person pouring motor oil into car
Automobile Maintenance

Conventional VS Full Synthetic Oil: Which Is Better For Your Car?

The hottest trend for what we pump into our bodies usually revolves around the latest “natural” food or drink that will cure our ails.

For our cars, there is a similar, though not apples-to-apples, debate that has raged for centuries now about how we keep internal combustion engines going.

Today, full synthetic oil offers the best that organic chemistry can provide. But what does that mean for you when it comes time to change the oil in your car? Why should you care?

There Is a Difference With Full Synthetic Oil

At the outset, it needs to be said that even conventional motor oil is a highly processed hydrocarbon product. No matter what anyone says about this age-old debate, both the most highly processed and additive-ridden full synthetic oil to basest, cheapest sludge is a highly processed product.

But one has the best minds in chemistry and some of the wealthiest companies in the world behind making synthetic oil better. Exxon Mobil. Corp. made $20.8 billion in profit in 2018.

Performance on Many Measures Is Better

A few years ago, the nonprofit motor club the American Automotive Association, better known as AAA, put out a study that sought to settle the debate.

On the whole, the study found that synthetic oils proved to be 47 percent more effective at protecting and allowing optimal performance according to several measures.

Among the specifics, the oil overall was just a more stable and therefore more effective lubricant. It was especially more effective in extreme weather conditions, in engines with high tow loads, in turbo-charged engines, and in engines that have to deal with intense stop-and-go traffic.

It Does What Conventional Oil Can’t

Ever since the internal combustion engine was invented in the mid-19th century, engineers and inventors have had to figure out out to keep the fury of exploding gasoline from causing the moving part to grind each other into dust. Oil kept things moving smoothly.

But today there are hundreds of motors out there with different needs of their lube to work. And there are only so many ways that conventional oil can work.

Synthetic oil has a greater range and stability with the combinations of its viscosity, baseness versus acidity, and volatility.

The pros at A Plus Transmission can break it down for you in greater detail.

It’s All About Taking Care of Your Car

Your car’s engine, the most important part of the car, has a limited lifespan. Using superior oils will ensure its longevity.

Further, full synthetic oil can be used for longer, changed less often, actually cleaning moving car parts and providing for better engine performance.

Want to know what else keeps vehicles and the automotive world moving smoothly? Keep it parked here for the latest insights on automotive news, analysis, opinion, and trends.