Lubricating a "high performance" car.

[oilman]

This is probably the longest post on this Forum but certainly one of the most interesting and relevant to all Performance Car Owners.

 

It is the "FULL" unedited transcript of the article written by John Rowland (Chief R&D Chemist for Silkolene) with 40 years experience. The original article was called "Lubricating a Subaru" but it really makes no difference as it can be applied to all performance cars. Whats more it is great educational reading as it is written by a Chemist, not a Salesman so totally based in facts - If you do one thing, read this, it's worth it!

 

(Please note, I do not work for Silkolene and I have Johns express permission to post this article to clear up as he would term "the mis-information" on the internet.)

 

Basically

 

Basically, to use that irritating in-word, engine lubrication is simple, and consequently boring. So I intend to treat the subject “complicatedly”, which may not be an in-word, but makes life far more interesting!

 

So, to take a quick look at the simple picture; the oil keeps moving parts apart, reducing friction and carrying away heat. Where there is metal-to-metal contact there are chemicals in the oil to reduce damage. Because the internal combustion process is always less than perfect, some soot is produced and this must be washed off the pistons and rings by the oil, so it has a cleaning or detergent function as well.

 

The trouble is, all this is just as true for Henry Ford’s original Model T engine as it is for the Subaru or any other high output motor. So where is the difference? The Model T, with 10bhp/litre at 2,000rpm and a single underhead camshaft, was filled with a thick, greenish liquid from somewhere near the bottom of the distillation colums on the Pennsylvania oilfields. It did a vague tour of the internals by guesswork (there was no oil pump) at a temperature around 50 degC, and lasted for 1,000 miles. On the plus side, some of the impurities acted as anti-wear and detergent chemicals. They didn’t work very well, but it was better than nothing. The engine wore out in around 20,000 miles, but even ordinary people, not just amateur rally drivers, were happy to put up with this.

 

The difference begins with the first turn of the key. The modern high-pressure pump would cavitate on the old heavy monogrades, starving the bearings for a vital couple of seconds, even in warm weather. Likewise, cam lobes would suffer as the sluggish oil found its way along narrow oil ways to the valve gear. The turbo bearing (if fitted as the handbooks say) already spinning fast, would also starve, and when it got going, how long would it be before the heat soak-back fried the primitive oil into a lump of carbon? (This was the problem with “modern” oils only 15 years ago).

 

So, a good oil must be quite low in viscosity even in the cold, so that it gets around the engine in a fraction of a second on start-up. On the other hand, it must protect engine components (piston rings for example) at temperatures up to 300 degC without evaporating or carbonising, and maintain oil pressure.

 

Unmodified thin oils simply can’t manage this balancing act. The answer is to use a mixture of thin oil and temperature-sensitive polymer, so as the thin oil gets even thinner with increasing temperatures as the engine warms up, the polymer expands and fights back, keeping the viscosity at a reasonable level to hold oil pressure and film thickness on the bearings. This is called a multigrade.

 

But, this is all too basic! What I have just written was and is relevant to a 1958 Morris Minor.

 

The questions that performance car owners need to ask are: “Will this thin oil evaporate and be drawn into the intake manifold (via the closed circuit crankcase ventilation), leading to combustion chamber deposits and de-activated catalysts?” and “Will the polymer shear down at high engine revolutions and high temperatures, causing low oil pressure and component wear?” and “Will it carbonise on the turbo bearing?” These are 21st century questions which cannot be answered by a basic 1990’s approach.

 

BUT! Before we head into more complications, some figures………

 

The SAE Business (American Society of Automotive Engineers)

 

Viscosity is the force required to shear the oil at a certain speed and temperature. Oils work because they have viscosity; the drag of a rotating part pulls oil from a low-pressure area into a high pressure area and “floats” the surfaces apart. This is called “hydrodynamic lubrication”, and crank bearings depend on it. In fact a plain bearing running properly shows literally no metal-to-metal contact. Experimental set-ups have shown that electrical current will not flow from a crank main bearing to the shells. Also, the energy loss due to friction (the co-efficient of friction) is incredibly low, around 0.001. So for every kilogram pulling one way, friction fights back with one gram. This is very much better than any “dry” situation. For example, the much over-rated plastic PTFE has a co-efficient of friction on steel of 0.1, 100 times worse than oil.

