News: Which oil is better – synthetic or mineral?

There are two types of engine oils: mineral and synthetic, and the product of their combination – semi-synthetic oils. Each of them has its own characteristics and is effective in certain operating conditions. About the features of engine oils of different categories and their optimal use in cars we illustrate below in the article.

Modern synthetics

Synthetic engine oils are produced by deep chemical processing of petroleum products at organic synthesis facilities. Such oils do not exist in nature: they are a human invention, have a more perfect molecular structure than mineral and, as a result, have improved characteristics on the following indicators:

• viscosity – synthetics retain a stable viscosity over a given individual temperature range;
• fluidity – the necessary fluidity index is retained even at subzero temperatures, facilitating the cold starting of the car;
• detergency – significantly reduces the number of deposits on hot surfaces;
• service life – considerably exceeds the analogue parameter of mineral oils due to lower evaporation and oxidation processes.

The main operational characteristics of synthetic oil are set at the production stage, so they require a small number of additives.

Production of synthetic oils is a quite expensive process, so their price can be several times higher than mineral oils: the high price is the main disadvantage of synthetics.

Standard mineral oil

Mineral oil is a natural product that is the result of refining and purification of fuel oil. However, in its original form, mineral lubricants are practically not used, because they perform their functions only at “room” temperature. The anti-corrosive, detergent and anti-wear properties of mineral oils are improved by adding stabilizing additives to the base oil. The main advantage is the low price due to the simple manufacturing technology.

However mineral oils have several disadvantages:

• they quickly increase their viscosity at low temperatures, which leads to insufficient engine lubrication and accelerates its wear;
• at high temperatures due to burn-out of additives combustion products are formed which clog up the engine;
• due to burn-out of stabilizing additives the oil loses its properties quickly, and it is necessary to change it after each 5 000 km mileage;
• due to the irregular molecular composition the oil film is less stable than that of synthetic.

Synthetic and mineral oil: specifics of choice

If you compare these two main types of engine oils without reference to a specific vehicle and operating conditions, synthetic oils win by all characteristics except price.

But you should not make hasty conclusions: synthetic may not suit every car. The main consumers of synthetic oils are new cars of the last years of manufacture. In addition, when choosing a synthetic oil, you should follow the manufacturer’s recommendations, which are written in the technical documentation for the car, especially if the car is under warranty.

The use of synthetic lubricants is recommended in many cases, especially under more severe conditions of vehicle operation: extremely low ambient temperatures, huge temperature fluctuations, and high-speed driving, when the engine is strongly heated.

It is guaranteed that you will not make a mistake when choosing a lubricant by following the vehicle manufacturer’s instructions.