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Difference between revisions of "What Motor Oil Should You Use?"
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→Synthetic v. Conventional
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===Synthetic v. Conventional=== | ===Synthetic v. Conventional=== | ||
What exactly is "synthetic" motor oil? | |||
Back in 1999, Mobil and Catrol went to the Better Business Bureau's [http://www.nadreview.org/start.asp National Advertising Division] with a dispute over the use of the word "synthetic" in reference to [http://www.castrol.com/castrol/productdetail.do?categoryId=82915470&contentId=6030793 Castrol's Syntec] motor oil. It's case number 3526, but the NAD restricts access to case reports, so the details of the case aren't available. Suffice it to say that Castrol was able to continue to call it's oil "synthetic," even though its production process was more like the refining of crude oil than the true synthesis of oil from non-oil starting materials. | |||
So, in the marketplace, the word "synthetic" is more about a motor oil's performance characteristics than about the manner of its manufacture--or its refinement, as the case may be. Again, Mark Lawrence's [http://www.calsci.com/motorcycleinfo/Oils1.html All About Oil] webpage goes into the details of oil manufacture and the differences between synthetic and conventional oil quite nicely. | |||
Are synthetics motor oils any better? Some people at the [http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/index.html Paradise Garage] website did their own [http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/oil-life.html Synthetic Oil Life Study]. They did the study using General Motors V-8 engines, so the numbers don't directly translate to motorcycle use, but the results are still informative. In short, yes, synthetic motor oils do last longer than non-synthetic motor oils. | |||
Is the added cost of synthetic motor oils worth the improved longevity (of the oil)? That's up to you. | |||
===Motorcycle Oil v. Automotive Oil=== | ===Motorcycle Oil v. Automotive Oil=== | ||