Auto-Industry Best Kept Secret


The Auto Industry’s Best Kept Secret REVEALED!


Real Synthetic Lubes: The Auto Industry’s Best-Kept Secret

Base article is from Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords Magazine, with additional commentary by Performance Oil Technology, L.L.C., and Ultimate Synthetic Oil engineers.


Well, synthetic motor oil is not a rumor. It’s been in use ever since World War II (the Germans used it on the cold eastern front because conventional oil wouldn’t flow in the arctic-like weather). Even though it sounds too good to be true, synthetics do reduce engine wear, improve gas mileage and increase horsepower. This is because synthetic oil molecules are inherently superior in a number of ways to mineral-based oils. And the best synthetic oils contain very advanced additive technologies that deliver remarkable protection.


Without getting too technical, suffice it to say that synthetics have a much higher resistance to heat than mineral-based oils. Because synthetic oil is composed of designed molecules that are uniform in weight and shape, its heat of vaporization is much higher (more than 600 deg. F.) compared to conventional oil, which begins evaporating at temps as low as 350 deg. F. This added stability at high temperature means that your hard-working engine won’t burn up as much oil – and that means less sludge and fewer varnish deposits in the engine.

Added lubricity is another attribute of synthetics. The uniform diameter of synthetic oil polymers allows them to more easily slide over one another. The resultant reduction in friction shows up as a cooler engine, more horsepower and torque, higher fuel economy, and reduced internal engine wear.

Higher film strength is a major benefits of synthetics. Film strength is what keeps oil molecules from being pushed away from each other under pressure. In an area where two metal surfaces meet, the film of oil between them prevents them from rubbing and wearing away at each other. Synthetics do a far better job of this than conventional mineral oils. Mineral based oil has a film strength of about 400 psi, while synthetics usually exceed 3000 psi. This means that it takes more than seven times as much pressure to squeeze synthetic oil from between two surfaces than mineral-based oil. Consequently, synthetics work far better to keep your engine like new.

Film strength is also important in two other ways – cold start protection, and engine-shutdown turbo protection. Shorter turbo life is a clear penalty of using petroleum oils rather than synthetics. Regular mineral-based oil will not remain as a boundary layer (a uniform thin coating) on metal surfaces when an engine is turned off. Mineral-based oil drains off parts and out of passageways into the oil pan. And in turbocharger bearings when the engine shuts off, the “heat-soak” from the exhaust bakes the petroleum oil into hard deposits that directly reduce turbo life. Additionally, mineral-based oils contain waxes and paraffins that come out of the earth and solidify when it gets colder outside, making it even harder to pump the oil when cold. When you crank your engine, the metal surfaces  that require lubrication are not fully lubricated during the time it takes for the oil pump to pressurize the lubrication system and supply oil to the engine: this creates wear in the crankshaft, camshaft, lifters, connecting rod bearings, piston pin bushings & bearings, piston, rings and cylinder walls and turbo bearings.

Real synthetic lubricants are one of the three greatest vehicle maintenance secrets in automotive.  For a deeper understanding of oil performance comparisons, see our free motor oil testing comparison reports, with charts and explanations of the standard API/SAE/ASTM tests. For an understanding of the real-world results of high performance synthetics, review the seven lessons of the Million Mile Van, and how to pick the best engine oil.

Not All Synthetics Are Created Equal:

Beware!  Not all synthetics are created equal. There are wide differences in quality and protection provided by the various synthetics. Additionally, MOST synthetics on the shelves are NOT 100% synthetic. Many are partial synthetics marketed under the perception of full synthetics to the unsuspecting consumer. Or they are hydrocracked oils (Group III) such as Castrol Syntec, for example, which is a hydroisomerized petroleum oil marketed in disguise as a synthetic. There are no PAO (polyalphaolefin, or Group IV) synthetic molecules in Castrol Syntec, yet because of legal finagling with the definition of synthesized motor oils they can legally be called synthetic in the United States since 1999 (but other countries still consider this deception to be labeling fraud). Basically, they changed the definition of a synthetic to fit their process of highly refining a petroleum base oil, called hydrocracking, and fought with Mobil and the National Advertising Council to loosen the definition of a synthetic.