 

Oil viscosities are accurately measured in units called “Centistokes” at exactly 100 degC. These fall into five high temperature SAE catagories:-

 

SAE No. 20 30 40 50 60

Viscosity Range 5.6 - <9.3 9.3 - <12.5 12.5 - <16.3 16.3 - <21.9 21.9 - <26

 

A decent quality oil usually has a viscosity that falls in the middle of the spec, so a SAE 40 will be about 14 Centistoke units, but SAE ratings are quite wide, so it’s possible for one 40 oil to be noticeably thicker or thinner than another.

 

When the polymer modified multigrades appeared, a low temperature range of tests were brought in, called “W” for winter (it doesn’t mean weight). These simulate cold starts at different non-ferrous monkey endangering temperatures from –15 degC for the 20w test to a desperate –35 degC for 0w. So, for example, an SAE 5w-40 oil is one that has a viscosity of less than 6600 units at –30 degC, and a viscosity of about 14 units at 100 degC.

 

Now, those of you who have been paying attention will say “Just a minute! I thought you said these multigrade polymers stopped the oil thinning down, but 6600 to 14 looks like a lot of thinning to me!”. Good point, but the oil does flow enough to allow a marginal start at –30 degC, and 14 is plenty of viscosity when the engine is running normally. (A lot more could damage the engine. Nobody uses the 24 viscosity SAE 60 oils any more.) The vital point is, a monograde 40 would be just like candle wax at –30 degC, and not much better at –10 degC. It would even give the starter motor a fairly difficult time at 0 degC. (At 0 degC, a 5w-40 has a viscosity of 800 but the monograde 40 is up at 3200!)

 

Another basic point about wide ranging multigrades such as 5w-40 or 0w-40 is that they save fuel at cruising speeds, and release more power at full throttle. But complications arise……..

 

Building a good oil

 

A cave may not be the best place to live, but it’s ready-made and cheap. This is the estate agent’s equivalent of an old style monograde oil. Or you could get Hengist Pod to fit a window and a door; this is moving up to a cheap and cheerful mineral 20w-50. But an architect-designed “machine for living in”, built up brick by brick, is an allegory of a high performance synthetic oil.

 

It is impossible to make a good 5w-40, or even 10w-40, using only mineral oil. The base oil is so thin, it just evaporates away at the high temperatures found in a powerful engine that is being used seriously. Although there are chemical compounds in there to prevent oil breakdown by oxygen in the atmosphere (oxidation) they cannot adequately protect vulnerable mineral oil at the 130 degC plus sump temperatures found in hard worked turbocharged or re-mapped engines.

 

Synthetics are the answer. They are built up from simple chemical units, brick by brick so as to speak; to make an architect-designed oil with properties to suit the modern engine.

 

But sometimes, if you look behind the façade, there is a nurky old cave at the back! This is because the marketing men have been meddling!

 

The Synthetic Myth

 

What do we mean by the word “synthetic”? Once, it meant the “brick by brick” chemical building of a designer oil, but the waters have been muddied by a court case that took place in the USA a few years ago, where the right to call heavily-modified mineral oil “synthetic”, was won. This was the answer to the ad-man’s dream; the chance to use that sexy word “synthetic” on the can….without spending much extra on the contents! Most lower cost “synthetic” or “semi-synthetic” oils use these hydrocracked mineral oils. They do have some advantages, particularly in commercial diesel lubricants, but their value in performance engines is marginal.

 

TRUE synthetics are expensive (about 6 times more than top quality mineral oils). Looked at non-basically there are three broad catagories, each containing dozens of types and viscosity grades:-

 

PIB’s (Polyisobutanes)

 

These are occasionally used as thickeners in motor oils and gear oils, but their main application is to suppress smoke in 2-strokes.

 

The two important ones are:

 

Esters

 

All jet engines are lubricated with synthetic esters, and have been for 50 years, but these expensive fluids only started to appear in petrol engine oils about 20 years ago. Thanks to their aviation origins, the types suitable for lubricants (esters also appear in perfumes; they are different!) work well from –50 degC to 200 degC, and they have a useful extra trick.

