If you're a technical geek, oil tests.

[merbesfield]

This is an interesting blog post about all sorts of nerdy technical stuff, but most importantly oil tests. Well worth the read.

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/201...-test-ranking/

For those too lazy to read:

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From those failures where I was able to find out what specific oils were used, it turned out that those were oils I had already performed my Engineering Wear Protection Capability tests on. And all those oils had only provided poor wear protection capability, meaning that if they had looked at my test data before using those oils, they would have known in advance that their engines would be at significant risk of failure with those oils. And that is just what happened.
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A number of people who have had those failures, and some had repeated failures, have contacted me, asking what they can do to prevent that failure in the future. I tell them to forget all that high zinc nonsense and look at my Wear Protection Ranking List. And to select any high ranking oil there, no matter how much zinc it has, because zinc quantity simply does NOT matter. The only thing that matters regarding wear protection, is the psi value each oil can produce in my testing. The higher the psi value, the better the wear protection. I recommend they use the SAME highly ranked oil for break-in and after break-in. It’s that simple.
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WHEN PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN THAT ADVICE, NOT ONE PERSON HAS EVER COME BACK TO ME TO REPORT THAT MY RANKING LIST DID NOT WORK FOR THEM. Since my ranking list has worked in every case to prevent wiped flat tappet lobes and lifters, it can also work for you to provide the best possible wear protection for your engine. My test data is the real deal, it exactly matches real world experience, and it is the best and most complete motor oil comparison data you will ever find anywhere.
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And for those people who have been able to use various high zinc oils without having trouble with their flat tappet engines, that only means that the oil they used had enough wear protection capability for the loads their engines saw at that time. It does not mean they were necessarily using a great oil. And it does not provide any information about how much reserve wear protection capability their oil provided, nor how their oil compares to other oils on the market.
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But, there are some high zinc oils that do provide excellent wear protection. And you can see which ones they are, by looking at my ranking list below.
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[savaden]

Very interesting read. You have to put up with a lot of self promotion, but the data itself is quite relevant, and impartial. Some conclusions he has made: Viscosity has no relationship to wear protection! ZDDP additive levels have no relationship to wear protection. Thermal breakdown for most oils occurs in the 270 degree F range with some as high as 300 F. Some synthetic oils have higher thermal breakdown but overall only 7 degrees advantage over conventional oils. Diesel, motorcycle, racing, special blends, do not equal better wear performance. The current version of Mobil 1 5W-30 SN rated in the top 10. So did several Valvoline formulations. His testing is done at 230 degrees. This is higher temp than most of our air cooled engines are running most of the time. Even the best oils had significant wear reduction when tested at 275 degrees. Rule of thumb: (and this is hopefully general tribal knowledge) 230 degrees is OK, 280 degrees is too damn hot! Oh, and there is no advantage to special break in oils.

That should get the rankings all a twitter!

SV

[72targa]

Quiz for the day...

What do "high" ZDDP additive levels impact in modern cars but not in our early cars?

[37yrold911]

the cat


I'd like to just believe any ME, but my quick perusal of his site did not show me his Methodology section with sample sizes, etc.


I think I will stick to my boutique oil, which can always be resold to the hipsters in Brooklyn if need be.

[72targa]

Correct about the catalytic converter. That is why phosphorus (the P in ZDDP) is held to 0.08 wt% in modern gasoline engine oils (current API SN).

[37yrold911]

well, apparently you can't just kill the cat anymore - they are now saying it is in quantum entanglement with some other cat in another room

maybe, they'll just do some tunneling...

[Flieger]

What is his test???? if you use roller followers the ZDDP isn't a big deal, which is why there was no big outcry from the mainstream about lowering Z and P.

[RSTarga]

So who is the brave soul who will risk following an anonymous engineers advice. I shot this by my mechanic, he said that when low Zinc oils first started, there were lots of cam failures. It took a while for people to notice that oil formulations had changed. As soon as they switched to the higher Zinc oils, problems went away. Maybe todays oils have other additives to substitute, but I would really like a real testing lab with a name, to ratify this guys study, before I switch from my "good" oil to an "incredible" oil.
Anybody feeling lucky want to try?

[37yrold911]

anonymous engineers are the best kind

[RSTarga]

If anybody wants to fund a real impartial study, by a real applied engineering firm, I have friends at Southwest Research Institute who can do this. In fact they do it all the time for oil companies, auto manufacturers, the FIA, anyone who wants an agnostic study. They are a non profit.
http://www.swri.org