With Mineral-Based Oil Your Engine is Not As Well Protected During One of The Most Critical Times: Engine Start-Up:

Engine start-up lubrication is one of the most critical times for lubrication. Small amounts of wear occurs every time you start your engine with mineral-based oils. Over time, these small amounts of wear add up to larger amounts and result in increase clearances, reduced oil pressure, increase oil consumption and reduced life of your engine. Synthetic motor oil, on the other hand, will stay on engine parts and coat them uniformly because of its high film strength and greater heat affinity (it adheres better to hot metal parts). So synthetics prevent most start-up engine wear by reducing friction prior to oil flow, and by getting pumped to critical passageways, surfaces and bearings much faster than mineral-based oils in cold starts.

With mineral-based oils your engine is basically running with no oil between wear surfaces after starting the motor, for 2-10 seconds in mild or hot weather, and 5-30 seconds in cold weather, depending on the oil and the temperature.  This is a major source of engine wear.  So with synthetics after several hundred thousand miles you still will have a strong running engine, instead of a used-up engine that may require a re-build. This has been proven by millions of miles of customer and fleet usage and countless laboratory and field tests.

Bringing an extra benefit, a few synthetics are designed for long drain intervals: this offsets the added cost of synthetic oil.  AMSOIL’s premiums motor oils are designed for 25,000 mile/1-year drain intervals (or longer with by-pass filtration). Which is the best synthetic motor oil? When you ignore marketing claims and look at certified performance test data, and fleet oil analysis results, there is simply no other oil company in the world that can match AMSOIL’s extended drain interval capability or tested performance – the benefits of AMSOIL synthetics are huge… by design.

Why Automakers Don’t Use Synthetics in Production Vehicles:

AMSOIL is devoted to protectionOkay. Synthetics are great. The real question is: Why doesn’t everybody use them? Manufacturers don’t use synthetics in production vehicles (except as where needed to prevent component failure during the warranty period) for at least two reasons. It is our opinion that they want to sell you a new vehicle or non-warranty repairs more often, and synthetic motor oil would significantly reduce their chances of doing that. Additionally, the oil companies want to sell oil to keep their oil wells and refineries running and they do that more profitably by recommending the fraudulent 3000 mile oil change. Sure, they all offer a synthetic or semi-synthetic now, but it is only a very small percentage of total oil sales volume. A few auto companies install a synthetic oil as a factory fill in very high performance vehicles such as the Chevrolet Corvette, Dodge Viper, Porsche and Mercedes AMG for examples.

[Basically, what you are seeing is a long history of the oil and auto companies working together so they both benefit from the scams of the “3000 mile oil change” and of paper filters.  However, California and GM are working together to educate consumers because of GM’s vehicle oil-change findings and because of the environmental impact of doing oil changes two to 10 times more often than needed.
Many of the same oil companies that recommend 3000 mile oil changes in the U.S. also offer and recommend 12,000-18,000 mile oil changes in Europe, and have been for many years, and have considered proposals for increasing that to nearly 30,000 mile oil changes in the future. The technology is available, yet AMSOIL is the only one to offer a superior extended drain synthetic oil that far exceeds the performance specifications of any other type and brand of oil, and back it with their own warranty.]

AMSOIL Offers Extended Drain Intervals and Superior Filtration:

AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants are so far advanced in their superior engine protection that they provide 25,000 mile/1-year oil changes (or 700 hours) with Ea nanofiber filtration. This filtration technology reduces wear by 70%, tripling remaining engine life compared to OEM filters. This is actually one more of the Three Greatest Secrets of vehicle maintenence.

Taking it one step further, choosing to add AMSOIL By-Pass Filtration allows for virtually no oil changes and filters down to 1/10 micron particle size. The average consumer spending excessive amounts of time and money changing their oil every 3000 miles does not get the same level of performance and protection as the AMSOIL customer that is saving both time and money and getting maximum performance, protection and extending the life of their engine, transmission and differential (AMSOIL also offers synthetic differential gear oil, and extended drain interval transmission fluids that will virtually eliminate differential and transmission wear and reduce operating temperatures approximately 20-50 deg. F., depending on operating conditions).

There Is A Good Use For Mineral Oil?

Please note that a new gasoline powered engine should be run on the factory fill mineral-based oil for about the first 500 miles and large diesel engines should be run about 5000-6000 miles in general before changing to synthetic oil. Mineral oil’s lower shear strength can help promote easier engine wear-in, although you can convert to synthetic oil sooner if you like. Many production vehicles today come factory filled with synthetic oil. Engine break-in is not as critical today as it was in the old days. Material, engineering advances and manufacturing technology has improved drastically from the days when long break-in periods were required.

