Most of our cars run on synthetic motor oil. We realize that it is part of the package that comes with foreign cars but have we really ever thought about why they chose to use synthetic instead of conventional oil?
Synthetic motor oil is designed to be able to withstand higher temperatures inside and outside the engine. Especially in Texas, it gets hot and when you factor in having your car sit outside for hours in the sun then it has to run in the heat of the day in rush hour to get you home, your engine is reaching temperatures near 240 degrees. New regulations on emissions have forced an increase in running temps in the engine to make them cleaner, forcing the engine temps higher even before you factor in the outside weather.
Because of this, we need oil that will withstand the heat but also absorb it to help cool the engine. Oil now plays an important role in cooling the engine. This is what has lead to an increase in the quarts of oil used, for example, an older Mercedes-Benz might take 5 quarts of oil but a new one will take 9. This is because the oil and the coolant work independently to pull heat away from the engine. With all of the work our oil is doing it needs to be able to withstand high temperatures and a lot of use without breaking down. If the oil broke down too soon, we would be looking at oil changes every 3,000 miles instead of every 5,000 or 6,000 miles like we get with the synthetic oil.
