 Engine Oils and the Benefits of Synthetics
Insufficient Oiling Will Get You .....
What Your Engine Oil Must Do:
 Oils have many purposes in a Racing, and in fact in ANY internal combustion engine. The oil Cleans, Lubricates, Dissipates Heat, and Reduces Friction of the moving as well as non-moving parts of your engine.
Normal oils that you can purchase virtually anywhere are in most cases perfectly suitable for the daily-driver. You all know the Brands...Some market themselves as "Low Sludge", others as "Mechanics' Choice", and also "Fights Thermal Breakdown". Any of these are adequate. What we will get into here is why there are better oils and why these "standard" oils in many instances do not measure up to the demands which they are advertised for.
As the oil is moved through the engine it dissipates the heat of the parts it contacts. The oil also lubricates, and lessens friction of all moving parts, including: bearings and their riding surfaces, seals, cylinder walls, valve stems, rocker fulcrums, cam lobes, and any other moving part. The oil also removes heat from the valve springs and other components. One area that many people do not know about is that the oil also helps seal piston rings even though there is a limited amount of "burn off" oil that gets past the piston rings.
Your Oiling System:
Your engine's oiling system is quite simple, and it is better LEFT THAT WAY! You have an oil pan that stores the oil, a pump which transfers the oil through the engine, a filter that removes particles of metal and other contaminants (usually at 15-20 microns... which isn't that good!) before the oil is moved through the galleys, passages, and contact and bearing surfaces in your engine. Oiling systems range anywhere from 4 to over 14 quarts. Pump styles can be gear driven or a gerotor design, and can be of either internal or external operation. Also, you can have dry sump (pan is not used as a storage of oil) or wet sump (pan is the storage of oil). Serious, or more bluntly stated "uneducated tweaking" to these areas by most standards can be detrimental to your engine.
Within the pump there is a "pressure" spring or a "loaded ball" that controls oil pressure. The Volume of the oil is the "Quantity" of the oil moved. Typically the more oil moved, the more Horsepower it takes away from the engine to move it. In most instances a High-Volume oil pump is not needed. A High-Volume pump will suck the pan dry, putting most of the oil in the valve covers and not on the engine bearings where it belongs. Pressure is in direct relation to "restriction", being that the greater the restriction the higher the pressure. Unless you have installed a larger oil pan to allow for more available oil to the engine, a high volume pump is not recommended.
Friction Facts:
There are many kinds of friction: Fluid Friction, Solid Friction, Sliding Friction, and Stick-n-Slip Friction. Right now I'll just speak of Fluid and Solid Friction. The Internal Friction within a stream of a particular oil or film of oil is related to it's Viscosity. This viscosity is the oil's resistance to flow. In other words, the viscosity is the oil's ability to flow. Low viscosity oils have less resistance to flow than the high viscosity oils.
Here's Some Important Info: The lighter oils maintain a lower oil pressure and are easier to pump. But, they also deliver a greater volume of oil throughout the engine. With the higher weight oils it is exactly the opposite.
As the oil temperature goes up, the viscosity goes down. This means that the internal friction of an oil rises and falls with temperature. There is a definite power gain when the oil viscosity is reduced. There is also a point when the low viscosity oil can get too thin ..... beware! The lower viscosity also provides a thinner film which is easier to burn-off as well as not being able to sustain coherency on the high spots of the opposing surfaces. When this occurs, the two surfaces contact each other without lubrication which increases friction and causes parts damage.
Remember, that a piston travels 200 strokes per second (aprox) at 6000 rpm.
Friction is the resisting force to motion, and wear is the permanent removal of of surface metals by this resisting force. Some of the best wear reducing compounds or materials are the absolute worst friction reducers. Likewise, for some of the best friction reducing materials may not be any good at reducing friction when used in an engine.
Lubricants that work in outer space may not work here on earth at all. Materials like PTFE are claimed to have the lowest coefficient of friction, but even the manufacturer of PTFE does not recommend it to be used in an internal combustion engine. Why? It cannot withstand the heat! It is too fragile a compound and it decomposes and turns into a sticky plastic residue and a corrosive fluorine gas.
One marketer claims to have sold 15 million car owners on a theory that PTFE protects an engine against friction and wear. This is so ridiculous that even Dupont who makes PTFE and markets it under the Teflon® trade name will tell anyone that asks them not to use it in an internal combustion engine. In fact, Dupont was once sued by one of these oil additive manufacturers so that they would not bad-mouth their own product!
