Here is the Safety Data Sheet for BRP XPS Fully Synthetic 10W-40 Engine Oil

[mecsw500]

Being inquisitive I wanted to know if the new XPS Fully Synthetic oil for our Can Am Spyders was indeed based upon a fully synthetic Type IV base stock, or a highly refined Type III base stock.

So, I ordered a copy of the Safety Data Sheet (SDS), which under OSHA rules Can Am is legally obligated to do so for consumers, upon request. The old synthetic blend SDS datasheet is actually available on the XPS Lubricants website. Can Am responded overnight to my request, so 10/10 for meeting their obligations under the law. I based my request on the 9779492 1 Quart part number.

If it were a Type III stock it would be just a highly refined mineral oil plus a regular mineral oil, with perhaps a synthetic oil component at some percentage or other.
If it were a Type IV stock it would be truly 100% synthetic.

In Section 3 it describes the oil as

LUBRICATING OILS (PETROLEUM), C20-50, HYDROTREATED NEUTRAL OIL-BASED​

CAS: 72623-87-1​

Concentration: 25–50%​

This strongly suggests it is largely a High Refined mineral oil based on a Type III base stock. Can Am reserves the right to not completely disclose the exact percentages of constituent make up as company secrets, but the above provides us with pretty much what we need to know. It does not state to us the additive packages etc to enhance the highly refined mineral oil's ability to provide the performance of a Type IV base stock. It implies the remaining 50% to 75% of the oil is regularly refined Type III mineral oil. They don't state the exact ratios, just a range, as that's part of their trade's secret and doesn't affect the Safety aspect of the SDS.

Of course by US/Canadian/UK law it can be marketed as "fully synthetic" if it demonstrates performance equivalent to a Type IV synthetic base stock because of prior historical litigation from Castrol. The true nature of the oil would probably seen on the container if sold in Germany which has much stricter advertising laws relative to an oil's content. I'm still investigating what is on the packages in Germany.

So, if you are interested in finding out whether what you are buying as a fully synthetic oil is really a fully synthetic oil in the strictest definition of synthetic, I suggest you look up the SDS for your oil. This is often on the oil companies website, or you can request one reminding the company of their OSHA legal obligations to provide it to members of the public.

Of course, this is all just my understanding, I'm not an motor oil expert. It would be interesting to compare Section 3 of the SDS oil with the same information for Amsoil, Mobile-1, Amazon basics, Walmart's Brand, Castrol, Shell Rotella, or anything else people put in their Spyders.

This specification as provided for this XPS Fully Synthetic oil is probably pretty typical of most name brand "fully synthetic" oils and is likely totally suitable to use in a Can Am Spyder especially at the 5,000 mile oil change intervals I use. I'm no way suggesting this isn't a perfectly adequate high quality oil to use and XPS isn't following the same law that the whole oil industry is following. A lot of an oils performance is down to the specific additive packages they use which of course is beyond the scope of the SDS and are most likely trade secrets.

Thanks to Baja Ron for his help getting me to this point in providing his experiences with oils in Spyders.

 

[Cobranut]

In my opinion the court did American consumers a HUGE DISSERVICE when they ruled in Castrol's favor, and against Mobil Oil, back in 1997.
That ruling opened the door for all oil manufacturers to mislead consumers regarding their petroleum oils being "synthetic".
That's a case that needs to be brought up again and corrected by a higher court.

 

[Tango]

Does it say anywhere on the bottle that it is "JASO" rated? The 5W-40 doesn't!

 

[mecsw500]

In my opinion the court did American consumers a HUGE DISSERVICE when they ruled in Castrol's favor, and against Mobil Oil, back in 1997.
That ruling opened the door for all oil manufacturers to mislead consumers regarding their petroleum oils being "synthetic".
That's a case that needs to be brought up again and corrected by a higher court.

And most countries just followed along choosing not to do anything different, like Canada and the UK specifically. Shows how powerful oil companies really are.

 

[mecsw500]

Does it say anywhere on the bottle that it is "JASO" rated? The 5W-40 doesn't!

If it says MA/MA2 then that is the JASO rating for an oil. The word JASO is often just implied. If says none of these it might mean they didn’t both JASO testing the oil as the engines are Austrian and the oil was not specifically designed for general use in Japanese manufacturers engines which is what JASO is all about.

If it is XPS branded oil one can safely assume it is rated for wet clutch vehicles. The safety data sheets aren’t a list of test specifications for the oil but are designed to know how to handle the substance if you work with it, or you are a first responder that comes in contact with it, especially regarding combustion.

However, from the SDS you can often imply what the oil stock it is likely made from.