We’ve already established that the truth about synthetic oil claims of "100% Synthetic Motor Oil" are often not strictly true! But in a weird oily way, it’s perfectly OK to say that it is 100% Synthetic, because the Base Stock oil is 100% Synthetic; even though it contains as much as 20% Petroleum product, because it’s “only” the Carrier Oil for the Additives !!!
This now raises an interesting question about what you pay for “fully” synthetic oil: After all you just might not be willing to pay so much more for Synthetic Motor Oil if you knew it was not "100% Synthetic". Or would you?
In November 2006, ExxonMobil on their
www.Mobil 1.com website asked
the online visitors to:
"Ask your stickiest Question"
Jeff Willett of St. Peters took them up on their offer, in his search for the truth about synthetic oil:
“I have seen claims of gas chromatograph analysis of Mobil 1 Extended Performance SAE 5W-30 API SM dated October 2006, that state it is "mostly mineral oil". Realizing that you can not divulge your exact formulations, what do you say to the critics that claim you are using a high percentage of hydro processed mineral oil in Mobil 1, instead of the more expensive PAO or polyester base stocks?”
Amazingly an “anonymous” employee from Mobil 1 web actually replied, and the reply was even posted briefly on the
www.Mobil 1.com :
“Just like other companies, we do not discuss our product formulations for obvious proprietary reasons.
Mobil 1 Extended Performance is formulated using a combination of high performance fluids including PAO, along with a proprietary system of performance additives. But in the end, it is also about performance. Mobil 1 is used by more Original Equipment Manufacturers than any other oil as first fill in their vehicles. Also take note of the kind of testing we put our product through, including the "Las Vegas field testing" we recently completed. The Mobil 1 technology is also tested each weekend on the race track. In fact, more than 50 percent of NASCAR teams use Mobil 1.”
On face value the question was answered albeit a little short on hardcore facts or fully tackling the truth about synthetic oil:
• The formulation of Mobil 1, which is labeled as FULLY SYNTHETIC, is mostly PETROLEUM !
• Mobil 1 is used in a handful of vehicles; usually high end cars, while the majority of OEM’s use conventional PETROLEUM in the majority of their production.
• NASCAR Racing engines are stripped after fewer than 50 hours; and there’s no documented proof of teams using Mobil 1 in their vehicles, having any technical advantage.
The truth about synthetic oil is that it’s Synthetic even when it is Petroleum!
And don’t think Mobil or (ExxonMobil now) is alone in these somewhat ambitious claims. Many other brands of Synthetics (Shell, Castrol, Amsoil, etc.) are also NOT fully "synthetic". At least not by the definition used by practicing chemists in Global chemical companies.
The final distortion of the truth about synthetic oil came some years ago when SHELL Europe introduced Motor Oils that were manufactured from UHVI Petroleum Base stock that, although made from conventional crude oil, were subjected to additional processing not common on "normal" or "typical" Base Oil production. These (UHVI = Ultra High Viscosity Index) Base Stock containing Motor Oils were labeled by SHELL as "Synthetic".
Companies like MOTUL, MOBIL, AGIP in their respective markets did not like that labeling one bit, because the SHELL "synthetic" products were sold for substantially less then their own Brands of "Synthetic" Labeled products.
So followed years of lawsuits, court orders, appeals and counter-suits; clogging the courts of several European countries. At different times and in different countries contrary decisions or judgements were made. What was "synthetic" in one country on one day was "not synthetic" in another country at the same time.
Unfortunately, but possibly inevitably, what finally evolved from all this confusion was that the label term "Synthetic" was deemed to be a marketing term, and therefore up to the "marketer" of the oil, to define what "synthetic" is.
GREAT!
This now implied that anytime a conventional petroleum oil is subjected to any unconventional process or reaction, irrespective of whether it improves the Base Oil, it can be called "synthetic" i.e., Man-made.