> > I would add that synthetic oils are a not an option for the TR
> > engine unless
> > the engine is newly reconditioned with tighter tolerances than original.
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Hi, Adrian.
I confess, I'm not an engineer, like so many of our more knowledgeable
friends on the List. But I have done some fairly in-depth research into
synthetic oils, simply to find out if they were worth the money, and whether
I would need to change oil as often...because I'm...well...lazy.
Implicit in your question is whether old style oil molecules fill tolerances
better on our old engines than new synthetic oils.
Nothing in my research indicates that the size of molecules in old oil
differs significantly from new oil. So the capability of "filling the gap"
remains the same. The question that REALLY should be asked here has to do
with lubrication properties. There indeed to the old and new oils differ.
Synthetic oils are manufactured with perfectly round molecules of the same
size. Old style oils had molecules that were not perfectly round, or were
of varying size. Imagine a layer of ball bearings at the bottom of a box.
Ball bearings of widely different sizes fit together with awkward gaps. But
ball bearings of equal size roll fluidly off one another with perfect
predictability. Another advantage is that the new synthetic oils don't
capture and retain combustion acids and moisture to nearly the same degree
as the old oils, one of the key reasons we had to change oils so frequently.
So, when life hands you lemons (read dinosaur oil), make lemonade. But when
it hands you pinot noir (synthetics) from a great vinard, drink it before
your wife and her friends find it!
Terry Smith
'59 TR3A (Off the frame and in pieces, but the frame, brakes, suspension,
and OD tranny are restored, and I just put the head and timing cover on the
engine rebuild yesterday!)
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