FAQ
Some basic information about lubricants. If you have any questions, just give us a call or send an email.
Base Oil (sometimes also called base stock) is the name given to the main liquid component (or components) of a lubricant. It is. Base oils are mineral (or petroleum) or synthetic in origin, although vegetable oil-derived stocks may be used for specialised applications. The base stock provides the basic lubricating requirements of a lubricant.; i.e. the “oiliness”.
This refers to the origin of thebase fluid. Mineral oils are derived by refining processes, essentially a complex series of purification and separation steps, from crude petroleum oil extracted from the ground. Synthetic base fluids are made by chemical processes, generally by building up larger molecules from smaller ones. Because these chemical reactions and starting materials are well defined, the synthetic fluids are not only relatively pure chemicals but are deliberately made to deliver the performance characteristics required in a lubricant.
API stands for the American Petroleum Institute.This body has specified the performance standards that oils used in road vehicles should meet, notably for cars and trucks made in the N. America. For oils destined for use in passenger car engines, the letters API are followed by a set of two letters such as SJ, etc. This indicates the Service Level for passenger car oils. These specified performance levels have evolved through the years, from API SA to SM to SN.
In most cases the answer is “yes”. Synthetic oils are man-made lubricants which were originally created for jet aircraft engines. They have a wide range of performance and can protect engine at very high temperatures.In other words, they have exceptional thermal stability.
The main disadvantage of synthetic lubricants is that they tend to be more expensive than mineral oils. This restricts their use to specialty oils and greases which command premium prices. Coincidentally, oil marketers therefore ensure that their syntheticoils are also capable of the highest performance possible.
Synthetic base oils are chemicals that have been made, or synthesised, by combiningseveral smaller molecules together. There are several different types, each with its own suite of physical and chemical properties, and each ideal for a selected set of uses in lubrication. Because these are ‘made to design’, and are usually quite pure incomposition, the lubricants they are used in can have specific properties which cannot easily be achieved through the use of mineral base oils.
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