The effect of ester-based turbine oil on the performance characteristics of a tilting pad journal bearing was studied. Mineral oils with viscosity grade of 32 and 46 and synthetic oil with viscosity similar to that of the mineral oil VG32 were used. Both mineral and synthetic oils provided similar temperatures. Pad temperature was strongly affected by rotational speed. A slower increase in temperature at higher speeds was caused by the shift in the maximum temperature zone due to the pad thermal crowning. Synthetic oil ran slightly hotter than VG32 mineral oil at lower speeds. At higher speed these oils had almost the same temperatures. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the World Tribology Congress (Kyoto, Japan 9/6-11/2009).