EK45VTi

Hi!

After reading a lot about motor oils I came across the conclusion that 10w40 are semi-synthetic oils and 5w30 and lower are full-synthetic...

Since I use Shell Helix Plus 10w40 all year round, and I always used that, I wanted to know which oil is mine and on a can it says SYNTHETIC BASED MOTOR OIL...

Does that mean that I have FULL SYNTHETIC OIL or semi synthetic???

I always thought that I was running semi-synthetic cos I never actualy read the fine print on a can... On my other cars I was using Valvoline or Castrol 10w40 and they were SEMI-SYNTH oils... now I don't know anymore...

That also was the main reason for my hesitation to move on to Mobil 1 5w30 cos some technicians advised not to change to 5w30 cos 10w40 is best for my car... and they said that moving from semi-synthetic or dino oil to full-synthetic can actualy damage the engine...

So, my question is is my synthetic based Shell a full-synthetic oil?

Does the oil viscosity determines whether it is the synth or dino? I.E. is there 15w40 or 15w50 oil that is FULLY SYNTHETIC???

Thanx for the answers!

AutoXer

Almost all synthetic oil in this country is 'semi'-synthetic. It is also called a group III oil. Group IV is a full synthetic. When mobil 1 first came out it was a group IV, but there was some loophole in the wording of the classifications to allow some components to be refined mineral based. I'm not familiar with the oil you're using, but it's most likely a group III, especially since it says synthetic based. It doesn't have anything to do with viscosity, they can produce the full range of weights in synthetic or mineral.

Castrol started manufacturing its synthetic oil in this way to produce it cheaper, mobil and the rest soon followed. The Castrol sold in Germany is still a full synthetic, and apparently there is a 0W30 available from Castrol Germany in this country that is full synthetic: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=868501 If you want to spend some coin, there are specialty oils (like AmsOil) that are full synthetic as well.

You can change back and forth from synthetic to non without any problems: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=874278

What does your manual say to use in your engine? That will be the best weight to use.

EGlovr

^^^great advice amsoil is very good too. thats what im about to switch to.

AutoXer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EGlovr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">^^^great advice amsoil is very good too. thats what im about to switch to.</TD></TR></TABLE>

No prob, just trying to get some accurate oil info out there and clear up the many misconceptions that some have.

EK45VTi

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EX_AutoXer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Almost all synthetic oil in this country is 'semi'-synthetic. It is also called a group III oil. Group IV is a full synthetic. When mobil 1 first came out it was a group IV, but there was some loophole in the wording of the classifications to allow some components to be refined mineral based. I'm not familiar with the oil you're using, but it's most likely a group III, especially since it says synthetic based. It doesn't have anything to do with viscosity, they can produce the full range of weights in synthetic or mineral.

Castrol started manufacturing its synthetic oil in this way to produce it cheaper, mobil and the rest soon followed. The Castrol sold in Germany is still a full synthetic, and apparently there is a 0W30 available from Castrol Germany in this country that is full synthetic: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=868501 If you want to spend some coin, there are specialty oils (like AmsOil) that are full synthetic as well.

You can change back and forth from synthetic to non without any problems: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=874278

What does your manual say to use in your engine? That will be the best weight to use.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

My manual says 10w40 or 5w30 depending on the temperatures (weather)...

Now if I am correct and I looked and searched very very hard, with my weather conditions it is best to use 10w40 in the summer and 5w30 in the winter...

I am looking for a year round protection so I think I will just stick with my good old Shell cos it is great oil... Yes, the car runs a bit rough in the winter for the first 3-4 minutes but once the engine reaches the right temperature it runs smooth...

AutoXer

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KKVTi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Now if I am correct and I looked and searched very very hard, with my weather conditions it is best to use 10w40 in the summer and 5w30 in the winter...
</TD></TR></TABLE>


Yes. What engine do you have? Mine says 5w30 all year or possibly switch to 5w20 in winter.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KKVTi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Yes, the car runs a bit rough in the winter for the first 3-4 minutes but once the engine reaches the right temperature it runs smooth...

</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's metal to metal contact and oil starvation. You really should use a lighter weight in the winter. My 5w30 syntec is like tar in the winter, and you're in Alaska, so I'm sure it must get colder than -15 like it can here. Doesn't the oil you're using have a 5w30 formula? Why wouldn't you want to switch? Startup is the period when most engine wear occurs.

RyanEJ8

10w-30 is what I use for the warm weather in Florida. 10w-30 = Less viscosity modifiers.