Due to their structure, ester molecules are “polar”; they stick to metal surfaces using electrostatic forces. This means that a protective layer is there at all times, even during that crucial start-up period. This helps to protect cams, gears, piston rings and valve train components, where lubrication is “boundary” rather than “hydrodynamic”, i.e. a very thin non-pressure fed film has to hold the surface apart. Even crank bearings benefit at starts, stops or when extreme shock loads upset the “hydrodynamic” film. (Are you listening, all you rally drivers and off road fanatics?)

 

Synthetic Hydrocarbons or POA’s (Poly Alpha Olefins)

 

These are, in effect, very precisely made equivalents to the most desirable mineral oil molecules. As with esters, they work very well at low temperatures, and equally well when the heat is on, if protected by anti-oxidants. The difference is, they are inert, and not polar. In fact, on their own they are hopeless “boundary” lubricants, with LESS load carrying ability than a mineral oil. They depend entirely on the correct chemical enhancements.

 

PAO’s work best in combination with esters. The esters assist load carrying, reduce friction, and cut down seal drag and wear, whilst the PAO’s act as solvents for the multigrade polymers and a large assortment of special compounds that act as dispersants, detergents, anti-wear and oxidant agents, and foam suppressants. Both are very good at resisting high-temperature evaporation, and the esters in particular will never carbonise in turbo bearings even when provoked by anti-lag systems.

 

Must Have MORE Power!

 

Motorcars are bought for all sorts of reasons, but enthusiasts like lots of power. To get more power, a lot of fuel must be burnt, and more than half of it, sadly, gets thrown away as waste heat. For every litre of fuel burnt, 60% of the energy goes as waste heat into the exhaust and cooling system. A turbocharger can extract a few percent as useful energy and convert it into pressure on the intake side, but only 40-45% is left, and only 25% actually shows up as BHP at the flywheel. 6% goes in pumping air into the engine, 6% as oil drag losses and 2-3% as engine friction. The oil deals with 97% of the friction; so reducing the remaining few percent is not easy. If you doubt that even ordinary oil has a massive effect, take a clean, dry 200 bhp engine, connect it to a dyno and start it up. It will only make 1 bhp for a few seconds. Now that’s real friction for you!

 

Oddly enough, people get starry-eyed about reducing friction, especially those half-wits who peddle silly “magic additives”, which have not the smallest effect on friction but rapidly corrode bearings and wallet contents. In fact, even a virtually impossible 50% reduction in the remaining engine friction would be no big deal, perhaps one or two bhp or a couple of extra miles per gallon.

 

Even More Power!

 

He place to look for extra power is in that 6% lost as oil drag. In a well-designed modern motor, the oil doesn’t have to cover up for wide clearances, poor oil pump capacity or flexy crankshafts, so it can be quite thin. How thin? Well take a look at these dyno results.

 

A while ago now, we ran three Silkolene performance oils in a Honda Blackbird motorcycle. this fearsome device is fitted with a light, compact, naturally aspirated 1100cc engine which turns out 120+ bhp at the back wheel. The normal fill for this one-year-old engine was 15w-50, so the first reading was taken using a fresh sump-fill of this grade. (The dyno was set up for EEC horsepower, i.e. Pessimistic)

 

15w-50

Max Power 127.9 bhp @ 9750 rpm

Torque 75.8 ft-lbs @ 7300 rpm

 

After a flush-out and fill up with 5w-40 the readings were;

 

5w-40

Max Power 131.6 bhp @ 9750 rpm

Torque 77.7 ft-lbs @ 7400 rpm

 

Then we tried an experimental grade, 0w-20 yes, 0w-20! This wasn’t as risky as you may think, because this grade had already done a season’s racing with the Kawasaki World Superbike Team, giving them some useful extra power with no reliability problems. (But it must be said, they were only interested in 200 frantic miles before the engines went back to Japan)

 

0w-20

Max Power 134.4 bhp @ 9750 rpm

Torque 78.9 ft-lbs @ 7400 rpm

 

In other words, 3.7 bhp / 2.9% increase from 15w-50 to 5w-40, a 2.8 bhp / 2.1% increase from 5w-40 to 0w-20 or a 6.5 bhp / 5% overall. Not bad, just for changing the oil! More to the point, a keen bike owner would have paid at least £1000 to see less improvement than this using the conventional approach of exhaust/intake mods, ignition re-mapping etc.

