Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New media comments
New profile posts
Latest activity
New showcase items
New showcase comments
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Members
Current visitors
New profile posts
Search profile posts
Showcase
New items
New comments
Latest content
Latest reviews
Latest updates
Search showcase
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Forums
Premium Vendors
Elite Lubrication Specialties
Engine Oil And What Makes Lubrication Engineers Better
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
[QUOTE="jimdawg185, post: 1186208, member: 757"] What tests matter most.... There are many, many tests that lubricants can go under. I will say this first, ASTM is the standard for tests. With a handful of exceptions if a test isn't done per ASTM specs, it's difficult to put any weight behind it. As stated above, the way test results are reported say something about the results of the test. I was comparing viscosity index between our oil and a competitor today and noticed they had a higher VI#. I was a little impressed, until I saw that the individual Vis tests were given in a range. SO... they picked the best VI out of many tests and reported that number, then gave a range of Vis to avoid issues if a customer complained. That's a little bogus to me. OK, the tests. When it comes to any lubricant viscosity is the most important factor. It's not the only factor, but the most important. Viscosity changes as temp changes so.... We start off with your basic vis info. SAE Viscosity is a joke to me. It is very broad, and really can be cheated in a way. That needs to be taken with a grain of salt, but it is true. Vis should be in looked at in kinematic viscosity in centistokes or cSt. The most accepted test for this is ASTM D445 which measures at 40c and 100c. Basically this would be near ambient and operating temp. Now, just because an oil test higher or lower means nothing out of context. They run this test to show that it is in spec for what ever SAE rating that it is branded as. A more important performance aspect in my opinion would be VI or viscosity index. VI is determined by ASTM D2270. VI is an arbitrary measure for the change in viscosity with variations in temp. Basically, the higher the number, the less a lubricant changes with increase or decrease in temperature. This is where in general synthetics are of the most benefit (the other would be there resistance to oxidization, and that's it in general). So, when you compare VI, the higher the better. Now, why don't I just go and buy an oil with the VI of 200 and call it the best of the best. Why doesn't every oil company just make a pure PAO with a stupid high VI. Cost is one issue, pure high quality PAO's are very expensive. The second issue is the base oils ability to carry other molecules into action. PAO's have high VI's and resist oxidization because they are nearly perfect hydrocarbons. They are very consistent in size and shape (high VI) and they have no openings (oxidization resistance) for oxygen or any other molecules to attach themselves to and degrade them. For this same reason, not even additives can attach themselves to the base oil hydrocarbons. This limits their effectiveness in use. So, you want a High VI, but it can also be at the cost of additive compatibility. Another very important test that should be taken into consideration would be Viscosity-HTHS ASTM D4683 (there are a few other ASTM tests that measure this as well, and they are fine, but use different measuring tools so you need to pay attention that you are comparing apples to apples, but they should all be close). This test is called a high temperature high shear test. This is a brutal test that shows the oils ability to withstand shear at 150c. That's very hot. Again the higher the number, the better as this is the oils cP or Centipoise (another form of measuring dynamic viscosity) at 150c during the test. There are also a few tests that measure apparent viscosity at low temperatures. One uses a cold cranking stimulator to measure how much resistance and apparent vis at a certain temp, usually ASTM D5293 at -30C. The lower the number in general the better as you don't want higher vis at cold start up. There are a ton of other tests that new oils are given, but usually taken into context they are just a baseline for trending analysis. For example, there is usually a base number given. Now, that is the relative alkaline reserve that is put int he additive package to offset the acidity build up during combustion. Higher or lower is not better. There are many different quality levels of packages. A lower base number of a higher quality package will be more robust than a higher base number of a lower quality package. So once again it is relative. So how do you know what is good and what is bad.... In general, the higher the VI and higher the HTHS the better balanced with a good low temp cold cranking vis. In the bigger picture, there is a sacrifice you make to gain high VI and High HTHS numbers. This is where PAO backfires. Using a 100% PAO sythetic gets you the best VI and HTHS numbers. But, again the add package becomes less effective. So, how do you know where that balance is..... This is where the balance of high VI and high HTHS and additive package compatibility with base stock comes in. Jet turbines are where you need a near full PAO or PAG. You sacrifice any benefits of long drain intervals with the HTHS and high VI to protect against the very high temps. But, in our engines, temps never get as high as that, so we can give in a little and put in things that balance out the additive package. How do I know that LE works the best... I have many many oil analysis from many different engines of LE's ability to go exponentially farther than anyone else on the market. There are others that can extend drain intervals, but our add packages just work better. They work so well that even fuel dilution drops, meaning that the ring lands are getting cleaner and allowing the rings to seal better on the piston side. I have not seen this to the degree that we have in any other oil. And not only do they work well, they work well balanced with some of the highest VI and HTHS numbers on the market. In the next few days I will be posting analysis to back up the above claims. Thanks! [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Random media
Latest posts
C
20% TO 40% OFF ON FORD OEM PARTS
Latest: Cazador
Today at 1:46 AM
Sunrise Ford Parts
Lower coil spring pad bolt
Latest: KBMKVIII
Yesterday at 7:14 AM
6.0 Tech
Tuning 101 - Thread Merged with Injector Posts
Latest: 6.0 Tech
Yesterday at 12:34 AM
7.3 Aftermarket
B codes vs hybrids
Latest: Charles
Monday at 9:54 PM
7.3 Aftermarket
B-Code VOP
Latest: Charles
Monday at 9:29 PM
7.3 Aftermarket
Members online
ToMang07
Raider4044
Arisley
Forums
Premium Vendors
Elite Lubrication Specialties
Engine Oil And What Makes Lubrication Engineers Better
Top