Better base oil (PAO) not necessarily better performance: A study of 5W-40 oils

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by Patman
Originally Posted by StevieC


^^ Exactly. You can have a synthetic oil with a weak ad-pack but be PAO or GTL based and not perform as well as a Group III with a great ad-pack. It's the total formulation that makes it perform and it's carefully balanced.




Back in the early days Bob would remind us of that quite often. I think there are a few people on here that obsess a bit too much over what the base oil is made of. Sure it's good info to know, but it's not the entire story of an oil's performance by any means, especially if you're not going to do extended intervals or start your engine at -40 degrees.

Well put.

 

[bulwnkl]

Originally Posted by MolaKule
In formulating finished oils, one has to match the additive package to the mix of base oil types.



It is this (true) statement that makes me wonder what the point of this and several similar posts is.

 

[Gokhan]

Originally Posted by bulwnkl
It is this (true) statement that makes me wonder what the point of this and several similar posts is.

It's a very nice study. First of all, you get to see the base-oil compositions of different commercial motor oils. Then, seeing and analyzing actual scientific experimental data is much better than relying on hearsay, assumption, or common knowledge.

 

[JAG]

I found this study very interesting in my early BITOG days. I think I may have started a thread on it. It is partly why I was saying much more recently that a majority Group III motor oil may outperform a majority PAO motor oil in terms of resistance to breakdown because the additive package is such an important part of that. There is also a nice study done by AAA that had similar findings that also included non-synthetic oils.