 

Am I recommending that you use 0w-20 in your performance car? Well, perhaps not! The 5w-40, which is a “proper” PAO/Ester shear-stable synthetic, will look after a powerful engine better than a heavier viscosity “cave at the back” conventional oil, and provide a useful extra few BHP.

 

The End

 

However, as with all good things in life, we don’t live in a world of perfect motor cars and therefore we have to look at the lubrication trade-off between longevity, reliability, power and cost, relative to the vehicle in which the oil is being used (a scruffy old XR2i with 192,000 miles on the clockis a very different proposition to your spanking new performance car). You could look at a 5w-40 or 10w-50 for competition and track-day use, but only the most committed competitor would want, or need, the 0w-20 for the extra 5% power.

 

This is probably the best article I have read and written by a man who's forgotten more than I know about lubricants.

 

Cheers

Simon

 

 

sales@opieoils.co.uk

[neil.cavanagh]

yep... very good read!

[Roger King]

/'ve been sniffing this article. There must be something wrong with it becasue I can't smell any products from the rear of a male bovine.

[oilman]

I did say he was a chemist, not a salesman - What do you expect, it's factual!

 

Leave the bull**** to the labels on the cans, this guy is an expert.

 

Cheers

Simon

 

sales@opieoils.co.uk

[Peter Carmichael]

The theory accounting for wear is an interesting addendum to this, especially regarding why high temps result in wear...

 

The viscosity of the oil, the bearing clearances/dimensions/speed and load determine the thickness of the oil film in the working area of a plain bearing. The oil filter keeps the size of contaminant particles in the oil below a minimum size. The bearing journals and the bearing shells are prepared to a determinable surface smoothness.

 

If the oil film thickness isn't enough to keep the surfaces apart by enough distance to account for the surface roughness and for the size of contaminant particles that will be present in the oil, then wear will occur.

 

If the engine is prepared with excellent bearing surfaces it can use a thinner oil. If the engine has better filtration, a thinner oil can be used.

 

If the oil is allowed to get very hot, it thins out and the film thickness lessens. This will hasten the onset of wear.

 

So, keep your oil temperatures maintained, select a suitable oil and keep your oil in good condition with appropriate filtration and scheduled filter changes.

[martinwhitcher]

How do you rate the Redline range of oils?

 

Martin

 

MW 51 CAT

Superlight No.171

[oilman]

Martin,

 

They are esters (polyolesters according to their UK representative) and the sales blurb is certainly good reading. I'm having some chemically analysed (5w-50) at present and will have the results in the next month so I'll let you know the outcome................however

 

There is a known problem with most US Oils and that is the quality of the VI Improvers which are an important aspect. I have some stuff on this and if I can find it I'll post it up but I was so concerned about this transatlantic phenomenum(?) that I contact John Rowland of Silkolene to try and discover more, he emailed me the following which explains the problem but not which oils are involved so I'm none the wiser on the brands that are subject to this weakness. We can't test them all.

 

Quote:

 

Simon,

 

The main problem with the majority of American Oils is that they have “low grade" Viscosity improvers in them. Good ones are just not available in the states due to the fact that they are just not required for the majority of American engines.

 

The consequence of this is, although the oils look good on paper with high VI indexes etc the low grade improvers mean that they have a tendency to "shear down" causing a lack of oil pressure , after a couple of thousand miles hard use in a stressed engine.

 

For example, the oil you are using may be a 10w-40 when first put in but could be operating as a 10W/20 after a few thousand miles! It’s the use that sorts them out.

 

John R

 

Unquote:

 

I was intrigued by Johns answer and wanted to know how he knew it was the case in the U.S. that good quality VI improvers were not available. His reply was as follows:

 

Quote:

 

Simon

 

We have found it is impossible to source shear stable VI improvers in the U.S.A. even for ready money!

