4x4 Action Group

Raait. I am back and needs to be educated a little.

What is the big deal with synthetic oils? I know that normal oils gets old and thick after a long while and that is one of the reasons one must change it every year. Normal oil is plant based and it goes vrot. Does Synthetic oil also goes off or deteriorate like normal oil?

Synthetic oil is man made
Mineral oil is refined from crude oil
No engine oil is plant based AFAIK

Generally speaking mineral oil is great on older generation motors,
Synthetic is designed for modern engines, but often gets too thin in our climate and it burns off as it sneaks past the rings and seals.

Obviously grade comes into play, what does the manufacturer recommend, and where is the engine designed?
Many European engines state a low viscosity synthetic, but in our climate the engine works better with a thicker mineral or semi-synthetic oil.

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Thanks Wave. With plant based I take it that it is fossil fuel that came from plant material. It breaks down after time.

Ek sit liewer op my hande

ThysleRoux wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 03, 2019 9:27 pm

Ek sit liewer op my hande

Nee man! Gesels met ons.

Synthetic oil and mineral oil of the same temp and viscosity rating will perform exactly the same in the same conditions until it starts breaking down. a 5W40 oil is a 5w40, finish and klaar. 5W refers to the winter rating (the lowest temp it will perform within it's viscosity range. The 40 determines the viscosity range at 100 degrees C. The lower the second value, the thinner the oil will be at 100 deg C - a 30 grade oil will be thinner at 100 deg C than a 40 and a 20 thinner than a 30, and so on.

Synthetic oils will usually last longer before it starts breaking down, as it's composition is more precise than that of mineral oils. When filling an engine that used to run on mineral oil with synthetic, make sure you flush it properly, as mixing the 2 types can cause a chemical reaction and the oil could lose some of its properties.

Dankie Thys!