Best Oil question

[Jay2TheRescue]

Why not throw the used plastic oil jugs in the recycle bin? That's what I do. They have the recycle symbol on the bottom.

[theclencher]

Many recycle bins prohibit oil bottles. I don't know why.

[Jay2TheRescue]

That seems odd, but I never fully understood what and why they will/won't take stuff. In my town they will take plastic oil bottles, but they won't take empty pizza boxes. Go figure...

[theholycow]

Empty pizza boxes have cheese and stuff, not just oil.

Boxes from frozen foods have an integrated plastic coating to protect against freezer burn. My local recycling program doesn't accept frozen food box material, although they don't publish it well and I used to throw it in.

[benfrogg]

My town only recycles #2 clear plastic. So, only milk jugs. No other plastic. No pizza boxes either. I don't know how the state capitol can still get away with it considering everything is made of plastic these days.
B

[madnessspirit]

FWIW, most lower grade synthetics aren't really true synthetics, they are hydrocracked conventional bases, but they still have more molecular stability than your standard conventional. Basically any Group III synthetic would fall into this category. Castrol is a Group III+ oil. Mobil 1 actually sued Castrol for using the synthetic label on their oil, but Castrol won the suit, so people manufacturing what is in essence highly refined conventional oil can put synthetic on the label. You can also label oil that is conventional blended with synthetic as synthetic as long as there is more than half synthetic or something like that, I can't recall off the top of my head....

Group IV synthetics like Amsoil or Mobil 1 are PAOs and what you would consider true synthetics. Personally I prefer these types for automotive use in daily driver type vehicles.

Group V synthetics like Redline or Royal Purple are usually ester base, or any other base stock that isn't covered in one of the lower groups.... which is why they cost so much. I don't actually tend to prefer them in most daily driver applications, primarily due to cost, since in a daily driver, you don't see the cost/benefit you do between conventional and group IV synthetic, but also due to the fact that a good Group IV will last longer under normal conditions. In extreme conditions though, like racing.... Group Vs will outperform a Group VI. Most applications for group V oils are additives though.

Also, just a friendly word of advice. Synthetic blend or semi-synthetic oils are any oil that is a conventional oil blended with no more than 30% synthetic. Some of the cheap stuff is down below that 30% mark, most of the trusted brands, valvoline, penzoil, etc, are right near that 30% mark.

Also, my local recycling program doesn't take oil jugs either. I am honestly not usually sure what to do with them, sometimes I bring them to walmart for recycling my waste oil, and they dispose of the jug (though I don't know if they recycle them either). I would buy it by the drum, but even a 30 gallon drum would last me a long time since I haven't been a mechanic in so long. But, my town does take almost every other kind of recyclable plastic as long as it is sorted.

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by FIND

Group IV synthetics like Amsoil or Mobil 1 are PAOs and what you would consider true synthetics.

Not necessarily.
http://www.gassavers.org/showthread....616#post114616
...Mobil 1 may not be PAO now. In fact, they won't even admit to it:
http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...Base_Oils.aspx

As usual, folks on BITOG make some good points about the base stock issue:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...Number=1029178

Originally Posted by remmious

Most new people to oil feel (or think) they want a 100% PAO based oil without realizing that what makes a PAO a good base oil also makes it poor at holding an additive package (very low solubility). PAO are fully saturated (no double bonds or aromatics) which helps it resist chemical attacks but also resists the add-pack at the same time. Group V and/or III are used with PAO's to hold the additives. Esters are very soluable and work very well with PAO's. It doesn't matter if it's a mixture of III, IV, or V's, it's all classified as a synthetic.

Like everything in life, to much of one thing is never good.

Originally Posted by JHZR2

If performance in YOUR application, determined by UOA is good, then what is the issue? One is paying for PERFORMANCE, not BASESTOCK, per se. I know some are overcome by the so-called value proposition of using PAO or better basestocks exclusively, but even those setups have their limitations.

We are at a point when the overall chemistry is more important than basestock, IMO.

[madnessspirit]

I think you are right about Mobil 1. I guess now that I think about it, I might have heard that they were changing to a hydrocracked Group III blended with small amounts of PAOs some number of years ago. Really, the only companies that advertise their formulation are the ones that are proud of it, like Amsoil and Redline, so I suppose that Mobil 1 must be a Group III now, since they used to make a big deal about their PAO base. But, like I said, a hydrocracked Group III is much more stable than a standard conventional. I guess I was mainly trying to reinforce the point that they aren't REALLY synthetic.

Of course, I don't think any PAO is really a pure PAO either. I guess I should have qualified that by saying a group IV is made primarily of PAOs. Because, as they did say in the material you quoted, a PAO does indeed suck at holding an additive package.

Either way, chemistry is not my strong point, I'm more a physics/math kinda guy... The oil stuff that I do know mainly comes from all the stuff I had to read years ago, and then the little bit I have kept up to date on by sporadically visiting BITOG over the last couple years.

[theclencher]

By the time I'm done with oil bottles, there ain't a drop of oil left in 'em anyway. I set them up to drain into each other at least overnight. Then I drain them into my oil squirt can. Oil filters get drained and burned. Waste oil goes to the recyclers.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I do the same. I drain the bottles overnight as well to make sure I get every drop out before I throw them out.