Today's topic seams to be motor oil related. I am a NASA Engineer at
Marshal Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. My field of work is
Tribology which is the study of friction, wear, and lubrication. In our
spare time, our group collects and tests different motor oils using the
Shell Four Ball tester. This tester tests the extreme pressure properties
of oils. These areas in a motor are cam to lifter contacts, valve stem to
guild, and piston skirts. Over the years we have found synthetic bases oils
to out perform mineral based oils by a large margin. We test the oils new,
after 1000 miles, 2000 miles, and up to 10,000 miles. In a nut shell, we
found that synthetic oils have better wear properties after being run 10,000
miles then mineral grade oils new. Which synthetic do we use? First any
you will benefit from any synthetic, but we use Mobil 1. Mobil by far puts
more research dollars in motor oils then any other company. They are also
aggressive in racing.
Other notes on motor oils.
Do not run a multi grade oil (10w-30) more then 1000 to 2000 miles -
depending on your driving habits.
This is because a 10w30 oil starts its life as a 10 weight oil and large
polymer chains are added to get the 30 rating. These chains break down very
quickly which produces small chains with an open electron charge at the
ends. These ends attract grim and form sludge.
Do not run synthetics in a new rebuild. A new engine needs the added
friction allowed by mineral oils to set the rings properly. Chevy found
this out on the corvette. These cars came from the factory with Mobil 1 and
owners brought them back because of smoking and oil consumption (rings did
not seat). Run a good single weight oil for the first 2000 miles. We found
Havaline 30 to be a good mineral oil - in fact we use it for our standard.
The reason Mobil 1 can safely be run for 10,000 miles is because the
additive package is well engineered to isolate grim and hold it in
suspension. This also is why Mobil 1 is expensive. You know - you get what
you pay for.
I know there are a lot of questions on motor oils. You can e-mail me for
more information or search the web for more details on synthetics. Your
Roadster deserves the best - run synthetic oils.
Phil Hall
1966 1600 SPL311-002500
Keep it between the lines and in a four wheel drift
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