Motor Oil 101
10-03-2014, 02:40 PM
#21
Senior Member
Thread Starter
We're not talking about some owners being cheap asses, we're talking about general Oil knowledge about among other things, additives, viscosities and what you should know to make that assessment of what oils to buy.
The article is dated but sound. No one is forcing you to change your Oil type or that your oil choice is a bad one.
I run 5w20 Mobil1 in all my daily drivers and only step up the thickness in my track car. I run it not because it's the best of anything but because it's the best all around and easiest to find.
The article is dated but sound. No one is forcing you to change your Oil type or that your oil choice is a bad one.
I run 5w20 Mobil1 in all my daily drivers and only step up the thickness in my track car. I run it not because it's the best of anything but because it's the best all around and easiest to find.
Last edited by Wolvee; 10-03-2014 at 02:43 PM.
10-03-2014, 03:47 PM
#22
You see only one word before all oils for gasoline motors after GF5 was inserted.
Obsolete
GF5 and UR rated spec weight is what U look for when U buy oil now. U can do heavier oil that is GF5 if U want to it just is out of manufactures requirement and into yours. It might have been a mistake to run the earlier GF3 10,000 miles.
I'm betting some with lubrication troubles were using a GF3 oil when the GF5 was beginning to show up back when 2010 or so ? The government let oil companies stretch the time line a year or so.
Still many stubborn believe in old 1982 oils and not synthetics.
Obsolete
GF5 and UR rated spec weight is what U look for when U buy oil now. U can do heavier oil that is GF5 if U want to it just is out of manufactures requirement and into yours. It might have been a mistake to run the earlier GF3 10,000 miles.
I'm betting some with lubrication troubles were using a GF3 oil when the GF5 was beginning to show up back when 2010 or so ? The government let oil companies stretch the time line a year or so.
Still many stubborn believe in old 1982 oils and not synthetics.
Last edited by papa tiger; 10-03-2014 at 03:57 PM.
10-07-2014, 04:57 PM
#23
Read the article. I can picture the Doc cornering people at parties and bludgeoning them with detail on his Ferrari Maraschino to the point where they drift off and wonder if Amazon Prime could deliver cyanide capsules by drone to end the verbal waterboarding.
But I digress
Whenever I hear anyone talk in terms of invariable truths, my spidey sense starts to tingle. Motor oils have a complex set of tasks to address: lubrication, cooling, suspension and transfer of wear products, tolerance to combustion byproducts, stability, longevity etc.
Case in point: many years ago was dating an attractive lady lawyer. We went out one evening in her Lincoln, and at some point I mentioned something about an oil change. Silence. I asked again and got a blank look. "I put gas in it, why does it need oil?"
45000 miles and never changed the oil. :lmao:
This is the stuff that design engineers have to deal with.
So some Doc pontificating on oil for his meticulously maintained exotics is probably not too close to the real world.
Interesting piece though.
But I digress
Whenever I hear anyone talk in terms of invariable truths, my spidey sense starts to tingle. Motor oils have a complex set of tasks to address: lubrication, cooling, suspension and transfer of wear products, tolerance to combustion byproducts, stability, longevity etc.
Case in point: many years ago was dating an attractive lady lawyer. We went out one evening in her Lincoln, and at some point I mentioned something about an oil change. Silence. I asked again and got a blank look. "I put gas in it, why does it need oil?"
45000 miles and never changed the oil. :lmao:
This is the stuff that design engineers have to deal with.
So some Doc pontificating on oil for his meticulously maintained exotics is probably not too close to the real world.
Interesting piece though.
10-07-2014, 11:29 PM
#24
X2 Amen ; >/
Last edited by papa tiger; 10-08-2014 at 12:34 AM.
11-01-2014, 10:35 AM
#25
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Got to take issue with a couple of things... many synthetic oils do require some VI, viscosity improvers, just like mineral oils. Depends on the grade and winter flow rating. A 0w40 is going to need VI, where as a 10w30 may or may not, depending on synthetic base oil formulation. A group III synthetic will need them, a group IV may not.
And synthetics are not produced in the lab, as if some nose picking dweeb is cooking up a batch of synthetic. Group III is made from petroleum oil and Group IV is made from ethylene gas, which is primarily derived from natural gas. Both are carbon chained molecules. The Group IV has the very slight advantage that the molecules are more uniform in structure. But that, in the overall balance of things, is not that critical of a difference. Oh, and both are "clear" in their final base form. It is the additives added later that "color" an oil. The differences between Group III (so called faux synthetic) and Group IV PAO synthetic) are minuscule and here is a much shorter, great article on this...
http://machinerylubrication.com/Read...ase-oil-trends
And the entire encyclopedia that started this thread did not even address the importance of various additives in motor oil, which comprise 25% or more of a typical quart of oil, and have as much or more to do with whether an oil will do the job or not. What of Boron, Zinc, Moly, etc, all friction reducing components. What of the additives included to neutralize acids formed in engine operation? These additives and more are essential for engine protection and allowing the base oil to do it's job. And different combinations in different engines can yield different results. Older flat tappet engines needed boat loads of zinc to protect them for instance. I would grab a mineral oil with a killer additive package before I would grab a Group IV PAO synthetic base oil with a lousy additive package.
My preference? A blend of Group III and Group IV synthetic (each provides something beneficial the other doesn't), with a very strong add pack that includes boron, zinc, and moly, especially soluble moly. I get that with the Schaeffer oil I use. And they have been making lubricating oils/lubes/greases longer than anyone in N. America. Since 1839 and were recognized a couple of years ago as one the top 500 most technologically advanced companies in America. And is still a family owned and operated company. Not a typical off the shelf brand, as they primarily focus on commercial users, but their products are available to anyone.
And synthetics are not produced in the lab, as if some nose picking dweeb is cooking up a batch of synthetic. Group III is made from petroleum oil and Group IV is made from ethylene gas, which is primarily derived from natural gas. Both are carbon chained molecules. The Group IV has the very slight advantage that the molecules are more uniform in structure. But that, in the overall balance of things, is not that critical of a difference. Oh, and both are "clear" in their final base form. It is the additives added later that "color" an oil. The differences between Group III (so called faux synthetic) and Group IV PAO synthetic) are minuscule and here is a much shorter, great article on this...
http://machinerylubrication.com/Read...ase-oil-trends
And the entire encyclopedia that started this thread did not even address the importance of various additives in motor oil, which comprise 25% or more of a typical quart of oil, and have as much or more to do with whether an oil will do the job or not. What of Boron, Zinc, Moly, etc, all friction reducing components. What of the additives included to neutralize acids formed in engine operation? These additives and more are essential for engine protection and allowing the base oil to do it's job. And different combinations in different engines can yield different results. Older flat tappet engines needed boat loads of zinc to protect them for instance. I would grab a mineral oil with a killer additive package before I would grab a Group IV PAO synthetic base oil with a lousy additive package.
My preference? A blend of Group III and Group IV synthetic (each provides something beneficial the other doesn't), with a very strong add pack that includes boron, zinc, and moly, especially soluble moly. I get that with the Schaeffer oil I use. And they have been making lubricating oils/lubes/greases longer than anyone in N. America. Since 1839 and were recognized a couple of years ago as one the top 500 most technologically advanced companies in America. And is still a family owned and operated company. Not a typical off the shelf brand, as they primarily focus on commercial users, but their products are available to anyone.