 

Unquote:

 

John R

 

Bear in mind here that Fuchs/Silkolene is the largest independent Lube Oil Manufacturer in the World and has facilities in the U.S. so they need to source additives.

 

Don't know if this helps and I'm certainly not knocking it without a chemical analysis but I believe that this stuff is expensive and there are oils more readily available in the UK which are of known quality and for less money. I know what I would use.

 

Cheers

Simon

 

 

 

 

 

 

sales@opieoils.co.uk

[martinwhitcher]

Thank you for your reply, can you let me know the outcome?

 

Many Thanks

 

Martin

 

MW 51 CAT

Superlight No.171

[warrent]

So what's basically being said here is that for a high performance tin-top which is expected to cover 200k odd miles, a "REAL" synthetic oil which is a blend of POA and Esters should be used...even though it's more expensive than a semi or fake synthetic oil because it's going to provide the best long term protection and performance.....

 

....But, for a Caterham which maybe covers

 

Are you also saying that changing the oil in a caterham after 3k or as some people do a couple of track days, that's running Mobil 1 is a complete wast of time and more importantly money, especially with an anti-cav tank taking 6.5ltrs worth!

 

Is there any way of telling (apart from price) which Synthetics are POA, POA/ESTERS or HYDROCRAKED?

[oilman]

Super7

 

Yes, you're pretty much spot on really other than the fact real synthetics have many benefits, it's a question of benefit and cost which only you can assess although emailing me for a price list may help you do the numbers.

 

A good oil should give you around 6000 miles protection so changing after 3000 is somewhat excessive however, again its down to usage and personal preference.

 

How can you tell a proper synthetic - complete minefield this one as I've posted before, price is one way but even this doesn't always work (some major named brands are sold at top prices but are merely the poorer cousins) if it's labelled as fully synthetic. Ask someone who knows or stick to a product that is known to be, Mobile 1, Silkolene PRO etc.

 

The main benefits of pure synthetics are as follows:

 

Synthetic basestock molecules are pure and of uniform size. This is because synthetic basestocks are designed from the ground up with the sole purpose of protecting your engine. Nothing is added if it does not significantly contribute to the lubricating ability of the oil.

In addition, in top-quality synthetics, no component is added which might be contaminated with any substance that might lessen the lubricating qualities of the oil. In other words, manufacturers of these premium synthetics implement very strict quality control measures to insure no contamination.

 

Not only that, synthetic basestocks are designed so that the molecules are of uniform size and weight. In addition, synthetic basestock molecules are short-chain molecules which are much more stable than the long-chain molecules that petroleum basestocks are made of. This significantly adds to the lubricating qualities and stability of the oil.

 

Stable Basestocks

Synthetic oils are designed from pure, uniform synthetic basestocks, they contain no contaminants or unstable molecules which are prone to thermal and oxidative break down.

Moreover, because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic lubricants operate with less internal and external friction than petroleum oils which have the non-uniform molecular structure. The result is better heat control, and less heat means less stress to the lubricant.

 

Higher Percentage of Basestock

Synthetic oils contain a higher percentage of lubricant basestock than petroleum oils do.

This is because multi-viscosity oils need a great deal of pour point depressant and viscosity modifying additives in order to be sold as multi-viscosity oils.

Synthetic oils, require very little in the way of pour point depressants and viscosity

modifiers. Therefore, synthetic oils can contain a higher percentage of basestock, which actually does most of the lubricating anyway. More basestock leads to longer motor oil life.

 

Additives Used Up More Slowly

Petroleum basestocks are much more prone to oxidation than synthetic oils, oxidation inhibitors are needed in greater supply and are used up very quickly. Synthetic oils do oxidize, but at a much slower rate therefore, oxidation inhibiting additives are used up much more slowly.

Synthetic oils provide for better ring seal than petroleum oils do. This minimizes blow-by and reduces contamination by combustion by-products. As a result, corrosion inhibiting additives have less work to do and will last much longer than within a petroleum oil.

