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"What do you know about the oil in your car's engine? From the ads, you're led to believe the most exotic part of a Ferrari's engine is in the sump," writes Fast Fours and Rotaries (FFR) (July 1998), an Australian performance car journal.
"The basic concept of oil is to provide a film of lubrication between two surfaces, FFR continues, "reducing friction, wear and heat and ensuring an engine's long life span. But the reality is that while all claim to be superior, there are some that are better than others. We decided to test most of the major brands to see how the well-known brands, the ones most of us can readily buy, shape up in a real-life engine test."
Redline Oil wasn't included in this test. If you want to see Wear Testing that includes Redline Synthetic Oil go here.
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Test Procedure
FFR chose to test only high quality synthetic oils. High quality synthetics are each oil makers' top product and high quality synthetics are "most relevant" to performance enthusiasts. The testers ran each oil through a "short y
et grueling" dynamometer session followed by professional oil analysis.
Sam Blumenstein, of COME Racing, performed the dyno testing on his SuperFlow engine dynamometer using a mildly modified five liter V8. Bill Reid, of Lubrication Management, performed the oil analyses. Ryco supplied oil filters.
After establishing baseline performance using a mineral oil, the test team subjected the test oils to three timed sessions at high engine loads, between each of which were three full-power runs.
"The intent," says FFR , "was to establish a number of criteria. Firstly, whether any of the oils would improve horsepower; whether any of the products would lose viscosity; evaluate [the] ability (or lack thereof) to prematurely wear components or suffer from discoloration. As it turned out, discoloration didn't prove to be a factor.
"We approached ten oil suppliers/manufacturers, informing them of our intention, and all were reasonably keen and eager to be involved, although Pennzoil didn't want to commit and Penrite flat out said no a little strange given this company has actually advertised with and for this [performance] market."
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The oil probe is placed in a solution to free it of all oil, leaving behind just the raw wear particles. Once the magnet is clean, a piece of cellophane tape is applied to stick any metal particles for analysis either on a contrasting background or under a microscope.
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Viscosity Test
FFR first subjected the oils to a test of viscosity retention. "Note," writes FFR , "that being such a short test it was felt that none of the oils would lose any of its viscosity rating, and indeed six oils suffered an inconsequential loss of less than one percent." The other five, Torco MPZ , Shell Helix Ultra , Shell Helix Plus , Hi-Tec HTO and Castrol R suffered significant viscosity losses .
Amsoil Series 2000 Synthetic 20W-50 Racing Oil
NO VISCOSITY LOSS REPORTED
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FFR points out that the loss of viscosity suffered by the five oils was very rapid. "Under normal conditions it's suggested oil which loses viscosity this quickly would be subject to significant losses over 5000 mi [8045 km]. Indeed, one would be suspect of the potential for increased wear over this period."
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Wear Metal Test
Oils inhibit wear by inhibiting metal to metal contact of engine parts. To test each oil's ability to protect parts from contact and wear, FFR subjected each oil to a test of wear metal generation. Their test "indicates the size and number of wear particles for each oil. The higher the rating the greater number and size of wear particles," writes FFR .
Amsoil Series 2000 Synthetic 20W-50 Racing Oil
LOWEST WEAR METAL GENERATION
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Horsepower
FFR averaged three runs per oil, noting power figures at 500 rpm increments between 3000 and 5000 rpm and noting peak power and torque. While the engine FFR used for testing was a large tolerance engine for which a 20W-50 grade oil is ideal, some of the oil manufacturers supplied 0W-30 grade oils for testing. The low grade viscosity oils delivered somewhat greater horsepower than the high grade oils did, but as FFR notes, "around 4000 rpm the power produced is very similar across the range and it's only really the top end where there are substantial differences. That said, the AMSOIL [20W-50], Castrol R [10W-60] and Mobil 5W-50 prove themselves very well."
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What AMSOIL products are recommended for your vehicle?
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How long can I go between synthetic oil changes?
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1.) Click on the Store button to be taken to a list of products.
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Here's an excerpt from AMSOIL President A.J. Amaturio, written in the monthly AMSOIL Action News regarding AMSOIL and Mobil 1: Test results below.
