Shop Notes
SHOP NOTES
UTILITY PLAYER
SYNTHETIC VS. CONVENTIONAL OIL
by Tom Jackson ties also reduce oil pumping losses in the engine, which improves engine efficiency and ultimately fuel economy.
There’s a big price difference between synthetic and conventional engine oils, but there’s also a big performance difference, too.
S
nake-oil salesmen have been around since the dawn of time. And today there’s no shortage of bottled products that promise a miracle cure for whatever ails your pickups. But there is one relatively new category of products we think warrants consideration by anybody who takes their truck maintenance seriously: synthetic engine oils. Synthetic engine oils, with prices for some topping $8 a quart, are more expensive to run than conventional mineral-based oil. The question around the shop: “Are synthetics really worth the extra expense?” The answer for most truck and fleet owners is going to be “yes.” To understand how much value they can bring, though, you need to know how they work, assess what it is you want to achieve by switching oils, and what needs to be done to accommodate vehicle maintenance plans around the synthetic’s strengths.
THE MAGIC OF ADDITIVES
HOW THEY WORK
At the heart of every engine lube is a base oil, and without getting wrapped in technical jargon, there are mineral oil base oils and synthetic base oils. Mineral oils are created in a conventional refinery. The process produces oil molecules of different diameters—think bowling balls, softballs and baseballs. Synthetic base oils are treated chemically so that the molecules come out the same diameter—all baseballs. The result is a thinner, more uniform film thickness and a base oil that offers better cold weather and load bearing properties. In many cases synthetics allow the use of a lower viscosity base oil yet give you comparable or improved wear protection. The thinner viscosi14 PRO PICKUP SUMMER 2010
What’s less standardized about oils are the additives mixed in with the base stock. Much like the keepers of award-winning barbeque rubs and sauces, the exact compositions of these additives are closely guarded trade secrets. (See “Engine Oil Secrets”—www.propickupmag. com/2010/03/21/oil-talks/). But they all strive to achieve the same results regardless of the additive package—improving the performance of the base oil stocks. “An engine oil additive system will include a detergent to keep components clean and a dispersant to insure that the soot particles produced during combustion are dispersed within the lubricant and don’t form clumps or sludge,” says Peter Thomson, director of C&I marketing, Valvoline International. “The package will also contain anti-oxidants to prevent the base oil from being oxidized and made thicker, and a viscosity modifier, which is a heat-sensitive component so as the oil heats up it maintains a level of thickness within the lubricant. It may also contain a pour-point depressant, which allows the oil to flow at very cold For $12 to $15 a pop you can get a mail-in oil sample kit. The results can tell you how well your oil is holdtemperatures, and other chemiing up and give you early warning on things like fuel cals, as necessary, to improve the dilution, coolant in your oil, bearing wear and other lubricant for the intended market,” engine problems. Thomson says.
FUEL ECONOMY
In highway applications, owners of Class 7 and 8 fleets have reported fuel economy gains of 2 to 5 percent using synthetics. That’s a big deal for the big rigs, and still significant for pickup truck owners. Even if you only get a 3 percent improvement on a truck getting 15 mpg, the savings adds up to about $30 per 5,000 miles based on fuel costing $3/gallon. That’s
Truck manufacturers mandate a specific viscosity and oil change interval regardless of whether you use synthetics or not.