Your wasting time and money. Just change your oil regularly
    and the motor will take a beating. My long lost love is proof!

            Eric                   86-VW4x4
            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler

On Fri, 10 Oct 1997, Mark B. Magee wrote:

> > Any petroleum engineers out there??
>
> Volks,
> I am not a Petrochem Eng, but converse frequently with same. I and
> others covered this subject adequately about a year ago and that thread
> should be in the archives. Nevertheless, in a nutshell: Synthetic engine
> oil, ester or polyolefin based oils do not break down in the standard
> sense of the word. Primarily they do not oxidize or combine with 02
> (air) and thereby breaking down thier long chain molecular structure.
> Mineral based oils have a natural affinity to break down molecularly
> with merely the exposure to air and even light. This is why they are
> bottled in light proof containers. Mineral based oils will "emulsify"
> with water as well forming acid. Your engine crankcase has water in it
> in the form of droplets from the outside humidity number that condense
> overnight as the engine cools. Synthetic oils do not mix, or emulsify
> with water and therefore acids will not form.
> Since syn oils don't break down in combination with oxygen and don't
> make acid as they interact with engine moisture, the viscosity improvers
> last much longer on the multi-vis oils.
> Additionally, syn oil's film strength is superior in all ways to
> mineral, that is synthetic oil's ability to keep two pieces of metal
> from touching each other under pressure and being exposed to heat.
> Bottom line, pay for the synthetic. I have been running Royal Purple
> synthetic 10w30 in my 87 GL for nearly a year. It does make the engine a
> little louder as it is less viscous. However the film strength protects
> the engine much better, and the lower viscosity allows the engine to
> develop measurably more power and a slight gain in fuel economy.
> Regards
> Mark B. Magee
> 87GL
> 82 Diesel Westy
> Kemah TX
>