas comes from the ground. The important thing here is that many guys just don't know the difference. In a simple way, a little bit of educating without a masters degree in chemistry, is all that toyo321 and myself were trying to offer.

4bus

iTrader: (4)

The oil arguments always make me laugh, marketing is more a factor than anything. I happen to be employed by one of the largest oil manufactures in the US, my company also owns one of the few oil testing labs in the US.

Base oil quality is no longer defined by just three simple categories consisting of conventional, semi-synthetic, and synthetic. With the introduction of new processes and feed stocks over the past dozen years, we now have numerous base oils grades and blends thereof, resulting in a continuum of base oil quality, such as:

Grp I
Grp I & II blend
Grp I & III blend
Grp II
Grp II & III blend
Grp II+
Grp III
Grp III & IV blend
Grp III+
Grp III & IV & V blend
Grp III+ & IV & V blend
Grp IV & V blend

While the exact quality order of such base oil selections is debatable and dependent on component grade and ratios, the point is that the quality steps are now so small as to make labels such as semi-synthetic and synthetic difficult if not impossible to place. The industry chose to draw a line between Grp II and Grp III in defining “synthetic”, but the difference is merely a single VI point, and therefore meaningless from a performance standpoint.

Certainly there is a meaningful difference between the low end and high end of the spectrum, such as Grp I vs a Grp IV/V blend, but the difference between adjacent levels, and really even levels that are three, four, or five apart, is easily blurred by the additive system.

Hence, the great debate over “synthetic” versus “true synthetic” is dead. The use of the word synthetic today only signifies that the base oil blend leans toward the higher end of quality continuum, and translating that further into finished oil performance becomes a stretch.

You are better served concentrating on specifications and approvals rather than base oils for estimating oil performance. Difference in wear rarely shows up in engine testing labs, in fact other conditions that would cause the engine to fail regardless are used to get the oil temps hot enough to show a difference in a Group II to a Group IV.

Has any one here ever heard of an engine builder say "If you used brand X oil instead of brand Y oil we wouldn't have had this problem" Seriously, it doesn't happen.

Marketing

minxguy

NO, not at all. semi synthetic base stocks are made by the coumpounder/blender of the oil. You cannot go to Exxon/Mobile and by a semi synthetic base stock.

minxguy

This might be the case for a Group III, but it is not the case for a Group IV or V. The add pak has nothing to do if the oil is synthetic or not.

minxguy

benjen, please read my last response to you. Group III oils are petroleum.......marketing calls them synthetic.

True synthetics that are made from alcohols, nat gas, etc are not considered petroleum oils.

benjen

You know guys as usual these threads start to turn. I made a point on Friday as to why synthetic is better than crude. And why that reason is a pretty good reason to consider in a boat engine. Maybe not your typical cruiser, but certainly in a go fast engine. I believe the above example, although maybe not exactly what takes place is pretty darn close. You can diss that explanation with your chemical background all you want. But, to the layman, which I am by the way......I'm not holding back and all of a sudden going to satrt laying some big stats on you. This was a simple and accurate description of the difference between crude and synthetic.

toyo321

You need to run a oil that works for you and your budget. Then get it tested after you have run for a while under your typical driving conditions that you will normally subject your boat to, after a regular oil change interval get what ever oil you are using tested. Only the UOA test will show if your oil is working well for your engine and how much life" protection additives " were still left in the oil when you changed it.

Just buy the best oil you can afford and change it a couple times to see how it looks and if you can get it tested. But yes any oil today that meets API standards of today will work okay in your boat if you change it on a regular basis. Even if its not Synthetic. Synthetic can go much longer between oil changes.

30ftpanther

iTrader: (1)

Hey ICDEDPPL.
Yes I do 11% and 6% for alcoholic beverages at the state store. No tax on oil or gas, I'm not a lawyer but it looks like oil is taxed ONE time only in this state. UNLESS U SHOP AT CHINAMART

Gas stations here do charge 3 to 6 cents or more for 9/10 of a gallon of fuel if you use your credit card.
Saw a lady from out of town at the grocery store and she could not understand why she was taxed for food. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sales_t..._United_States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuel_ta..._United_States

Supreboat in

Does anyone use Royal Purple in their engines? What do you know about it. Good or bad?

Hematite

And, in the end, THAT is what it all really comes down to!