Is Castrol Magnatec fully synthetic ?

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.

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

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

Fred

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

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