Jump to content

Oil Additives - a word from some actual tribologists


FridgeFreezer

Recommended Posts

Since oil additives cropped up the other day with various people claiming great things based on various anecdotal evidence, I mailed a friend of mine who works for a company which make all the ingredients which go into proper oil and fuel for all the proper oil and fuel companies. Here's his reply:

Ummm. Where do I start? There are so many holes and errors in what they say it's incredible.

  • Zinc, Molybdenum, Silicon as used in lubricants are not solids.
  • Chlorinated hydrocarbons aren't likely to have a major surface effect and would not survive oil drains.
  • The idea that the same additive is relevant to every application they list is laughable.
  • You would never see 12% fuel economy improvement from any lubricant
  • Lubricant additives do not penetrate hardened metal surfaces
  • etc etc etc etc etc add infinitum

Beyond the fact that they clearly have no idea what they're talking about, there's a big fat fundamental flaw in what they're saying:

Notionally reducing friction can improve fuel economy. Fair enough. But the majority of active ingredients in lubricants work at the surface - antiwear, corrosion protection, EP additives, detergent, friction control. There is only so much surface area, so these things all compete. Chucking in a potent friction modifier (giving them the benefit of the doubt that it might work) would have a massive negative impact on these other important features and could quite conceivably wreck the machinery. This stuff has undergone one non-industry-standard test looking only at friction. A diesel engine oil on the other hand will have undergone extensive engine tests, looking at all facets of performance, running into costs of millions of dollars. This ensures it's balanced.

Anything with friction materials (clutches, synchronisers, wet brakes etc) will have lubes tailored to meet it. Reducing the friction level is likely to be detrimental.

If you're lucky it won't do anything. If you're really lucky, it will do nothing but might reduce the viscosity slightly (but not so much you reduce the film thickness and get wear) and improve fuel economy a minute amount.

Most likely however, you'll b****r up your engine / gearbox / chainsaw / gas turbine / bearings / anything else you put it in.

(It might be OK for lubricating guns and bike chains but then I don't know so much about them).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oil additives = Devils spawn

My 2nd pet hate after engine flush :angry:

Oil companies dont spend millions developing oil for you to go and stick a £10 bottle of gunk in it hoping it will make your car run ok with no oil in it :rolleyes:

BTW I work for the Lubes and Fuels Department for Ford Motor Co at their design and research centre ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whats up with engine flush?

I've used a 50:50 mix of diesel and engine oil to flush various engines and it usually has good results. Albeit i dont use it as a regular fixture, but to clear out engines that are a bit neglected it works well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whats up with engine flush?

I've used a 50:50 mix of diesel and engine oil to flush various engines and it usually has good results. Albeit i dont use it as a regular fixture, but to clear out engines that are a bit neglected it works well.

Thats what i use as well

Keith

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whats up with engine flush?

I've used a 50:50 mix of diesel and engine oil to flush various engines and it usually has good results. Albeit i dont use it as a regular fixture, but to clear out engines that are a bit neglected it works well.

Well thats not engine flush is it ;)

The act of flushing an engine with cheap oil is fine and recommended if you can afford it but using actual engine flush isnt. They normally contain powerful detergents/cleaners like kerosene and you never get it all out so it mixes with your fresh oil and starts breaking it down which will accelerate wear. It also can dislodge large deposits which can then get stuck somewhere else causing damage or cause seals to leak etc etc.

If you buy a car thats hasnt been well serviced I would just do a few oil changes at low intervals like 1000 miles with a good quality oil (thats doesnt always mean an expensive one ;) ) to try and get it back to a better condition :)

Hope that helps :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience. By using our website you agree to our Cookie Policy