 

Excellent Heat Tolerance

Synthetics are simply more tolerant to extreme heat than petroleum oils are. When heat builds up within an engine, petroleum oils quickly begin to burn off. They volatize. In other words, the lighter molecules within petroleum oils turn to gas and what's left are the large petroleum oil molecules that are harder to pump.

Synthetics are resistant to this burn-off. They will tolerate much higher engine temperatures.

 

Heat Reduction

More often than not, vehicle life is determined by engine life. One of the major factors affecting engine life is component wear and/or failure, which is often the result of high temperature operation. The uniformly smooth molecular structure of synthetic oils gives them a much lower coefficient of friction (they slip more easily over one another causing less friction) than petroleum oils. Less friction, of course, means less heat in the system. And, since heat is a major contributor to engine component wear and failure, synthetic oils significantly reduce these two detrimental effects. In addition, because of their uniform molecular structure, synthetic oils do not cause the "blanket effect" which was mentioned earlier. Since each molecule in a synthetic oil is of uniform size, each is equally likely to touch a component surface at any given time, thus moving a certain amount of heat into the oil stream and away from the component. This makes synthetic oils far superior heat transfer agents than conventional petroleum oils.

 

Greater Film Strength

Petroleum motor oils have very low film strength in comparison to synthetics. The film strength of a lubricant refers to it's ability to maintain a film of lubricant between two objects when extreme pressure and heat are applied. Synthetic oils will typically have a film strength of 500% to 1000% higher than petroleum oils of comparable viscosity. In fact, believe it or not, even though heavier weight oils typically have higher film strength than lighter weight oils, a 0w30 or 5w-40 weight synthetic oil will likely have higher film strength than a 15w40 or 20w50 petroleum oil.

Thus, even with a lighter weight oil, you can still maintain proper lubricity and reduce the chance of metal to metal contact when using a synthetic oil. Of course, that means that you can use oils that provide far better fuel efficiency and cold weather protection without sacrificing engine protection under high temperature, high load conditions. Obviously, this is a big plus, because you can greatly reduce both cold temperature start-up wear and high temperature/high load engine wear using the same low viscosity oil.

 

Engine Deposit Reduction

In discussing some of the pitfalls of petroleum oil use, engine cleanliness is certainly an issue. Petroleum oils tend to leave sludge, varnish and deposits behind after thermal and oxidative break down. They're better than they used to be, but it still occurs.

Deposit build-up leads to a significant reduction in engine performance and engine life as well as increasing the number of costly repairs that are necessary. Since synthetic oils have far superior thermal and oxidative stability than petroleum oils, they leave engines virtually varnish, deposit and sludge-free.

 

Better Cold Temperature Fluidity

Synthetic oils and other lubricants do not contain paraffins or other waxes which dramatically thicken petroleum oils during cold weather. As a result, they tend to flow much better during cold temperature starts and begin lubricating an engine almost immediately. This leads to significant engine wear reduction, and, therefore, longer engine life and fewer costly repairs.

 

IMPROVED FUEL MILEAGE AND PERFORMANCE

As indicated earlier, synthetic oils, because of their uniform molecular structure, are tremendous friction reducers. Less friction leads to increased fuel economy and improved engine performance.

Any energy released from the combustion process that would normally be lost to friction can now be transferred directly to the wheels, providing movement.

Vehicle acceleration becomes swifter and more powerful while using less fuel in the process.

The uniform molecular structure of synthetic oils has another performance enhancing benefit as well. In a petroleum oil, lighter molecules tend to boil off easily, leaving behind much heavier molecules which are difficult to pump. Certainly, the engine loses more energy pumping these heavy molecules than if it were pumping lighter ones. Since synthetic oils have more uniform molecules, fewer of these molecules tend to boil off. More importantly, when they do, the molecules which are left are of the same size and pumpability is not affected.

 

At the end of the day, it's personal choice but a decision cannot be made without the facts.

