Motor oil has an important function to keep the engine durable by lubricating engine components and reducing friction of components inside the engine.
Therefore, car owners must be careful in choosing lubricants for their motorbikes. Always pay attention to the lubricant recommendations given by each vehicle manufacturer.
Engine lubricants consist of a thin layer that can reduce friction between metals in engine components to prevent scratches and wear.
Basically, oil is divided into two types, mineral oil and synthetic oil, depending on the content. Oil manufacturers usually list the contents of the package. Some of the most common types are synthetic, semi-synthetic and mineral oils.
So what is the difference between these three oils?
Mineral oil is the oil that is produced when crude oil is extracted from petroleum processing. In the process of making mineral oil, the impurities are usually very high and the impurities are removed. Mineral oil is widely used in older models or vehicles that are still being developed using outdated technology.
Brahma Putra Mahayana said: “The molecular structure of mineral oil is not as good as that of synthetic oil. This is because mineral oil has a more heterogeneous molecular structure, which makes it less lubricating and can provide higher fuel yields when compared to synthetic oils. Consumption.” , Technical Specialist at PT Pertamina Lubricants.
Synthetic oils, on the other hand, have been further refined or formulated specifically for the needs of engine applications. This is why synthetic oils are widely used in cars today. This is because synthetic oil can protect against wear, oxidation, or provide better engine cooling than mineral oil.
Then there are semi-synthetic oils. It’s actually just a marketing term for a blend of synthetic and mineral oils. Due to the combination of the two, the quality of this semi-synthetic oil is clearly lower than that of full-synthetic oil, because there are no official regulations on the proportion of synthetic mineral composition. This semi-synthetic oil also has the same benefits as synthetic oil, including improving engine performance, protecting spare parts, and providing performance. The effect is not as good as full synthetic oil.
How to tell the difference between synthetic oil and mineral oil? First, in terms of price, of course, synthetic types of oil are more expensive than semi-synthetic and mineral types. Synthetic oil can cost more than four times as much as mineral oil.
Another way to tell the difference is to look at the label on the oil package or bottle. Oil manufacturers usually include information about their products (eg full synthetics, synthetic technology, synthetics, semi-synthetics and mineral strengths). Terminology can vary from oil producer to oil producer, but generally falls into three main groups: Synthetic, semi-synthetic and mineral.
Next, you should pay attention to the product data description on the packaging bottle. Mineral types usually include information such as solvent extraction, hydroprocessing, etc. As for the synthetic type, it contains information such as PAO or Ester, Diester, etc.
“You can also check the general data sheet by looking at the viscosity index with information such as numbers in the range “> 120 for synthetic types and 90-120 for mineral oils. The viscosity index itself is not an SAE number like 0W-20, 10W-40 etc. Usually the datasheet only lists when the consumer ordered the product, not the packaging,” concluded Brahma.
He also added, before choosing automotive mineral oil, semi-synthetic, or synthetic, consumers must first check the post-oil recommendations from car manufacturers.
