Putting together a groups 3/4/5 synthetic list

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I'd like to put together a list of which synthetics fall under what group. I've been seeing a lot of false information online, mainly Facebook car groups.. where amsoil reps like to claim that their oil is group 5 and "specially formulated for racing!", and people eat it up.

It would be good for BITOG to have also, I'm concentrating on synthetics because that is what most car guys with higher performance cars like to use.
Also just concentrating on oils that are readily available in the US, either on the shelfs or online from a US distributor.

Can I get any info/confirmation of what groups these oils fall under? Am I missing any oils?

Redline High Performance (group 5)
Redline Professional Series
Motul 300V (Group 5)
Motul 8100
Amsoil Signature series (group 4)
Amsoil XL
Amsoil OE
Amsoil Z-Rod
Amsoil Euro
Schaeffers
LiquiMoly
Mobil 1 (I think only the 0w40 is a group 4?)
Mobil Super (group 3)
Eneos
Royal Purple
Total
Rotella (group 3?)
Millers Oils
Brad Penn
Ravenol
Pennzoil Platinum (group 3)
Pennzoil Ultra
Castrol Syntec (group 3)
Castrol Edge
 
It's not going to happen because:

NO oil blender or Mfg. is going to tell you what their formulations are, and they are under no obligation to do so.

Therefore, since no Mfg. or blender is going to tell you what their formulations contain, any future list of base oils would be pure conjecture.

I emphasized "base oils" because in a finished lubricant we may use two or three or more different viscosities of base oils and more than one Group of base oil.

And if someone tells you that the base oil in a product is Group X only, he or she has no clue as to formulating finished lubricant products.

What matters is the performance of the lubricant.
 
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Originally Posted by MolaKule
It's not going to happen because:

NO oil blender or Mfg. is going to tell you what their formulations are, and they are under no obligation to do so.

Therefore, since no Mfg. or blender is going to tell you what their formulations contain, any future list of base oils would be pure conjecture.

I emphasized "base oils" because in a finished lubricant we may use two or three or more different viscosities of base oils and more than one Group of base oil.

And if someone tells you that the base oil in a product is Group X only, he or she has no clue as to formulating finished lubricant products.

What matters is the performance of the lubricant.


I do agree that group type doesn't relate much to performance. But it would still be nice to *try* and get a list together, for information's sake.
 
Originally Posted by MrWideTires
I do agree that group type doesn't relate much to performance. But it would still be nice to *try* and get a list together, for information's sake.

Originally Posted by MolaKule
It's not going to happen because:

NO oil blender or Mfg. is going to tell you what their formulations are, and they are under no obligation to do so.

Therefore, since no Mfg. or blender is going to tell you what their formulations contain, any future list of base oils would be pure conjecture.
 
Originally Posted by MrWideTires
it would still be nice to *try* and get a list together, for information's sake.


The problem is that there would be no way to verify the accuracy of the "information"...it would just be a lot of guesswork.
 
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Unless you ran a gas chromatogram on each lot of each oil and know how to interpret them, or have an inside source at the blenders, this is just a compilation or opinions, rumors, and guess work. It is also irrelevant since most oils are blends, formulations change all the time, and finished oil performance is more related to additives than base oils.
 
I have two comments:

1) you may be over thinking this. Buy a name brand motor oil at Walmart that meets what is specified in the owners manual. Plenty of choices for synthetic or conventional oil. Assuming you follow owners manual for OCI, your car will not end up in boneyard because of an engine problem.

2) Believe what you read on the internet from a manufacturers website. Don't believe anything on Facebook. You have no idea of how much is true or fake or mistaken. If you want more info then email the motor oil manufacturer. They may or may not answer your question if the answer would give away proprietary information. BITOG is a great website. But has many opinions rather than facts. But the Amsoil or Mobil website will have facts.
 
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you can consider the few that say they have group IV or V base oils are letting you know to justify their price, + many like Amsoil say NOTHING + answer NO questions, hence my using mostly typical group III oils @ $5 a qt!!. of course how much of what base oils + the additives are most important! Mola of course + a few others ACTUALLY know whats better or not but their job REQUIRES not saying whats what. i thank him + the other pros for the info they are ALLOWED to give!!
 
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Mobil1's 0-40 European Formula does not exist now. It has been replaced by a Group III product known as "0-40 FS." The old Group IV product was a fantastic oil, and I am searching for a replacement.
 
Originally Posted by bowtie4by
Mobil1's 0-40 European Formula does not exist now. It has been replaced by a Group III product known as "0-40 FS." The old Group IV product was a fantastic oil, and I am searching for a replacement.

Really? What's wrong with it now?
 
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It is a group III or mineral/petroleum oil that distilled from crude. It does not have the characteristics that PAO or ester have. I will use only PAO (IV) or ester (V), or a blend of the two.
 
Originally Posted by bowtie4by
Rotella T6 is PAO, and is formulated to be used exclusively in diesels, due to high phosphorous and zinc levels.

So ExxonMobil = bad, SOPUS = good?
 
Originally Posted by bowtie4by
It is a group III or mineral/petroleum oil that distilled from crude. It does not have the characteristics that PAO or ester have. I will use only PAO (IV) or ester (V), or a blend of the two.

What characteristics are those? Are all Group III base stocks the same in this example? Does it matter what the additive pack is, or is it solely determined by the base?

Also, it appears to me as though it's still called "European (Car) Formula" along with the "FS". What does FS stand for, anyway?

B0FFA539-00AE-45E3-9588-014F35CD2C0C.jpeg
 
Originally Posted by bowtie4by
Rotella T6 is PAO, and is formulated to be used exclusively in diesels, due to high phosphorous and zinc levels.



Me thinks this is completely incorrect...
wink.gif
 
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