It is good practice to perform the first oil and filter change at 500 miles on a new engine, because the the initial oil-change contains the highest wear metal content in the used oil and filter. The added friction and surface abrasion that mineral-based oils provide actually helps to seat the valves and create even mating surfaces between parts during the first several hundred miles (such as piston rings and cylinder walls). This is a time in the engine’s life that generates a high level of metal, aluminum, copper and some lead particles in the oil (that cannot all be caught by the filter). Again, you are perfectly ok to use synthetic oils sooner if you choose to (with the exception of 2-cycle engines). Your engine will still wear-in properly although it may take just a short time longer as compared to petroleum oil.

Major racing teams may appear to not use synthetics, but things aren’t always what they seem. The racing team’s sponsor might want you to believe there’s a certain kind of motor oil in the car’s crankcase, but every successful race team in the world uses synthetic lubricants throughout the car, and roughly 85% of them  in North America use AMSOIL. (Few winning circles are occupied without AMSOIL in the gear box and differential.) Because two things matter: winning, and minimizing rebuild costs. You may wonder how we know these facts. It’s simple: we work in the automotive industry with many professionals involved in the racing industry.

Interestingly enough, the biggest reason that synthetic lubricants are not in widespread use is because the would-be consumer does not understand the benefits of synthetics. Also, they are not sure where to go to ask, or who to ask. Asking your local parts counterman at the auto parts or the high school graduate at the quick-lube shop is not the answer, or even asking your local auto dealer that sold you the car: remember, they are usually tied in with the manufacturers brand or oil and the 3000 mile oil change myth.

You should seek out and acquire information from a Certified Lubrication Specialist, lubrication engineer or unbiased automotive engineer or competent mechanic that fully understands and can explain the benefits of synthetics and the drawbacks of mineral-based oil to the consumer. But beware, there are many mechanics out there that are so engrained in the old way of thinking that they refuse to change their habits or even open up their minds to the fact that there are automotive engineers, lubrication engineers and chemists that know a heck of a lot more about motor oils, filtration, vehicles and synthetics than them. Because this is so complex, we clearly explain here how to pick the best motor oil for your engine.  We also address the myth that synthetic oils cause engine gasket leaks or oil-seal leaks.

Some People Will Never Change:

Also, even though people have known about synthetics for years, consumers continue to be brand and price driven. The rationale continues to be, “My grandpappy used brand V in his model T, so I won’t use nothing else.” Or, “I been using brand Q in my IROC for years. If I change brands now I’ll blow the motor.” Or, “ I ain’t payin’ no 8 dollars a quart, no siree, Bob, I ain’t that stupid.” Or, “I ain’t using none of that synthetic oil…that’s stuff’s made out of beans…I want some real crude oil.” (This last statement was an actual statement from a customer in a snowmobile store. He was having 2-cycle spark plug fouling problems due to the mineral- based oil mixture he was using. The store suggested he use a synthetic oil and 2 new spark plugs to eliminate the fouling issue. He declined and purchased 2 boxes of spark plugs and his usual crude oil mix; guess some people will never change).

Synthetics Are Compatible With Mineral Based Oils, But Mixing Downgrades Performance:
ASTM Test Study of Synthetic 5W-30 Motor Oils

When switching to a synthetic motor oil, it is important to keep several things in mind regarding oil consumption. Keep extra quarts of synthetic handy. Although many synthetic oil manufacturers tout the compatibility of their oils with mineral-based oils, that’s more for emergencies when oil is below the “Add” mark on the dipstick and you don’t have a spare quart of your synthetic. Adding mineral oil to synthetic oil will drastically reduce the level of engine protection that was initially designed into the synthetic oil as well as the mileage to your next oil change. Also, as the mineral oil breaks down it will contaminate the rest of the oil, leaving sludge and varnish deposits in the engine (this is because mineral oil is made up of many chemically dissimilar hydrocarbons, including waxes, all of which react differently under different operating conditions). By adding a mineral oil to synthetic oil you will also see a reduction in engine efficiency, depending on how much, and when, the mineral-based oil was introduced.



Brian Dobben – former Chrysler headquarters Sr Engineer

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Do you have any questions that are not explained in this brief overview?  Please .  See the Lubrication Industry and GM’s stance on oil change intervals, as well as the State of California’s new efforts to educate vehicle owners on the facts.  You can also easily review our other articles and test data, from articles in the right sidebar (or seen below on small mobile devices).  LEARN MORE

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But the other key issue is nanofiber filtration













  • Increases the mileage life of your vehicle.
  • Improves fuel economy.
  • Increases at-wheel horsepower.








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