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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