Ah ha! (no not that band from the 80's with the newspaper cartoon video)
I have just come across this, which means that the court case you refer to is irelevant in the UK or Europe.
"European oils use different additives because they have to meet European (ACEA) specifications that US oils do not. Any oil that meets the requirements listed in the bike's manual is good enough. Engine failure is rarely caused by oil failure, usually due to lack of oil or dirty oil. To paraphrase a previous thread: Fresh oil is better than Dirty Oil which is better than No Oil.
Synthetic vs. Mineral Oil:
Back in 1998, Mobil filed suit against Castrol for falsely advertising Syntec oil as synthetic, when in fact it contained a highly hydroprocessed mineral (Dino) oil instead of a chemically synthesized basestock. Due to the amount that the mineral oil had been chemically changed, the judge decided that Mobil lost that suit. As a result (except in Germany), any oil containing this highly hydroprocessed mineral (Dino) oil (currently called Group III basestock by the American Petroleum Institute) can market themselves as a synthetic oil. Since the original synthetic basestock (polyalphaolefin or PAO) costs approximately 3 times as much as the Group III basestock, most of the oil blenders switched to the Group III basestock, which significantly increased their profit margins (the price of synthetic oils didn't drop, as I recall, to accommodate this cheaper basestock, which makes up >70% of a bottle of oil). In Europe, blenders still need to use some PAO in order to meet the toughest ACEA specs. In the US, Mobil 1, Amsoil, Red Line and Royal Purple are the only ones I am SURE OF still using PAO. If you can get a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for the oil you are interested in, look for PAO or polymer or oligomer of 1-decene as a component for a tip-off. Synthetic blends contain some amount (not defined, as far as I know) of synthetic basestock. The small amount of viscosity modifier present in most multi-grade oils probably fulfils this requirement, making synthetic blends another profit centre for the oil blenders
Blending Oils:
PAO-based and mineral oil-based oils are compatible. There are a few synthetics that are not (these are ester-based oils, not suitable for or sold for everyday driving). Again, check the MSDS. However, there are at least 4 different companies that provide the additive packages that are blended into oils. Mixing these 4 different additive technologies can be bad (at least long-term). I am assuming that if you stay with the same brand/company's oil (Synth vs. Dino) there shouldn't be too much problem, but mixing oils is not a good practice.
Synthetic basestocks:
There are 4 major PAO producers: BP Chemical (merchant supplier), Chevron-Phillips Chemical (merchant supplier), Neste (European merchant supplier), Exxon-Mobil (mostly internal use by Mobil). Of course, most of the big oil companies (and a few others) produce the highly hydroprocessed mineral (Dino) oil synthetic.
PAO Advantages:
Extremely good low temperature viscosity (in case you want to start your bike at -40C or -40F).
Clean engine internals (downside: can also clean up crud from damaged seals in older engines, possibly allowing damaged seals to leak).
Low volatility (have to top up oil less).
More stable at extremely hot temperatures.
Group III (Dino) advantages:
Better profit margin for blenders, but can still be marketed as synthetic
Meets minimum oil specifications (as do regular oils)
Low volatility.
May be better (in some cases) to break in a new/rebuilt engine
Regular engine oils:
Meet all warranty specifications (be sure to read your manual for specifics)
Less expensive
Less protection in EXTREME use"
Therefore, its all good
I have just come across this, which means that the court case you refer to is irelevant in the UK or Europe.
"European oils use different additives because they have to meet European (ACEA) specifications that US oils do not. Any oil that meets the requirements listed in the bike's manual is good enough. Engine failure is rarely caused by oil failure, usually due to lack of oil or dirty oil. To paraphrase a previous thread: Fresh oil is better than Dirty Oil which is better than No Oil.
Synthetic vs. Mineral Oil:
Back in 1998, Mobil filed suit against Castrol for falsely advertising Syntec oil as synthetic, when in fact it contained a highly hydroprocessed mineral (Dino) oil instead of a chemically synthesized basestock. Due to the amount that the mineral oil had been chemically changed, the judge decided that Mobil lost that suit. As a result (except in Germany), any oil containing this highly hydroprocessed mineral (Dino) oil (currently called Group III basestock by the American Petroleum Institute) can market themselves as a synthetic oil. Since the original synthetic basestock (polyalphaolefin or PAO) costs approximately 3 times as much as the Group III basestock, most of the oil blenders switched to the Group III basestock, which significantly increased their profit margins (the price of synthetic oils didn't drop, as I recall, to accommodate this cheaper basestock, which makes up >70% of a bottle of oil). In Europe, blenders still need to use some PAO in order to meet the toughest ACEA specs. In the US, Mobil 1, Amsoil, Red Line and Royal Purple are the only ones I am SURE OF still using PAO. If you can get a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for the oil you are interested in, look for PAO or polymer or oligomer of 1-decene as a component for a tip-off. Synthetic blends contain some amount (not defined, as far as I know) of synthetic basestock. The small amount of viscosity modifier present in most multi-grade oils probably fulfils this requirement, making synthetic blends another profit centre for the oil blenders
Blending Oils:
PAO-based and mineral oil-based oils are compatible. There are a few synthetics that are not (these are ester-based oils, not suitable for or sold for everyday driving). Again, check the MSDS. However, there are at least 4 different companies that provide the additive packages that are blended into oils. Mixing these 4 different additive technologies can be bad (at least long-term). I am assuming that if you stay with the same brand/company's oil (Synth vs. Dino) there shouldn't be too much problem, but mixing oils is not a good practice.
Synthetic basestocks:
There are 4 major PAO producers: BP Chemical (merchant supplier), Chevron-Phillips Chemical (merchant supplier), Neste (European merchant supplier), Exxon-Mobil (mostly internal use by Mobil). Of course, most of the big oil companies (and a few others) produce the highly hydroprocessed mineral (Dino) oil synthetic.
PAO Advantages:
Extremely good low temperature viscosity (in case you want to start your bike at -40C or -40F).
Clean engine internals (downside: can also clean up crud from damaged seals in older engines, possibly allowing damaged seals to leak).
Low volatility (have to top up oil less).
More stable at extremely hot temperatures.
Group III (Dino) advantages:
Better profit margin for blenders, but can still be marketed as synthetic
Meets minimum oil specifications (as do regular oils)
Low volatility.
May be better (in some cases) to break in a new/rebuilt engine
Regular engine oils:
Meet all warranty specifications (be sure to read your manual for specifics)
Less expensive
Less protection in EXTREME use"
Therefore, its all good
