LUBRICANT COMPARISON: There Is None

The following article appeared in the July 1994 issue of the AMSOIL Action News.

Motor oil manufacturers have good reason for bringing synthetics into their line. PAO-based and ester-based lubricants outperform petroleum-based motor oils in virtually every respect. Blended basestock synthetic motor oils outperform all three. As the first in synthetics, AMSOIL preempts other motor oil manufacturers in blending expertise, bringing to market the best synthetic motor oils. Just what is on the market … other than AMSOIL?

Polyalphaolefin oils dominate the synthetic crankcase lubricant market. They offer

  • a wide operating temperature range
  • thermal, oxidative and hydrolytic stability
  • shear stability
  • material compatibility

Polyalphaolefin (PAO) manufacture involves first making a molecular “back bone,” then adding hydrogen to each available site on the backbone, which enhances oxidative stability.

PAOs’ advantages over mineral oils have become most clear since vehicle manufacturers started specifying the use of 5W-30 motor oils for superior cold temperature performance and fuel economy characteristics. For petroleum oils, such performance virtues come at the price of high volatility. No such sacrifice occurs with PAOs.

Gas Chromatography Band showing a comparison of Polyalphaolefin and Mineral Oil.

Ester manufacture, like that of PAO, involves a multi-step process bringing molecules together under controlled conditions. Though ester-based oils outperform petroleum oils in many important ways, straight ester-based lubricants must be carefully additized to avoid hydrolysis and excessive seal swell and to provide adequate corrosion protection.

Blended ester and PAO motor oils offer

  • superior additive solubility
  • superior seal swell
  • superior deposit control

In fact, sometimes base stocks work so well together, the blended stock outperforms expectations. For example, individually, PAOs and esters each score 8 on the Panel Coker test. But PAO-ester blends score 9 of 10 cleanliness rating points. That’s a performance advantage motorists get when they choose the oil made by the most experienced synthetic oil formulator – AMSOIL.

AMSOIL has more experience with synthetics than any other motor oil manufacturer does – and it shows. Several “big name” companies have recently added synthetics to their product lines, but their products just don’t measure up to AMSOIL products. See for yourself! Actual laboratory test results show AMSOIL is incomparable.

SLS Note: These comparisons were done 25 years ago and are not representative of current formulations as there have been several changes in the API certification levels since 1994. Having said that I believe if you compare current data sheets from other manufacturers against AMSOIL data sheets you will find that AMSOIL is still leading the industry.

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