 

Cheers

Simon

 

 

 

sales@opieoils.co.uk

[Tony C]

Hey Oilman - you just have no regard whatsoever for sacred cows 😬

 

This is top notch information - BIG THANKS

 

BRG Brooklands SV 😬 It seems that perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away. (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

[oilman]

LOL I sell "sacred cows" as well, the difference is I know what the lame ones are

 

Cheers

Simon

 

sales@opieoils.co.uk

[warrent]

Having read this thread and the accompanying "Best oil for your engine" thread, I'm starting to feel a bit P*ssed off and feel that I've been duped by the labeling.

 

My Caterham (1.6 SL) has always been run on Mobil1, so I'm not worried about that, but my tin-top, a Focus 1.8, has always been run on "Halfords" Fully Synthetic oil. I used this oil because it had the same rating as in the Ford handbook, 5w40, and it was "FULLY" Synthetic. I now know that it is not really "FULLY" Synthetic and that it doesn't have the same life-preserving properties as a POA/ESTER oil. The whole point for me for putting in Synthetic oil, and paying the extra, was for the extended life of the engine. I seem to have wasted my time

 

Will be moving over to SIlkolene from now on 'cos it's Approx £39 for 5ltrs, which is still cheaper than Mobil 1

[oilman]

Hmmm

 

I don't want to quote prices here but I think you'd better email me for prices on the following

products: (PRO S is not £39)

 

Silkolene

Fuchs

Total

Castrol

Mobil

 

Cheers

Simon

 

sales@opieoils.co.uk

[jackb_ms]

I've always put the most expensive oil i could afford in my cars, mostly Mobile 1.

I have Mobile 1 Motorsport in my VVC powered 21, which is a 15W40, is it a bit of an overkill then?.

 

I have no idea on what to put in my diesel powered pickup. Are the same rule applies for diesel engines?

 

Jack

 

 

Emily, The Very Yellow 21

[oilman]

Good move, no problems with Mobil 1 Motorsport, it's a proper oil. I think you'll find it's a 15w-50 though.

 

The pickup. Drop me an email with the details and I'll get a recommendation for you.

 

Cheers

Simon

 

sales@opieoils.co.uk

[peterg]

I got my Silkolene Pro 4 from here although they didn't send me any decals for my racecar to cover the dents/scratches 😬

 

Note to Oilman, it's a GSXR1100WP bike engine in a single seater

[oilman]

Something to think about whilst considering which oil and how long to keep it in the engine.

 

DO TRUE SYNTHETICS REQUIRE A 5000 MILE OIL CHANGE?

 

The necessity of 5,000 mile oil changes is a myth that has been handed down for decades. Well it’s good for the oil companies as they sell more oil!

 

Synthetic oils are much better value for money than petroleum oils, you just have to know how to use them to your benefit.

If you're one who thinks that synthetics are just a marketing ploy to make more money off the same bottle of oil, take the time to read through this information and judge for yourself. The whole point of using a synthetic oil is peace of mind, knowing that you can trust the oil in your car to protect the engine.

 

There are only a few basic reasons why it is necessary to change your oil, and they all, in the end, have to do with decreased protection of your engine and decreased performance. If these elements can be minimized, then there will be little or no reason to change the oil.

 

What causes the oil to breakdown?

 

Firstly, all oil breaks down. That generally will include basestocks and additives actually additives are really "used up" rather than broken down.

 

The most significant difference from one oil to another is how quickly breakdown occurs. Although there are many factors that contribute to the breakdown of an oil, temperature is one of the most important.

Petroleum oil begins to break-down almost immediately. A high quality synthetic, on the other hand, can last for many thousands of miles without any significant reduction in performance or protection characteristics. Synthetics designed from the right combination of basestocks and additives can last indefinitely with the right filtration system.

 

The first major difference between petroleum and synthetic oil is heat tolerance. Flash point is a technical specification referenced by most oil manufacturers which is an indicator of heat tolerance. The lower the flash point of an oil the greater tendency for that oil to suffer vaporization loss at high temperatures and to burn off on hot cylinder walls and pistons. This leads to oil thickening and deposit build-up on critical engine components. So, the higher the flash point the better. 210 degrees C, is the absolute MINIMUM to prevent possible high consumption and oil thickening due to burn-off.

