What is semi-synthetic oil?

Section Synthetic or mineral, article 2 of 694 words, 1 minute

Or maybe a semi-synthetic engine oil?

In this section: 6 articles
  1. Can synthetic and mineral oils be mixed?
  2. What is semi-synthetic oil?
  3. Which is better: synthetic or mineral?
  4. Why do we need synthetics?
  5. Synthetic or mineral?
  6. What's the difference between synthetic and mineral oil?

Semi-synthetic engine oil is made from a blended base, where the synthetic component makes up 30-50%, and, correspondingly, the mineral component makes up 50-70%. This kind of oil really does have much better characteristic stability than mineral oil, but falls short of synthetic.

Semi-synthetic engine oil is usually recommended for use in modern engines with high mileage, once oil burn-off starts to increase. In situations like this, semi-synthetic is the optimal choice, since the odds of finding a semi-synthetic oil that meets all the engine manufacturer's requirements are fairly high, unlike with mineral oil.

Read the whole “Synthetic or mineral” section