A Honda spokeswoman said the automaker uses a synthetic oil in the Civic for its low viscosity—meaning it flows more easily than oils with higher viscosity—which helps to improve the engine's fuel efficiency.
The faster the oil flows, the quicker the engine parts can turn. Honda is not alone, says Mel Yu, auto analyst at Consumer Reports. In the model year, about 70 percent of new cars get either fully synthetic or blended oil.
Several brands, including Honda, don't specifically require synthetics for their engines, but the low-viscosity oils that those engines need are offered only in a synthetic format, Yu says.
On top of that, many oil-change outlets also offer synthetic oil as an alternative to conventional engine oil. According to Will Hixson, spokesman for the Automotive Oil Change Association, the National Oil and Lube News annual survey shows that more than half of car owners are choosing synthetics or synthetic blends when they get their oil changed.
Synthetics have some advantages over conventional motor oil. There's a downside: Synthetic motor oil can cost two to four times as much as regular oil. Using synthetic in these situations will prolong your oil life and require fewer changes.
Consumer Reports Consumer Reports. We encourage you to read our updated Privacy Policy Hide. Toggle navigation Toggle search. Magazine Subscribe Today! Current Issue Archive Advertise. What Is Synthetic Oil? Synthetic vs. Advantages and Disadvantages of Synthetic Oil So, what are the advantages of switching to a synthetic as opposed to a conventional motor oil?
When exposed to certain conditions, conventional mineral oils are usually more prone to chemical degradation oxidation compared to synthetics. These harmful conditions include combustion byproducts, fuel contamination, water contamination, metal particles, acids, pro-oxidants and extreme heat e. Exposure to these conditions commonly occur in engines.
Oil degradation can cause sludge, varnish or deposits, corrosion, viscosity change and impaired engine performance. Synthetics have a naturally higher viscosity index. This means the viscosity changes less more stable as temperature changes during normal engine startup and operating conditions. Viscosity is an important property of lubricants that produces the film thickness or clearance between metal surfaces that slide or rotate against each other.
Without this film thickness, excessive friction and wear would occur. At extremely low temperatures, it is more possible for mineral oils compared to synthetics to become so thick high viscosity that the oil is unpumpable or is unable to circulate effectively within the engine.
Lack of oil circulation can cause lubricant starvation conditions and engine failure. Synthetic engine oils are generally less volatile than mineral oils. This means there is less loss of the oil to the engine's exhaust stream causing atmospheric pollution. This could also mean less need for makeup oil between oil changes.
Possibly the biggest advantage and the reason synthetic oil is so popular, is that it has a longer lifespan than conventional oil. The recommended change interval for synthetic oil is around every 5, to 7, miles, with some brands touting a much longer interval 15, to 25, The biggest reason for the longer oil change interval is described in the first bullet above.
Regardless of the kind of oil you use, it is still recommended to change your oil at regular intervals recommended by your manufacturer. A few disadvantages of synthetic oil to be aware of include: Probably the most glaring downside of synthetic oil is the cost.
The price of synthetic oil is around two to four times the price of conventional oil. Synthetics may be more prone to additives precipitation during cold storage conditions.
This stratifies certain additives which can potentially lead to their complete separation from the oil. Multi-grade motor oils using synthetics may exhibit slightly less fuel economy at highway speeds compared to mineral oil.
This is due to the fact that mineral oils require more viscosity index improvers an additive than synthetics. This additive contributes to reduced viscosity friction by a mechanism known as shear-induced temporary viscosity thinning. Synthetic Engine Oils: Digging Deeper Synthetic oil used in motor vehicles is refined from base oils or base stock oils. PAOs are the most common type of synthetic base oils used today thanks to their moderate price and little negative attributes.
PAOs are Group IV base oils and are similar to mineral oil in their chemical makeup but the fact that it's built rather than extracted makes it purer. The benefits of PAOs include improved oxidation and thermal stability, low volatility potential to change rapidly , good heat dissipation, low pour point temperature below which a liquid loses the ability to flow and it's free of waxy molecules.
Esters- a Group V base oil made from ester oils is created from the reaction of acids and alcohols with water molecules splitting off. The most common esters used for synthetic motor oil are diesters and polyol esters.
Diesters are commonly used as an additive with PAO base stock oil. Esters have high thermal stability and excellent low pour point characteristics but poor hydrolytic stability the resistance of a cured polymer material to going back to a semisolid or liquid form when exposed to high temperatures and humidity.
May not bear API service classification marks. Additive stability in cold temperatures for extended periods of time may be a problem. Fitch When Synthetics Always Makes Sense As mentioned, extreme conditions and worst-case scenarios demand the use of synthetics. Below are the passenger car applications that are ideally suited for synthetics motor oils: High-performance engines.
There are many examples of high-end sports cars and even SUVs where the investment is high, as is the expectation of engine performance and reliability. Synthetic Motor Oil Benefits Synthetic oils can withstand colder temperatures than conventional, so you enjoy worry-free startups in freezing weather. That's one reason changing from regular to synthetic oil in winter can be a good idea!
Synthetic oils can also withstand hotter temperatures, which reduces burn-off in the summer. Synthetic oils, such can help clean your engine, prevent sludge buildup, and improve fuel economy. Synthetic oils have fewer impurities than conventional oils, thereby increasing the overall longevity and performance of your engine.
Less sludge means smoother operation from the get-go. Synthetic Motor Oil Myths Switching to synthetic oil causes leaks: Generally, switching to synthetic oil does not cause leaks.
It is true that synthetic oil is thinner than conventional oil and therefore flows more easily. If there is a spot where oil could leak out in your engine, then synthetic oil is more likely to leak than conventional. However, synthetic oil would not cause the leak. You can't switch back to conventional oil: Once you switch to synthetic, you are not bound to it forever. You can switch back to conventional oil if you choose to do so and your vehicle manufacturer doesn't recommend otherwise.
However, continuing to use synthetic oil may help prolong the life of your vehicle by taking better care of your engine. You have to break in a new car with conventional oil: Some people might think you have to break in a newer car by using conventional oil for a time before switching to synthetic. In reality, there are no recommendations for this procedure from any vehicle manufacturer. In fact, many new vehicles are now shipped out of the factory with synthetic oil.
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