The Future of Synthetic Motor Oil Where is the lubricants
industry heading with synthetic motor oils? The answer is simple...FORWARD. As
quality standards get tighter and tighter, synthetic lubes will play an
ever-increasing role as they help engineers meet these new performance
requirements. Synthetic motor oil sales are
growing each year at double-digit rates. Some industry experts say it could be
as high as 40% of the market in 5 years. There are many reasons why this is
occurring. But before we get into the reasons why lets put to rest some false
rumors on synthetics.
1. You can’t switch back to mineral oils after using a
synthetic oil. The truth is you can go back and forth as many times as you like.
I have done this myself. If I am at a facility that is out of synthetic oil I
will use conventional motor oil.
2. Synthetics are too expensive. They have a higher up front cost but they have
long term cost savings. They protect the engine better and need to be changed
less often. Fewer oil changes mean more time to do other more important things.
We all could do something better with the 20-30 minutes it takes to get an oil
change.
3. Only high performance and ultra luxury cars need synthetics. The fact is any
car can use them, including my Hyundai Sonata.
4. Synthetics damage seals. The fact is that there is not a synthetic motor oil
that will create a leak. What it could do is clean up the contaminants that were
built up from conventional oils and were masking a worn engine seal. Now that we have dispelled those
myths, the question is “what are the benefits of using a synthetic motor oil
versus a conventional motor oil?” The answer to this question is the same reason
as to why synthetic motor oil sales are increasing at double-digit rates.
The main benefit of synthetic motor oil is that it
takes longer to break down. This allows for extended oil drains which results in
much needed time savings. By extending the oil drains this helps the environment
by generating less waste oil and less package waste. Synthetic motor oils are
designed with improved lubrication properties and higher viscosity indexes. The
benefits from that is superior engine wear protection, decreased oil
consumption, improved fuel mileage, easier cold starting and a reduction in
engine deposits. At Ocean State Oil we recognize the importance
of synthetics in the marketplace. That is why we have aligned ourselves with
Total Lubricants. Both Total Lubricants and Ocean State Oil are committed to
providing you with premium synthetic oils that meet the manufacturer’s demands
now and also what the demands will be in the future. As demand for synthetic
oils grow, so do expectations on what the oil can do. For example, the Total
Quartz Ineo MC3 5w/30 now meets the MB specs 229.5 and 229.51, the VW specs
502.00 and 505.01, the BMW LL-04 spec, as well as the latest Porsche specs. By
having these manufacturer’s approvals it separates Total’s synthetic oils from
most other synthetics.
If a car requires an approved oil it is vital for the installer to follow the
manufacturers requirements. Not all synthetic oils carry these approvals. There
are plenty of synthetic oils that are fine products but they do not carry these
approvals. So if you are going to carry, sell, or use a synthetic motor oil why
not carry an oil that has the manufacturer approvals and meets the specs of over
90% of the cars on the road. When consolidation of inventory is becoming more
and more desirable it is good to know that Total and Ocean State Oil have an
answer. If you should have any questions we here at Ocean State Oil would be
glad to assist you.
Information gathered from:
• Total Quartz Ineo MC3 product data
sheet
• How Stuff Works. What’s new in
synthetic oil technology? By Kristen Hall-Geisler
