Well, in simple terms, yes, all synthetics are more or less just highly refined crude oil. But in those same terms, you could say plastic is also just highly refined crude oil.

There is a chemical difference in group 4 (Amsoil, Mobil 1) and group 3 (Rotella, Castrol, et. al.) synthetic oils. Does a difference in chemistry mean a difference in performance? I surely don't know the answer to that one and would never pretend to.

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Keep everything as simple as possible-but no simpler--Albert Einstein