Lubricating oil is refined from crude oil. After undergoing a purifying process called sedimentation, the crude oil is heated in huge fractionating towers. The various vapors—which can be used to make fuel, waxes, or propane, among other substances—boil off and are collected at different points in the tower.
Most motor oils are made from a heavier, thicker petroleum hydrocarbon base stock derived from crude oil, with additives to improve certain properties. The bulk of a typical motor oil consists of hydrocarbons with between 18 and 34 carbon atoms per molecule.
Artificially created lubricants are often used as a substitute for petroleum-based oils, which are required to operate in extreme temperatures.
Synthetic oil was developed in 1929 and has been used in everything from daily-driver and high-performance vehicles to jets. During World War II, when Allied Forces restricted oil access to Nazi Germany, the latter relied on synthetic oil to fuel the German military. In the 1970s, the American Energy Crisis drove efforts to create better artificial oils as a way of improving fuel economy.
Today, certain engines, such as aircraft jet engines, require synthetic oils. Although synthetic oil was once largely found in high-performance vehicles, it’s being used in more mainstream engines so that automotive manufacturers can achieve improved fuel efficiency.
Is synthetic oil better for your car’s engine than conventional oil?
Yes. Although conventional oil provides adequate lubrication, it doesn’t compete with synthetic oil’s overall engine protection and performance.
Synthetic oils are created with base oils which are of a higher quality than conventional, less-refined base oils. These higher quality base oils make synthetics:
Less likely to acidify and oxidize
More chemically stable
Harder to break down and lose desired qualities
