Ester based oils

[danfree]

I see Yamalube is marketing a new Grp V oil. Is there an advantage to using an ester based oil over other Grp lV oils, such as Amsoil or Mobil 1? I was just wondering if this is just a new ploy to sell more expensive oil. Or perhaps it may have advantages for racing applications that isn't necessarily a big improvement in a bike used primarily for commuting. I live in N. Florida, so we have virtually continuous riding weather. So at this time of year the temps for my morning commute can be in the high 30's, while the afternoon commute is in the 60's. Of course by July and August it isn't unusual to have temps in the high 90's. So that new Yamalube 15W-50 looks ideal for our climate. I have heard that one big selling point for the ester based oils is some sort of film that gets layered on the engine internals that help with keeping the parts lubricated at initial start up. Again, this may just be baloney and no real difference over any other oil.

 

[wrightme43]

Not all synthetic oils are equal. Some give better protection and last longer than others, depending on whether they're formulated with Ester or PolyAlphaOlefin (PAO) stock. Synthetic oils made from the ester class are much more expensive, but are more durable and hold up under hotter temperatures.
Synthetic oils have different base stocks, which comprise some 90% of the oil. The base stock is the actual lubricant The other 10% or so is the additive package. The relative ability of oils to lubricate is determined by the components of the base stock. There are two principal classes of base stocks used in real synthetic oils: synthesized hydrocarbons (PAOs) and organic esters.

PAOs
The base stock materials used today many popular synthetic oils are made of carbon and hydrogen molecules. These
are synthesized from ethylene gas molecules into PolyAlphaOleflns (PAO). Almost all the synthetic oils sold in the stores are made with PAO base stocks. PAOs provide better viscosity characteristics, are more resistant to oxidation and have much better low operating properties than petroleum oils. PAOs are cheaper synthetic oil base stocks, and aren't as durable as the ester class of synthetic oils. Some of the popular brands of PAO oils include Amsoil and Mobil-1.
These are known as a Group IV oil.
ESTERS (Polyolesters)
Organic esters are made by reacting certain acids with alcohols, forming acid esters. There are alcohol diesters and
Polyol esters. This process uses expensive materials and results in lubricants that cost many times more than PAOs.
Only esters are durable enough to withstand the rigors of jet engine operation and they are used in racing and high performance cars. These oils can cost $8 dollars or more a quart. Redline is an example of an ester synthetic oil.
These are known as a Group V oil.
Hydrocracked (sometimes called Hydrowax)These are petroleum oils that have been hydroisomerized, as it is commonly called. The most stringent level of petroleum oil refining. Much of the paraffin and impurities have been removed and its performance on any number of industry tests is substantially better than it's group two cousins (the regular oil petroleum oil used in automobiles).
Although it is not made from a synthesized, engineered molecule and as such is not a true synthetic oil, it does offer a portion of the benefits you would expect from a true synthetic and in fact is usually sold and marketed as a 100% synthetic product. Hydrowaxes are very cheap to produce, even cheaper than olefins, making them the cheapest of all the synthetics. As they are formulated from crude oil base stocks they aren't a true synthetic. These are known as a Group III oil. Castrol Syntec is known for using this method.
Quality
Premium quality synthetics will blend more than one "species" of PAO and/or will blend these PAO basestocks with a certain amount of diester or polyolester in order to create a basestock which combines all of the relative benefits of these different basestocks.
This requires a great deal of experience and expertise. As a result, such basestock blending is rare within the synthetic lubricants industry and only done by very experienced companies. In addition, although such blending creates extremely high quality synthetic oils, they don't come cheap.


The ester based oils are suppsoed to be even better than the PAO base that make up Mobil One and Amsoil.

I run 15w50 Mobil One extended performace 15,000 mile oil or Mobile One 15w40 Truck and Suv.

 

[danfree]

I think I got my original post wrong. I think maybe the Yamalube may just have some ester stuff "blended" in and probably isn't a true grp V oil. Though I'm sure it would be a fine oil to use. Better than the 20W -50 I'm using now. Just not worth the extra cost.