Synthetic oil

[DAVECS1]

One of the biggest differences of synthetic vs conventional is temperature resistance. Synthetic oils resist breaking down as they get hot. In an engine that crammed into its engine bay and can be idling in the sun all day climbing rocks or pulling whatever. The synthetic will have more lubrication content longer.

Sponsored

 

[ShadowsPapa]

This from an engineer who does oil testing - as far as onset of thermal breakdown, the internet claims are not quite right. Maybe at the industry test numbers - it's different, but the onset is hardly different at all.

-------------------
I’ve also tested a number of synthetic, semi-synthetic and conventional gasoline engine oils for the onset of thermal breakdown. Individually, the synthetic oils that were tested, varied between 300* F and 210* F. But, on average, the onset of thermal breakdown for those synthetic oils was 276*F. Individually, the conventional oils varied between 280* F and 255* F, and the average for those conventional oils was 268*F. So, as you can see looking at the averages for each type of oil, there was only an 8* difference, meaning that overall, there is little to no difference in their abilities to withstand high temps. So, while some individual synthetic oils do well when subjected to high heat, overall they do not live up to the outrageous claims of some Internet articles. At the end of the day, the conventional oils tested here, were about the same regarding their ability to withstand heat, making them a lot better than many people think. And the average value for the onset of thermal breakdown for all these gasoline engine oils combined = 273* F.

 

[DAVECS1]

8 degrees is quite a bit in steady state operation

 

[ShadowsPapa]

8 degrees is quite a bit in steady state operation

The best synthetic he tested vs the best conventional was more like 20.
Personally that's how I'd look at it more than the averages - if I picked the best synthetic with the highest onset vs the best conventional, I'd have a 20 degree difference.

The average was only 8 - and I think HIS point was that too much stuff on the internet that gets repeated 100s of times over and over and then preached as the absolute truth is just internet lore that's been repeated, no real science behind it.

I run synthetic - I've been using bio-syn in my 73. It's crazy expensive but it's highly rated, green, and I had to reset my carburetors after changing to it because the engine gained idle speed by over 100 rpm.

Sponsored