Is Castrol Magnatec fully synthetic ?

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TE Cheah - 20 Oct 2005 13:15 GMT

I've seen 3 brands call their semi synthetic oil "synthetic blend".
Damn misleading & disgusting.

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* - 20 Oct 2005 14:19 GMT

> I've seen 3 brands call their semi synthetic oil "synthetic blend".
> Damn misleading & disgusting.

To me, the word "blend" suggests a mixture.

It does NOT imply "Synthetic only", or "Fully synthetic oil" to me.

Perhaps you are picking nits........

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fclaugus - 20 Oct 2005 19:42 GMT

> > I've seen 3 brands call their semi synthetic oil "synthetic blend".
> > Damn misleading & disgusting.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>
> Perhaps you are picking nits........

Would "Blended Whiskey" then imply that my Canadian Club is not entirely
whiskey ? (I know better, they just blend the barrels)

Fred

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Scott Dorsey - 20 Oct 2005 19:58 GMT

>> > I've seen 3 brands call their semi synthetic oil "synthetic blend".
>> > Damn misleading & disgusting.
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>Would "Blended Whiskey" then imply that my Canadian Club is not entirely
>whiskey ? (I know better, they just blend the barrels)

Actually, it does. These days it implies that it is a blend of whiskey
and neutral grain spirits. This is done for the same reason that synthetic
oils are cut with petroleum: to reduce costs.

There are some blended whiskeys out there that are just blends of different
whiskeys with no neutral spirit, but they are few and far between today.
--scott

Signature

"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

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fclaugus - 20 Oct 2005 20:07 GMT

> >> > I've seen 3 brands call their semi synthetic oil "synthetic blend".
> >> > Damn misleading & disgusting.
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> whiskeys with no neutral spirit, but they are few and far between today.
> --scott

Should have been more clear, was referring to Barrel Blended Whiskey, I find
it all the time because it is cheaper than single barrel whiskey. Cheaper
because they can run one large batch from all their barrels instead of maybe
small batches, one from each barrel. I don't know of any brands that blend
anything in their whiskey such as spirits... At least among the brand name
whiskeys.

Fred

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HLS@nospam.nix - 20 Oct 2005 17:55 GMT

> I've seen 3 brands call their semi synthetic oil "synthetic blend".
> Damn misleading & disgusting.

I don't perceive this to be misleading. No matter what you buy, you have to
read the
label carefully, and must be able to understand what you read.

A good example is 'sugar free'. That means it is not made with sucrose, or
common
sugar. It can be made of fructose, which is still generically a sugar, but
is better tolerated
by hypoglycemics and diabetics--calory count is the same. Maltodextrin
should be
considered to have the same effect on the diabetic as glucose, but it is not
defined
to be 'sugar' (sucrose).

'Synthetics' in motor oils can be similarly confusing. If I take an
alphaolefin and oligamerize
it to a lubricating oil specification, it IS synthetic. The alphaolefin was
in all likelihood
'synthetic'. If I distilled petroleum, took out certain cuts, and then
hydrogenated that
to make a good lubricating oil base, would that also be 'synthetic'.
Arguably yes.

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Huw - 20 Oct 2005 18:38 GMT

> I've seen 3 brands call their semi synthetic oil "synthetic blend".
> Damn misleading & disgusting.

Castrol Magnatec in its original formula was mineral oil and still is AFAIK.
Why is there the slightest importance placed on whether an oil is either
mineral or synthetic? It is not relevant to the consumer or the engine
manufacturer. My Mercedes, BMW and Range Rover do not specify synthetic oil.
What they actually specify is a particular performance specification. If
that can only be met by a synthetic it is incidental. There are now many
performance grades of synthetic, measured by both their service interval
potential and their suitability to latest emission regulations. An oil
meeting BMWLL98 is nowhere near equivalent to GMLL oil or to VW506.1 with
their 30,000 mile potential.

Huw

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