
Fact or Friction?
Is Choosing the Right Oil a Pain in Your Engine?
Many
people don't know how to select motor oil that will help them
get optimum performance out of their car. People often just select
the oil their father used, or they may take the suggestion of
a counter person at an auto parts store that may not know any
more about cars than they do.
There
are meaningful differences in motor oils and choosing the right
one can have a major impact on how well your car runs. Selecting
the right oil is often the quickest and cheapest way to improve
your car's performance and reliability. Two components determine
how well motor oil will perform in your car. One factor is the
base oil, and the other is the combination of chemicals (additives)
that are added to the base oil.
Base
oils
The
two primary types of base oils used are mineral and synthetic.
Mineral oils are by-products of refined crude oil. Refining helps
reduces the impurities but leaves molecules of all shapes and
sizes. Synthetic oils are manmade compounds whose molecules are
all the same size and shape; consequently, synthetic oil has a
less friction and performs significantly better than mineral oils.
What
to choose
The
easiest way to select motor oil is to follow the good, better
best model:
GOOD
— Mineral-based (regular) motor oils. These are the cheapest
and most widely available oils. They typically use standard additive
packages that provide minimum levels of performance and protection.
BETTER — Synthetic motor oils. These man-made oils are more expensive
that mineral-based oils but are still widely available. Their
performance advantages come predominantly from the synthetic base
oil used. They have a longer service life and offer some improvements
in protection.
BEST
— High-performance synthetic motor oils. These motor oils
are the most technologically advanced oils. Although they significantly
outperform mineral based or synthetic motor oils, they are about
the same price as standard synthetic motor oil. They are typically
only available through auto parts stores and select oil change
centers. These oils primarily differ in their uses of more advanced,
proprietary additive technologies.
Additives
Regardless of the base oil used, chemicals must be added to give motor oil the characteristics needed to do its job. Typical additives that may be added to base oil include detergents to reduce the formation of residue, defoamants, to deter absorption of air, anti-wear agents, antioxidants and others.
Although additives are typically only 15 to 25 percent of the make up of motor oil, they can impact a lubricant's performance much more than the base oil. For instance, mineral based motor oil with a very good additive package can easily outperform synthetic motor oil with a mediocre additive package.
There is no easy way for a consumer to determine the quality of a motor oil's additive package. Price is often an indicator of quality since the more advanced additive technologies cost more to produce. Performance is the ultimate measure of quality.
Advances in lubrication
Some of the biggest technological advances in lubrication are now coming through advancements in chemical additives. Royal Purple has developed lubricants that outperform both leading mineral oils and other synthetics. Their oil has been proven in numerous independent tests to dramatically reduce engine wear, increase horsepower and torque, and reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Cars using their oils can also go further between oil changes, saving the owner time and money, and reducing the impact on the environment. Information about independent tests conducted on their products is available at www.royalpurple.com
About Royal Purple®
Royal Purple® makes synthetic products for all your automotive needs, including engine oils, transmission fluids, gear oil, coolant additives, fuel system cleaner, power steering fluid, chain lubricant, grease, penetrating lubricant, assembly lube and shop compressor lubricant. For details on the independent research or more information on Royal Purple and its products, contact Royal Purple Ltd., One Royal Purple Lane, Porter, TX 77365
(Source: Royal Purple)