What percent synthetic are the blends? (motorcraft
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I'd use Mobil1 with Mobil5000
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Castrol GTX with Castrol Synteq
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Pennzoil with Pennzoil Platinum
But from what I have read previously you would have a much higher synthetic content that way yes. But additive clash may take away some of the benefits.
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Castrol GTX with Castrol Synteq
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Pennzoil with Pennzoil Platinum
But from what I have read previously you would have a much higher synthetic content that way yes. But additive clash may take away some of the benefits.
What are you trying to accomplish?
Yeah, I am confused at that one. A few too many maybe?
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Well really just curious if Motorcraft is more like 50% syn or just 10%. Either way its a blend, but would be nice if it was more like 50%. Or could I get a more syn blend for about the same cost per quart if I mixed M1 or GC or PP with some kind of dino (I just said GTX because I bought 3 gallons on sale).
Most factory blends are in the 20-30% range.
So if you make your own, 50% is even better.
If you shop carefully, you can make your own cheaper than factory blends; which seem to be getting harder to find anyway.
Mobil-1 around here is about $5 a qt.
So if you make your own, 50% is even better.
If you shop carefully, you can make your own cheaper than factory blends; which seem to be getting harder to find anyway.
Mobil-1 around here is about $5 a qt.
"contains real fruit juice" comes to mind.
You have to be a pretty good chemist to come up with a balanced package of anti-wear and cleanliness blending your own. Ant have an awful lot of expensive equipment.
Blends can be as low as 1% synthetic, and I know of one brand that calls it a Semi-synthetic and Synthetic blend because of the synthetic polymers in the group I base oil.
Blends can be as low as 1% synthetic, and I know of one brand that calls it a Semi-synthetic and Synthetic blend because of the synthetic polymers in the group I base oil.
ive always been under the impression that while you can mix it is usually a better idea to stick with the same brands. Castrol gtx, castrol syntek, val ,val synpower etc..
I for one have done 3 quarts penn dino 5w30 and 1.5 quarts PP 5w30 in my corolla, so around 33% blend. uoa is posted. the oil did not have any fuel issues but it did shear down after only 4000 miles but it was a new motor and those 4K miles brought the total mileage up to 6K on the car so... may be better next time
I for one have done 3 quarts penn dino 5w30 and 1.5 quarts PP 5w30 in my corolla, so around 33% blend. uoa is posted. the oil did not have any fuel issues but it did shear down after only 4000 miles but it was a new motor and those 4K miles brought the total mileage up to 6K on the car so... may be better next time
I believe oil is blended with additives to achieve the best combination of characteristics within a price point. I upset that balance when I arbitrarily reduce the level of an additive and replace it with another. As widman stated and what I believe is that the homeowner enthusiast does not have the background or laboratory to achieve any positive results and most likely the home blending effort will produce a poorer product. Now if your trying to blend a PP with a PP to change the viscosity then you have a different issue. JMTs Ed
Could this be determined by Gas Chromatography of a virgin oil sample? HPLC?
Most blends are in the 10-13% range. No more. Someone said somewhere that Valvoline is 30% blend and that's just not the case.
20-30% synthetic is what I have gathered.
There used to be some pretty good info on this here on BITOG from years back, but it's gone now. Johnny is right. As I recall, nobody could find one that was more than about 15 percent, but it was pretty hard to document. The oil companies REALLY want to keep that a secret... for reasons we can all deduce.
Based on advice I got here not long after I first came aboard, I began blending GTX and Syntec in our Honda (4 GTX, 1 Syntec, 20 percent). And have several good UOAs over a few years. The advice was that if you blend, blend oils with similar additive packs. That usually means oil from the same company. Castrol is a good example, I think. Compare the VOA on GTX and Syntec. My blend works out to be less expensive than buying the "official" Syntec Blend and is a higher blend percentage anyway. Some of you may want to argue the Group III vs PAO thing. Go ahead. The Gp III syns may mix better with Gp II or II+ anyway.
Based on advice I got here not long after I first came aboard, I began blending GTX and Syntec in our Honda (4 GTX, 1 Syntec, 20 percent). And have several good UOAs over a few years. The advice was that if you blend, blend oils with similar additive packs. That usually means oil from the same company. Castrol is a good example, I think. Compare the VOA on GTX and Syntec. My blend works out to be less expensive than buying the "official" Syntec Blend and is a higher blend percentage anyway. Some of you may want to argue the Group III vs PAO thing. Go ahead. The Gp III syns may mix better with Gp II or II+ anyway.
Oh, yes, by all means. Let us declare ourselves chemists and blenders, based upon UAO, new oil analysis, comments on the internet, Direction of the Wind, temperature of the local lake, and whatever esoteric things we can think of.
Then, let us select a vast number of various blends of oil (reading the labels carefully) available on the shelves of various discount (I'll give you 70 cents a quart for 1,000,000 quarts with the right label) stores. Then open each quart, sniff it, taste it, rub it between your fingers, hold a sample to the light. Then pull out the statisical data from the VAO, and start pouring the proper number of fractions of an ounce from each bottle, until you have reached exactly the right blend.
Well, everybody knows that the BIG OIL companies are out to rip us off, so they employ lots and lots of complete idiots who spend weeks and months (amd maybe even years, in the case of the MobilExxon folks who formulated their extended drain oil) of trained chemists/engineers/technicians to come up with the best they can, given whatever constraints (mostly financial) are put on them--- but [censored], we know better!!! We'll blend our own!h
Then, let us select a vast number of various blends of oil (reading the labels carefully) available on the shelves of various discount (I'll give you 70 cents a quart for 1,000,000 quarts with the right label) stores. Then open each quart, sniff it, taste it, rub it between your fingers, hold a sample to the light. Then pull out the statisical data from the VAO, and start pouring the proper number of fractions of an ounce from each bottle, until you have reached exactly the right blend.
Well, everybody knows that the BIG OIL companies are out to rip us off, so they employ lots and lots of complete idiots who spend weeks and months (amd maybe even years, in the case of the MobilExxon folks who formulated their extended drain oil) of trained chemists/engineers/technicians to come up with the best they can, given whatever constraints (mostly financial) are put on them--- but [censored], we know better!!! We'll blend our own!h
Blend equals any syn base oil >1%
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+1 ****
The question itself is flawed. How do you distinguish "synth" and what does it matter anyway? Would 20% G-III plus G-II be better than 40% G-II+ and 60% G-II. Or maybe PAO is what you are looking for. What beats what? MaxLife has a shot of PAO, but is it better than MC with a lot of G-III? The only thing base oil might be good for is CC. Just look at those specs to compare and choose. imo, the magic is in the additves anyway. You'd drive yourself nuts looking at CC specs, CAS numbers, VOAs and UOAs. If you want to trry and oil, do it and then use it again or try another.
OK so the gist of what I'm reading is that its somewhere between 1 and 30%, probably closer to 10-15%, which to me is not much different than dino. And no one really knows but the oil companies. Thats what I wanted to know. If I decide to mix, I will try to get the same brands. Thanks all.
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