One of the factors that keeps people from using synthetic oil in their car or truck is the cost. Synthetic oils are generally more expensive than petroleum-based oils due to the extra refining and lab work that goes into their development. While this extra processing usually translates into an oil that can be used for longer intervals in your before it requires a change, the initial cost can still sometimes seem like too much of a barrier.

For this reason, many companies offer what is termed a synthetic blend motor oil. This type of oil contains a mixture of up to 30 percent synthetic oil with the rest being standard petroleum-based oil, and is usually significantly less expensive that a pure synthetic. What are the advantages of using such a blend?

At first glance it seems as though there would be little benefit to using a synthetic blend motor oil. After all, with only 30 percent of the total volume being truly synthetic, isn’t it too diluted for it to make any real difference?. Actually, this is not the case. While the percentage of synthetic oil in the blend is indeed too low to provide synthetic-like levels of engine protection when it comes to thermal breakdown and overall viscosity, there is another dimension of benefit when it comes to the inclusion of synthetic oil in a blend.

The additives that are found in synthetic oil can help a great deal when it comes to addressing several engine issues. Synthetic blend motor oil contains additives which contribute to reducing overall engine wear. Not only that, but the detergents found in the synthetic component of the oil help fight the build up of acids in the engine oil, and help clean carbon and other contaminants out of engine internals. Synthetic blend motor oil is a good option for use in applications where the engine will be seeing heavy duty or extreme conditions, as these circumstances will make full use of the oil’s additives.

Synthetic blend motor oil is an excellent compromise for those who want to enjoy some of the protections of synthetic oil but who don’t want to spend a large amount of money changing the oil in their vehicles. This type of oil can be particularly useful for someone running a fleet of light trucks or service vehicles which are used hard but for which the cost of constantly replacing a full synthetic oil would be prohibitive.