lincolnlocker
Well-known member
so how do you feel about Schaeffers moly ep?OK, so I held off so I could think about how to go about this....
First this guy has some great info mixed with some bad info and the mixture can be quite confusing to those who do not know much about oils, and to those who do...
I have the fortune of being personal friends a guy who designed most of the ZDDP that is in most if not every one of the oils he tested. I suppose the best place to start is that not all ZDDP is the same. So, he is correct that you can not just look at the levels of ZDDP to judge anti wear, but that would be the limit of that logic. Generally speaking, you see high levels of ZDDP when a major uses the lower quality add packs. And lower quantities when they use a higher quality add pack. Evidence of this seen when you compare analysis reports between the same engine, over similar loads, over the same amount of time. Higher quality add packs are more robust than less expensive ones (they are consumed slower).
ZDDP is helpful at times where the hydrodynamic film of the oil fails and the asperities on the opposing surfaces start to make contact. So this idea that film strength is the only thing that does that is not true. Moly, ZDDP are not EP additives technically. EP additives are switched on when heat and pressure increase because of nearing asperity contact and increased friction.ZDDP does do this in a way, but it is more an anti wear, which means it coats and activates. He is correct that it does not build up, so more is not really better. More only deepens how long it can last. Better is better...
Film strength is not the only thing that separates oils when it comes to wear. If that were true then Honda's new 0w16 oil would be king **** and everyone would be using it. Film strength is only one of many variables that keep one specific type of wear from happening, and it has a smaller part in the rest of the types of wear.
In the bigger picture, oil is made up of many different chemicals that all have different functions that are designed to operate in harmony with one another over a certain time period. This is what needs to be considered when choosing a lubricant for your application. The test this person does only focuses on one type of wear at one brief period of engine operation. You engine does more than just start and starve itself of oil pressure (even though there are areas in the engine that do get starved from time to time).
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