"As most of you are aware. Mobil 1 was introduced after AMSOIL had paved the way for synthetic motor oils back in the '70's. When it was introduced it cased great concern among many of our Dealers. But in my Presidents Message at the time, I assured everyone that having Mobil 1 on the market would only help us sell more oil. Mobil confirmed everything we had been saying about synthetic oils, and our products and claims instantly became more credible.
Since then, we have always been compared to Mobil 1. When people think of synthetic motor oil, they think of Amsoil and Mobil 1, not the other Johnny-come-lately's that have come on the market more recently. I have always said that Mobil 1 is a good motor oil, because compared to the run-of-the-mill motor oils on the market, it is. I have also always said that AMSOIL motor oil is better, again, because it is. Mobil makes their oils to run at normal drain intervals while we make ours for extended drain intervals, and therein lies the difference. Their oils don't have to be as good as ours, so they are not.
To prove that point, we ran a number of comparative tests on our 5W-30 and Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30. The test results are published in this Action News, and they confirm what I have been saying all along. AMSOIL makes a better motor oil.
These test results show significant differences between the oils. Look at the results of the NOACK Volatility Test. Which synthetic oil is going to last longer in service? Look at the difference in Total Base Numbers. Again, which oil is going to provide the longest lasting protection? Look at the Four Ball Wear Test. Which oil will protect against engine wear better? In every category we tested, Amsoil proved superior. Lower pour point, higher flash and fire points, AMSOIL tested best.
So when I hear claims that nothing outperforms Mobil 1, I have to say "wrong!". They may have good slogans and marketing hype, but when it comes to superior performance, I say nothing beats AMSOIL!"
A. J. Amatuzio, CEO AMSOIL President
NOACK Volatility
The NOACK Volatility Test determines the evaporation loss of lubricants in high-temperature service. The more motor oils vaporize, the thicker and heavier they become, contributing to poor circulation, reduced fuel economy, increased oil consumption and excessive wear and emissions. A maximum of 15 percent evaporation loss is allowable to meet the API SL and ILSAC GF-3 specifications. As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil lost an extremely low 4.9 percent of its original weight during high-temperature service, maintaining its superior protective and performance qualities,while Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil lost 9.17 percent of its original weight.
Four Ball Wear
The Four Ball Wear Test determines the wear protection properties of a lubricant by measuring the wear scars produced by four metal balls in sliding contact under the test parameters. The smaller the average wear scar, the better the wear protection provided by the lubricant. As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil completed the Four Ball Wear Test producing a smaller wear scar than the Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil.
Flash/Fire Point
The Flash/Fire Point Test determines the lowest temperatures at which application of a flame will cause lubricant vapors to ignite (flash point) and sustain burning for five seconds (fire point). Lubricants with higher flash and fire points exhibit more stable volatility characteristics and are safer to use and transport. As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil has higher flash and fire points than does Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil.
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Pour Point
The Pour Point Test determines the lowest temperature at which a lubricant flows.The lower a lubricant's pour point,the better protection it provides in low-temperature service.As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil has a lower pour point than Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil.
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Total Base Number
Total Base Number (TBN) is the measurement of a lubricant's reserve alkalinity. The higher a motor oil's TBN, the more effective it is in handling contaminants and reducing the corrosive effects of acids for an extended period of time. As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil has a higher TBN than Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil.
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REDUCE SKYROCKETING GAS COSTS WITH AMSOIL SYNTHETIC OIL! IT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER TO REDUCE OUR DEPENDANCE ON MIDDLE EAST OIL!
AMSOIL Synthetic Oil gives a 5% increase in fuel economy on average, and in some cases even more! Why use ordinary conventional oils when our superior AMSOIL synthetic oils outperform the others? AMSOIL Synthetic Oil is USA made. AMSOIL Synthetic Oil has superior lubrication, extends your engine life by reducing friction and wear and creates more torque and horsepower.
Help reduce our dependency on foreign oil! Use AMSOIL Synthetic Oil.
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"AMSOIL Syntheitc Oil is the Best Lubricant made, the Standard by which all others are judged."...Bobby Unser, 3-time Indy 500 Winner, 35 overall Indy Car wins, and 13-time Pikes Peak Hill Climb Winner. |
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