Semi Synthetic Oil vs Full Synthetic Oil

by Joe Hanna on May 20, 2013

Oil Change | Joe's Unlimited Imports Auto Repair Richmond BC

In today’s engine technology, many consumers are making the switch to synthetic oil in order to protect their automotive investment. Synthetic oil has excellent benefits, such as being not susceptible to freezing, not breaking down on higher temperatures, and lasting longer between oil changes. If you are one of these consumers who made the switch to using synthetic oil, do you know what type of synthetic oil is going in to your engine? Is it a semi synthetic, or is it a full synthetic oil?

What’s the difference?

A semi synthetic oil is a blend of conventional motor oil and synthetic oil. It carries some benefits of a full synthetic oil, however is not as resilient as a full synthetic, as it can still break down due to the conventional oil. Vehicles that can benefit from a semi synthetic oil over a conventional oil would be older makes/models.

A full synthetic oil reduces friction, is resilient to fluctuations in temperature, prolongs engine life, maintains the functionality of high performance engines, increased fuel economy, and longer intervals between oil changes. A full synthetic oil can also be make/model specific, as there are different additive requirements for each high performance engine.

Semi synthetic oil vs full synthetic oilThe next time you are in for an oil change, make sure you ask whether you’re getting a semi synthetic oil or a full synthetic oil. They may be charging you a full synthetic oil change price, but providing you with a semi synthetic blend.

At Joe’s Unlimited Imports Auto Repair, we carry all different grades of oils including the highest quality, 100% German full synthetic oils. We explain to all our customers what their vehicle’s engine requirements are, and provide them with the necessary information to make an informed decision on what type of oil to put in to their vehicle. Book your next oil change in Richmond with us!

{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

TuturQbul February 21, 2016 at 5:52 am

You should let it warm up until the rpms come down. On a tpyical engine, when you first turn it on, the rpms go up to about 1200 rpms and after about 30 seconds or so it drops down to 1000 800 rpms. One of the reasons is to minimize fuel consumption. At start up, the engine is in an open loop for the fuel system which means it is running a rich fuel mixture until readings from the sensors let the computer know it is at operating temperature. If you start driving it immediately, (according to many experts that you can find online) the engine will run rich for a longer period of time and waste more fuel than if you would have just let it idle for a few seconds. Also, all of the parts are dry and it takes a few seconds for them to lubricate.

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Joseph Storc February 4, 2017 at 12:40 pm

I have a Honda Civic 2015.
I got semi-synthetic oil change 3 months ago. What is the full Km’s I need to drive. would it be 7,500 km only not to go over.

thx

Reply

Joe Hanna February 6, 2017 at 11:48 am

We recommend 10,000km with fully synthetic oil, granted your vehicle doesn’t have any oil leaks or burn oil. Its always best to check your oil once a week just to make sure its at an optimum level, as for semi-synthetic we wouldn’t recommend going past 7500km.

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