Road Rage

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/...one_virgin.jpg

These are vrigin oil analyses of Mobil 1's current line-up, since many of you will consider it. It is not my favorite (I like Lubrication Engineers 10w30 and Delvac1 5w40 for my S2000, but LE's 5w30 is a good choice for the TL).

Here is Tribology 101 for Newbies:

Boron is an anti-friction, anti-wear component. It is replacing some of the previous materials like moly, which can cause problems in the hot upper cylinder areas. Some moly is still used in M1, a typical amount. LE, however, uses no moly, high boron, and its own proprietary additive, Monolec. www.le-inc.com

Calcium acts a pH buffer, to resist acidification, and has some AW/AF properties as well.

The silicon is not dirt - it is silicone, added to reduce foaming of the oil - foam is effectively a non-lubricant.

Zinc and phosphorous make up the primary anti-wear add pack. ZDP (zinc dithiophosphate) is the best components yet developed. Note that generally, zinc is at about 80% of the phos level. In the SL-spec, the car mfr's lowered the amount of phos, in order to protect their butts against 70/90k catalytic converter warranty claims. Some mfr's did not go to SL, since they wanted to keep the ZDP levels higher, and the API would not certify them, plus it is $$$$ to do so. Thing is, the carrier oils (lighter factions) in virgin oil release the phos into the cats anyway, so if you go 12K on an SH-oil like LE's 8130 or 8530, or two changes of an SL-rated oil at 6K intervals, the SL is effectively dumping the same amount of phos into the cats, but YOU get less wear protection*. Nice deal for WHOM, eh?

*I am all about full disclosure. There have been some real advances in add pack technology, in anticipation of the newer API "4" specs: costly amine compounds seem to be capable of providing excellent wear protection even with the reduced ZDP levels of SL - Conoco has been a pioneer in the products it developed for Motocraft - that is why their synblend 5w20 is an excellent choice for those of you who feel they must use a 5w20. Check it out.

Aegir

I'm not familiar enough with automotive oil analysis to know what is 'good' or 'better' by looking at analysis results. I don't have a baseline for the readings. I am familiar with lubricants (industrial experience) and analysis processes. Can you recommend a good starting point? Thanks...

rets

Could you explain a little more about this analyses? What kind of experiemental data/info does make you believe Mobil1 isn't the choice? And, why do you prefer to go for 5w-30 instead of 5w-20 for your TL?

Thanks.

Road Rage

You guys are fast! I did provide the 101 and some insider info you may find helpful. And when the OIl Journals are back up, that should help also.

If you have a specific question I have not covered, PM me.

Road Rage

http://www.motorcraft.com/standard.a...M=44&PageID=74

Good info - my main concern about the 5w20 is not its chemistry - it is outstanding, being a GIII hydrocracked lube, which others (Like Castrol) call a synthetic, and with the modern add pack I previously mentioned.

My major issue is the low flash point - this is good indicator of the oil's ability to reduce burn off, and resist oxidation. Now, they may well have added chemistry to offset that, but there is a limit to what an additive can do, vs. the intrinsically lower volatility of thicker factions (BTW, there are over 37,000 variants of parafinnic oils alone!). So, yes, I do have some concern about using 5w20 in high speed, high load, high temp situations - consider this: 5w40 is still the most common European oil vis, with some as high as 10w60. Remember that Honda wants to lower emissions, raise CAFE results so it can sell more SUV's, and get you through the warranty period. Honda engines running 10w30 have often gone in excess of 200-300k easy. The jury is still out ont he lightweights.