What does synthetic oil do for my car that regular oil does not?
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Engine oil is a complex mixture of hydrocarbons. These chains of hydrogen and carbon come in varying lengths, and each length brings something different to the party. Shorter lengths are liquid at lower temperatures, but get too thin to lubricate at higher temperatures and long chains are the opposite.
Natural derived oils are a mix. They’re engineered and modified to have the best performance they can, but there’s always going to be stuff that isn’t exactly ideal, chains that aren’t as strong as others and break down, chains that have a wrong atom on them somewhere so they stick to others and turn into sludge.
Synthetic oil is much more consistent in the chains and molecules inside it. Because it is usually made from very short chains (methane) that are bonded together through industrial processes, they know that the vast majority of what’s in the oil will be exactly what they want without any weird stuff.
Think of it like making chocolate chip cookies. You could start with pre-made dough and form it to the size you want, but you don’t have absolute control of the ingredients, so they may be chewier or cakier than you want. Instead, making them from scratch means you get to pick exactly what’s in it, alter the ratios and create the exact product you want.
So why is it “better”? Well, it lasts longer and is much more consistent at a lower viscosity. Lower viscosity (thinner) oil can make an engine perform better because you can make all the components fit even tighter. Conventional oils at low viscosity are prone to breaking down, because of the inconsistency, but synthetics hold up way better because they are much more “pure”.
Most new cars require synthetic because the components are tight fitting and need a thinner oil, but older engines don’t have the same tight tolerances, so they’re not so picky.
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