 

Today's engines are expected to put out more power from a smaller size and with less oil than engines of the past. Therefore, the engines run much hotter than they used to. That puts an increased burden on the oil. Synthetics are up to the task. Petroleum oils are a little overmatched. Nevertheless, even though synthetics are MUCH less prone to burn-off than are petroleum oils, there is still a small amount of burn-off during extremely high temperature operation.

 

The manner in which petroleum and synthetic oils burn off is important. As a refined product, petroleum oil molecules are of varying sizes. So, as a petroleum oil heats up, the smaller molecules begin to burn off. Deposits and sludge are left behind to coat the inside of your engine. In addition, as smaller particles burn off, the larger, heavier molecules are all that is left to protect the engine. Unfortunately, these larger particles do not flow nearly as well and tend to blanket the components of your engine which only exacerbates the heat problem as friction builds-up.

 

Synthetic oils, on the other hand, because they are not purified, but rather designed within a lab for lubrication purposes, are comprised of molecules of uniform size and shape. Even if a synthetic oil does burn a little, the remaining oil has the same chemical characteristics that it had before the burn off. There are no smaller molecules to burn-off and no heavier molecules to leave behind. Moreover, synthetics contain far fewer contaminants than petroleum oils since they are not a refined product. As a result, if oil burn-off does occur, there are few, if any, contaminants left behind to leave sludge and deposits on engine surfaces. Obviously, this leads to a cleaner burning, more fuel efficient engine.

 

It is also important to note that synthetics do a much better job of "cooling" engine components during operation. Because of their unique flow characteristics, engine components are likely to run 10 to 30 degrees cooler than with petroleum oils. This is important, because the hotter the components in your engine get, the more quickly they break down.

 

Additive Depletion

 

Additive depletion comes into play when discussing oil drain intervals. If additives

are depleted, the oil cannot effectively do it's job. So, the oil must be changed.

It is true that the additives in many oils begin breaking down after only a few thousand miles. What needs to be recognized is that there are different quality "grades" of additives just as there are different quality grades of just about any other product that you buy.

 

Many oil companies are using the same additives in their oils as all of the other companies because they are cheap. That's why the oil costs less. You get what you pay for! If they were willing to spend the money on top-quality additive packages for their oils, every synthetic on the market would be recommended for extended drain intervals, and they would all be more expensive. The technology has been around for years.

 

The problem is that oil companies make more money selling a cheaper grade oil and making sure that you change it more often. So, what do the oil additives in your oil do?

 

Viscosity Retention

Additives are used to maintain a stable viscosity over a wide temperature range. Synthetics need less of these additives than petroleum oils do because synthetic basestocks maintain a fairly stable viscosity by themselves. Also, the additives that are used are more stable than those used in petroleum oils.

As a result, petroleum oils must be changed often because they quickly become unable to retain the viscosity levels necessary to protect your engine (their high temperature viscosity drops off).

Synthetic oils don't really have that problem because both the basestocks and the additives are more stable.

 

Contaminant Control

Additives are also used to keep oil contamination in check and to keep it from damaging your engine. These additives keep potentially wear causing contaminants suspended and contained in your oil so they don't cause excessive wear or deposit build-up within your engine before your filter can remove them.

Synthetics generally have higher additive treat rates than petroleum oils (in addition to using higher quality, more expensive additives), so they can perform this contaminant control function for a much longer period of time than a petroleum oil can.

 

Food for thought!

 

Cheers

Simon

 

 

sales@opieoils.co.uk

[stu999]

Fantastic stuff!

 

But now I need to know more....

 

What about the rest of the car-i.e. gearbox and diff???

[Petrolhead]

So what are you oil recomendations then?

 

Now with SL No 148

[Bare]

I've seen the damage that Redline does to Honda Gearboxes.. it eats the plastic ball cages on the NTN brand bearings Honda uses .. Reputedly other Synths do so as well , but I've not seen this,so it remains for me at least, only as 'stories'.. but not ones I'd willingly test :-)

Honda Manual Tansmission Fluid (MTF)is a NON synthetic.. and it works V well indeed , better than the Redline equivalent .. cheap too.

Prolly 'not available' inna UK.. Pity.