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Layman's Guide to Synthetic Oil
The History of Synthetic Lubricants
During the mid 1960's and early 1970's here were two
main companies that led the development, testing and
release of synthetic motor oils for automobile engines
to be sold via the retail market. These two companies
are
AMSOIL
INC. and Mobil Oil Corp.
AMSOIL
INC. developed the first synthetic motor oil to meet API
service requirements for automobile engines and also has
been authorized to register and use "The First in
Synthetics" as an official trademark by the U.S. Patent
and Trademark office. The first can of
AMSOIL
10W-40 appeared on the market in 1972. Mobil synthetic
appeared on the market in 1975. The technology for
Mobil's product was based on a variation of their "XRN
1669" synthetic motor oil, which they had been testing
for several years prior to its release. Although, both
products were far superior to petroleum oil, widespread
use and acceptance of these new breed of lubricants was
relatively slow in the beginning.
As a side note to the previous description, you may have
at one time or another heard Mobil advertised as being
the first company to develop and release a synthetic
motor oil for automobile engines. The historical facts
are that
AMSOIL
INC. was the first to develop and market an API rated
synthetic motor oil for automobile engines, but Mobil
was the first to nationally market their new synthetic
motor oil.
AMSOIL
was nationally marketed right after Mobil began
nationally marketing their new oil.
Other major oil companies were extremely slow to follow
and rather than develop synthetic lubricants of their
own for use in automobile engines via the retail market,
they generally tried to discredit the benefits of
synthetic motor oils to consumers for about the next
15-20 years. When the public could no longer be
convinced that petroleum oil was a better choice and the
demand for synthetic motor oils was rising quickly,
other oil companies developed their own "revolutionary"
formulation of synthetic motor oil for automobile
engines and started advertising the exact same benefits
that they were previously not promoting. Note that many
of these companies did have laboratory and field
experience with synthetic formulations and many also had
synthetics available that were used in specialized
industrial, diesel, jet and military applications, but
nothing you could go buy at your local auto parts store.
Regardless, the lead that
AMSOIL,
as well as Mobil, had on the competition was a large one
and the other oil companies played "catch-up" but to
date, have still not released a synthetic lubricant for
retail sale in automobile engines that matches the
performance of
AMSOIL.
Note that although I have my personal preferences, I am
not recommending one product over the other in this
book. I am simply stating facts and data as referenced
by historical documentation and laboratory tests. There
are major performance differences between
AMSOIL's
and Mobil's synthetic oil, which are detailed in
AMSOIL
vs. Mobil1 section of this website.
Also, note that the reason I am focusing on these two
companies is because they were the innovators of
synthetic motor oil for widespread automobile engine use
via the retail market. The other major oil companies
were about 15-20 years behind in bringing synthetic
motor oils to the retail market. By the mid 1990's
mostly all of the major oil companies offered synthetic
motor oil in addition to their petroleum oil products.
They did so finally when (in my opinion) they realized
that their profits were going to be negatively affected
if they didn't release a synthetic of their own. The
synthetics that they released and which are on the
market today, when tested according to ASTM test
procedures and specifications, do not even come close to
matching the performance of
AMSOIL.
Mobil also does fairly well in certain test parameters,
but you have to look at the comparison data and the
differences become apparent. Other companies marketing
synthetics do, however, have very convincing and catchy
ad campaigns and slogans. Don't be fooled; ask to see
the ASTM test results and data for specific parameters
which are covered in the Lubricant Testing section of
this website. There are only a few companies that
publish these results, but still I recommend you contact
their technical department or customer service
department and request to see the data. If they can't
supply the technical data, as tested by ASTM certified
independent laboratories, then I would be highly suspect
of their claims. Additionally, if you desire you can
take samples of any oil and submit it to a certified
ASTM test lab for analysis. It will be somewhat costly
to run all the tests, but it certainly can be done.
The results of Mobil's testing are documented in SAE
Paper 750376 by Mobil Research and Development Corp,
from 1975. The paper is entitled "An Engine Oil
Formulated for Optimized Engine Performance". This paper
was presented at the February 1975 SAE Automotive
Engineering Congress and Exposition, Detroit, Michigan.
The conclusions from this paper are as follows (note
that this 1975 data is still perfectly valid today):
Lubricant reformulation can help modern engine
performance in a number of important areas. A light
viscosity engine oil has been formulated utilizing a
combination of specific synthesized base stock
materials. This lubricant, XRN 1669, has been shown to
provide performance superior to premium quality SAE
10W-40 mineral oils in the following areas:
a. Engine Cleanliness
b. Fuel Economy
c. Oil Economy
d. Cold Starting Capability
e. Intake System Cleanliness
f. Shear Stability
g. Thermal/Oxidative Stability
Excellent wear protection, at least equivalent to that
of premium quality SAE 10W-40 mineral oils, was provided
by XRN 1669, while an ashless, non-phosphorus engine
oil, meeting API SE wear requirements gave high wear in
a laboratory test, as well as in a field evaluation.
Engine oils formulated with this mixed base stock system
are completely compatible with mineral oils and have no
deterious effects on elastomeric seals commonly used in
automotive engines.
Exhaust emission levels and octane number requirement
increase were found to be independent of engine oil
sulfated ash content and base stock material for the
lubricants tested and driving conditions employed.
It is important to recognize that
AMSOIL
INC. developed the first synthetic motor oil in the
world to meet API service requirements. Lieutenant
Colonel Albert J. Amatuzio, President and CEO of
AMSOIL
INC., had ample opportunity to witness synthetic
lubricants in action as a jet fighter squadron
commander. Synthetic oils were, and still are, used
exclusively in jet engines because of their
extraordinary performance characteristics to reduce
friction and wear on engine components, their ability to
function dependably at severe hot and cold temperature
extremes and their ability to withstand rigorous and
lengthy engine operation without chemical breakdown.
Al Amatuzio recognized that these same benefits would
prove invaluable in automobile engines and he went on to
formulate the first synthetic motor oil in the world to
meet API service requirements. The release of his new
and revolutionary synthetic motor oil in 1972
outperformed every other oil on the market and signaled
the birth of an entire industry. Al Amatuzio was
officially recognized for his outstanding developments
by Lubricants World Magazine in a Feb. 1994 when he was
inducted into The Lubricants World Hall of Fame.
Amatuzio is credited with pioneering synthetic motor oil
for use in automobile engines.
The exact same benefits that are listed above are just
as important today as they were in the early days of
synthetics and are still a major benefit of synthetic
lubricants. Petroleum oil cannot even come close to
comparing to the benefits provided by a premium quality
synthetic lubricant.
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