Other Items of Interest:
Low viscosity oils do not always reduce friction. Assembly lubes need to be not only thick, but must have extreme adhesion qualities. Another myth is that the "W" in a motor oil is "weight", it is NOT. the "W" in a motor oil, say a 5W30, stands for "WINTER". This is in reference to the oil's (cold weather) viscosity.
Synthetic Oils:
Anyone that believes that there is no benefit in synthetic oils is VERY UNINFORMED. Synthetic Oils not only give you a gain in horsepower of between 1%-3%, but it makes this power while also effectively extending the engine's life. Also, a 1-3% power increase can cost a lot more in specialized parts or custom machining than the price of a few quarts of synthetic oil!
Synthetic oils produce little to no residues and contaminants vs. petroleum or mineral-based engine oils. Synthetics also have a higher "Flash Point" that allows them to dissipate heat better as well as the adhesive qualities are better under high-heat circumstances. These oils are also better in cold weather conditions due to their better flow characteristics in low temperatures. A typical synthetic oil's flow in cold weather is nearly 10% better than the best petroleum based engine oil. This means that in cold weather the oil will actually still get to where it belongs to prevent wear.
A fact that is challenged continuously about synthetic oil is the change intervals. It is standard procedure that the intervals on synthetic oils can be upped from the 3000 mile interval to upwards of 15,000 miles. It is my "personal" recommendation to change synthetic oil every 5-6,000 miles, yet still change the filter every 3,000 miles and then just top off the oil level. This depends a great deal on the overall engine condition. An engine with extensive fuel wash into the crankcase (bad or failing piston rings) will require more frequent changes due the amount of fuel passing the rings and entering the crankcase, which will obviously contaminate the engine oil.
Synthetic Oil Precautions:
It is not normally known, but it must be taken under serious advisement that synthetic oils in many cases must NOT be used in a new engine. A typical street-driven car requires a 3000+ mile break-in with a petrol-based oil. A racing engine needs 7-10 Dyno pulls or hard runs before the synthetic should be installed. This is due to the fact that the oil is so much more "friction-reducing" that it can hamper proper ring sealing against the cylinder walls as well as not allow a proper wear pattern to develop on the camshaft and lifters. This is not a problem with Roller Camshafts, but definitely with flat tappet style camshafts.
I've been challenged on the 3,000 mile break-in a few times, so here's an explanation. Below I have included an edited reply to one individual who asked about the above statement.
Many manufacturers have published TSB's (Technical Service Bulletins) about excessive oil consumption or power loss in new engines and stated to ask the customer is they were using synthetic oils. But, this is not necessarily the case on recent model vehicles.
With a OEM engine, you are typically working with a coated bearing set, cast rings, and either cast or a hypereutectic piston that makes it almost a non-issue. Also, you do not have wear problems with the cam/lifters because the engines you listed are either OHC (over head cam) with followers, not lifters, or roller lifter camshafts from the factory ... another non-issue.
What happens with an engine using a tappet cam that requires a "break-in" wear pattern to make sure the cam lobes do not go flat (more than 85% of every gas engine on the road uses a tappet style camshaft)? What happens in an engine with Plasma Moly or Chrome rings that require a break-in "loading" to achieve proper seal (virtually all racing engines)? What happens in a performance or racing engine application that requires greater internal tolerances to compensate for the RPM range and intended use? Those are the areas of concern in what I stated as a "new" engine.
Also, on a newer production engine, they are using different composite gaskets and seals to compensate for the synthetic vs. mineral-based lubricants. This is not for any reason other than synthetic lubricants are more "slippery" (if that's a good term) and previous seal designs "can" cause problems with seepage. Most of the performance designed gaskets are still not really specific for synthetic lubricants ... this is especially true with valve stem seals (if you do not run Positive Control stem seals that require valve guide machining to install them). Plus, you would not be happy with synthetics in an older engine with a rope-style rear main seal. It would, (and they do) leak everywhere.
