Road Rage

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1997/9710/valve.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1996/9607/slick.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1995/9512/stp.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/9905/duralub2.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/9904/motorup5.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/1999/9909/prolong.htm

Snake oil, from small shysters to large conglomerates.

This is a repost of indiviudal threads over the last year.

I need to add something though.

One thing to think about is that the FTC debunks the oft-stated position that huge amounts of wear occur at startup, ostensibly because oil pressure has not built up. This is not really true - there are anti-friction and AW's (anti-wear) compounds in the oil, primarily zinc di-thiophosphate (ZDTP) and phoporous, that deal with boundary lubrication, which is metal to metal caused by asperities (roughness) of the metal, or high pressures such as the top piston rings, valve train, rockers, and cam lobes. The separation of metal can be as little as a few molecules thick! The "roughness' quickly diminishes as the car warms up, in part because the various metals reach their optimum operating temps and consequent tolerances. These AW compounds tend to stay on these surfaces even when the oil drians back to the pan. Ester syntehtics tenaciously leave lube on these surfaces due to their intrinsic electical polarity (+) which tends to be attracted to the the internals, which are negatively charged.

Current ILSAC and API spec have lowered the amount of phosporous, due mainly to complaints (concerns) from auto mfrs. that the catalytic converter can be clogged prior to expiration of the emissions warranty. Never mind that it may result in excessive wear to the engine, which only has to last through the 3 yr/36k warranty. See my drift? Amsoil and Red Line have maintained higher levels of AW and AF's - in RL's case, it meant they did not get an official API donut, but their tribologist is more concerned about your engine than the mfr's catalytic. Which would you rather replace prematurely. Aha, thought so,