That's because it is the same thing. Fully synthetic and synthetic are the same thing just worded differently. He must've meant the difference between Full synthetic and Synthetic BLEND which is of course a mixture of conventional and synthetic oils. Some oil manufacturers tend to put the word "full" infront of "synthetic" on their bottles simply to avoid confusion and also make their product sound efficient, and worth the extra cost.

 

I could never keep plugs in my sled when using Amsoil. That kinda scared me away from their products for any other application. I will admit I fell for the Royal Purple scam and use it in every hole in my truck (except the trans) without any problems.

 

it's simple really,

1: take quart of full synthetic
2: open it
3: dump some out
4: now you have synthetic

 

Any thinner oil = better mpg's. At least thats what we was taught in high school auto shop. That was a long time ago too lol. It was the $20 quart of slick 50 people were paying for back then.

 

when the wifey was using teflon pans, the hubbys were using teflon engines.

 

I lurk about in the Ecomodder forums as well, learn a LOT.
Anyways, Royal Purple probably isn't the BEST, but when i looked at the break down characteristics (not just from their own site mind you, tests and such) I found that while royal purple WILL have the better mpg's from being thinner and being able to last quite a long time, it wasn't suited for heavy loads and towing as much as say, amsoil.
Now, a lot of guys on the ecomodder forums, go for a thinner grade oil, such as using 0w-20 instead of 5w-30. As I tow, I don't do this. Also, the specs I had looked up where mainly for the gear oils as I assumed that it would be the biggest benefit after the motor oil.

As for the Mobil 1 full synthetic, yes, I don't want any confusion as to what type of oil it is. There are sooo many blends out there.

My CAI and exhaust were actually mathmatically figured for length and diameter. The CAI is actually too short, but i reached a harmonic point that would work. Everything is designed to move our powerband of the 05 up a bit and free up the horsepower but not lose any towing.
An efan WILL go on there this spring, and if you think I'm not going to get any more mpg's from it, well... I guess i'll test it out, but I'm sure that doing that and emptying my truck for weight will net me 20+ mpgs.

Currently, my best tow with the camper was 12 mpgs traveling east with the wind, and then 9 headed back into the wind. Some guys only get 12 without a trailer, so if you wanna go and tell me i'm full of it, well..... i'll enjoy the pump and the truck more for the meantime.

 

That's not ENTIRELY true.

Technically there is a difference between "Synthetic" and "100% or TRUE Synthetic" lubricants and it has nothing to do with BLENDED lubricants.

A "BLEND" is taking Synthetic oil and conventional oil that has already been manufactured and simply mixing them in a specific ratio. An oil that contains a minimum of 70% conventional oil and no more than 30% synthetic oil is classified as a "BLEND" by the API. Interestingly if MORE than 30% synthetic oil is in the product, the API allows it to be labeled "SYNTHETIC" and it does not have to called a BLEND.

Now HERE is the difference between what we commonly call "Synthetic" and "True Synthetic". It all has to do with what they start with to make the product and what the API (American Petroleum Institute) allows to be called "Synthetic".
Some synthetic oils are made from TYPE III base stocks. Type III is conventional oil. To make it into a synthetic it's synthesized in the presence of hydrogen under very high pressure to produce a lubricant (while mineral based) that has more uniform molecules and better lubricating properties than standard conventional oil. The API allows this to be marketed as "Synthetic" oil in the United States. In many countries such as Germany and Japan, a lubricant that starts with a Type III base CANNOT be marketed as a Synthetic.

A second method is commonly used whereby the base product is a Type IV lubricant (polyolefin) which while still an organic compound is not a petroleum product (oil). The API commonly classify organic compounds that are not petroleum based as PAOs. Because polyolefin is organic and not man made, lubricants produced from it are not "100% synthetic" but because it's not petroleum it can be marketed as a Synthetic Lubricant in those countries who DO NOT allow oils that begin as conventional petroleum to be marketed as such.

The third is a TRUE or 100% SYNTHETIC Lubricant, whereas the base material is not petroleum or organic (PAO) and instead is a 100% man made product. These bases are generally diesters, polyolesters or benzenes.

I'm not going to get brand specific here, but MANY oils marketed IN THE UNITED STATES as "Synthetic" not only start with a petroleum (conventional oil) base but in many cases contains up to 69% plain old conventional oil. As long as there is 31% synthetic oil (which can also be made from conventional oil) then it can be called "Synthetic"...

Y'all need to read the bottles of the stuff you buy. Is it ok to use a "synthetic" oil that starts life as a conventional oil? Sure, but IMO you are not getting what you think you're paying for...

 

Does anyone know where to get a list of Type III, IV or V oils by Brand? I've searched everywhere and keep getting conflicting info from different forums...

 

so when mobile 1 claims it is "full synthetic", it could actually contain only 31% of whatever material it can call "synthetic" and the rest is conventional? (I just checked the container and it does not specify any sort of ratio).

 

That's my problem. I just checked every container of oil in my garage and none of them show a "Type" listing. All say Synthetic and API rated but nothing showing base. Found a few places arguing over whether Mobile 1 is a Type III or IV. Also whether Royal Purple is Type IV or V.