There is no "old wives tale" about the 3,000 mile break-in requirement, especially in that you need to include ALL of the available engine styles, applications, and other considerations. To give a "blanket" 3,000 miles before using synthetics should possibly re-written to state "unless your vehicle came from the factory with synthetic lubricants in use". But, even then, someone may still misunderstand it. The reason for this was simple ... for the average person, they will miss a detail if in this particular article, if I was to get too technical. Simplifying the statement to "nothing new" and to set all engines to "3,000 mile break-in, or dyno pulls" saves the average person who is not a professional engine builder/machinist/tuner a considerable amount of grief.
There is also something else though ... "some" of the synthetic oils in OEM engines are a blend, and not 100% synthetic ... this is strictly because of ring seat issues. You may see a bit of information in the Owner's Manuals where it will say something like "only use approved synthetic engine oils", or "use only approved synthetic blends". This is typically a notification of a blended synthetic oil being used.
Let's say that I stated in this article as you say, that "all" engines are OK to use synthetics, even new, and someone using a tappet style cam and PM piston rings followed that advice. Then, their piston rings did not seal and/or the cam went flat ... would I be liable for the disassembly, gaskets, piston rings, bearings, re-honing the cylinders, cleaning of all the engine parts to remove the metal particles for the irresponsible advice? Well, with the way the court system is, probably.
Besides protecting the average backyard mechanic and do-it-yourself individual, I'm protecting myself. Many people do not understand the detail and complexity of properly building a lasting and powerful engine. They want to purchase the parts and simply turn the wrench on the parts. They do not want to think about anything other than torque specs. Should I bury them in technical data, material compounds, engineering data, and other details that are so far over their heads that they ignore it?
Some people have tried to state that "flash" or "burn-off" of the oil does not occur (metal-to-metal contact). This is not true, it happens all the time, and personally I believe it happens more than it should. You get hot spots in many parts of the engine and from many causes. These hot spots do to the oil what a hot skillet does to cooking oil if you drop a bit into a hot pan ... it jumps out! Excessive RPM, incorrect engine balancing, detonation, incorrect assortment of parts, incorrect (or varied) machining, and more, can cause oil film flash, or burn-off. The weaker the oils tolerance to heat, the more "junk" the oil has in it to stabilize it, and the length of use the oil has seen in the engine, all affect the oil's ability to prevent burn-off.
The BEST Oils I've Personally Tested:
This article is not intended to be an Advertisement. I have tested various Mineral and Petroleum based oils, Synthetics, additives, and more. I did this for my own benefit as well as my customers by being able to correctly advise them. If you do not see "Your" favorite oil here, don't ask ... If I had tested it, I would have it listed as a contender. The most USELESS products are the additives. The worst additives I know of so far are the: Duralube and Slick-50..."useless", and in fact can be hazardous to your engine. (There are links below to show you what the FTC said about these "snake oil" lubricants)
Similar charges have been filed against Castrol, Shell, STP, and others over the years for false claims and associated advertising hype to mislead the consumer. You can go to the FTC website and perform a search for a product or keyword. http://www.ftc.gov/
The best Petrol-Based oils include Kendall, Valvoline and Castrol ... the worst have been Quaker State and Pennzoil. This negativity "may" change due to Pennzoil's investment a few years ago of over $250 million dollars to completely rebuild their refining processes to manufacture a more pure (base oil). The "Q" and Pennzoil have always had the most contaminants in their oils. The fail and breakdown of these oils occur the soonest, especially under extreme conditions (Towing, recreational vehicles, up-hill driving, racing, and any other high-load or high-heat environments). As a machinist or engine builder you could always tell these oils when tearing down the engine by the smell, or the cakes of deposits everywhere, most often first seen on the underside of the valve covers, and valvetrain. I have personally seen enough bad from these oils that I am not interested in trying them again.
The best Synthetics I've tested include my favorites: Mobil-1, Torco, and Amsoil. Redline is also good, and I've heard great response from Royal Purple users even though I have not personally tested it. The mediocre synthetics (those which showed little or no power or economy gains, yet stayed stable longer than petrol-based oils) are all the "counter brands", incl.: Castrol's Syntec, the Pennzoil Synthetic, and the Valvoline Synthetic. These are of course less expensive. This gets back to "You get what you pay for". I like the Mobil-1 as an overall great synthetic. It fits the need in both street and performance/racing applications. ALL of the manufactures have continued to refine their manufacturing processes. With that said, the quality of the lubricants are likely to improve, and my recommendations could also change if I ever felt the need (and had the time) to re-evaluate my findings.
What About Oil Filters?
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