AMSOIL Synthetic Lubricants

The Problem With Conventional Petroleum Oil - Resisting Foaming

As oil is splashed around the engine by the rapidly moving engine parts, foaming can occur. Unfortunately, foam is a poor lubricant and a poorer heat exchanger. Therefore, foaming must be kept to a minimum.

Because of the rapidly moving parts in an engine, oil is constantly being mixed with air. This produces foam which is a lot of air bubbles which may or may not readily collapse. These air bubbles normally rise to the surface and break, but water and other contaminants slow this process.

Foam is not a good conductor of heat, and will impair the cooling of the engine parts. Also, foam does not have the ability to carry much of a load, this results in excessive engine wear.

Foam or entrained air bubbles in the oil will under some conditions implode and cause severe pitting of the affected surfaces.

Foam depressant additives are used in the manufacture of automotive lubricants, to reduce the amount of foaming.

The Issues with Petroleum Oils:

Conventional Petroleum Oils do foam fairly easily and especially if they are contaminated. Unfortunately most people never see the amount of foam that sometimes is formed in the crankcase.

Very few Conventional Petroleum oil formulations actually contain the proper amount of anti-foam additives and many do not have any at all.

Vehicle owners with SUV’s on which the front differential is seldom used have many times experienced such severe foaming that the oil leaks out of the breather tubes. This usually happens on vehicles that are seldom operated in the 4x4 mode, and the front differential oil is both oxidized and has absorbed some water.

Foaming can occur at speeds that are too low or too high, as well as when the oil viscosity is either too high or too low. This is also one reason why multi-grade Petroleum oils are used in modern engines.

The Problem With Conventional Petroleum Oil - Sealing the Combustion Chamber

The piston rings and cylinder walls may look smooth to the naked eye, but they are microscopically rough.

The surfaces of the piston rings, ring grooves, and cylinder walls are not completely smooth. This would become evident under a microscope as small hills and valleys. For this reason, the rings can never prevent high combustion and compression pressures from escaping into the low pressure area of the crankcase. This would result in a reduction of engine power and efficiency

In order to better seal the combustion chamber during the compression and power strokes, a thin film of motor oil must fill in all the little discontinuities. Obviously, it does this in addition to lubricating the contact points between the rings and the cylinder walls.

Motor oil fills in the hills and valleys and greatly improves the seal. Because the oil film is only about 0.001 inches or 0.025 mm thick, it cannot compensate for excessive wear of the rings, ring grooves, or cylinder walls. In a new or rebuilt engine, oil consumption will be relatively high until these surfaces have been smoothed out enough to allow the oil to form a good seal.

The Problem with Petroleum Oil:

Conventional Petroleum Oils do a fairly good job of properly sealing both the pre-ignition compressed gases as well as the high temperature and high-pressure gases burning power stroke burn. The correct viscosity at the operating temperature is however extremely important. The quality of the "seal" is adversely affected both at speeds that are too low or too high, as well as when the oil viscosity is either tool high or too low. This is also one reason why multi-grade Petroleum oils are used in modern engines.

What do you know about Gasoline? - the "A Primer on Gasoline Prices"

Need some help trying to make sense out of today's soaring fuel prices?

Here's some help for you.  It won't reduce the price you pay at the pump, but it will make you a smarter consumer, and better able to comprehend why the prices are continuing to rise.

A publication by the U.S. Energy Information Administration entitled "A Primer on Gasoline Prices" is packed full of helpful information for vehicle owners.

Did you know that gasoline, one of the main products refined from crude oil, accounts for just about 17 percent of the energy consumed in the United States. The primary use for gasoline is in automobiles and light trucks. Gasoline also fuels boats, recreational vehicles, and various farm and other equipment.

While gasoline is produced year-round, extra volumes are made in time for the summer driving season. Gasoline is delivered from oil refineries mainly through pipelines to a massive distribution chain serving 168,987 retail gasoline stations throughout the United States.

There are three main grades of gasoline: regular, mid-grade, and premium. Each grade has a different octane level. Price levels vary by grade, but the price differential between grades is generally constant.

This publication also explains what we are paying for in a gallon of regular grade gas, factors Behind the Increase in gasoline prices, why gasoline prices fluctuate and why gasoline prices differ according to region.

Readers of this blog already know that wpecial synthetic base stock blends and advanced additive packages found only in AMSOIL Series 2000 synthetic motor oils provide up to two times the wear protection of other motor oils.AMSOIL Series 2000 synthetic motor oils reduce friction for quicker engine response, increased horsepower and improved fuel efficiency.  In today's environment where soaring fuel prices are a fact of life, I cannot imagine why anyone would NOT be running quality synthetics in their equipment.

But it's not just about improved mileage either.  The molecular uniformity and purity of synthetic oils allows them to protect and lubricate engines better and more efficiently than conventional oils in all operating conditions. Synthetics lubricate and protect quickly in cold temperatures, maintain a dependable lubricating film in normal operating temperatures and shield moving parts from damage and wear during high-stress, high-temperature operations. AMSOIL synthetic motor oils exceed the most demanding world-wide performance standards and meet warranty requirements for all domestic and imported motor vehicle engines.

An Age Old Problem - How to Keep the Engine Cool?

Because only about 60 percent of the engine cooling is handled by the radiator and coolant, the other 40 percent (more in an air-cooled engine) must be taken care of by the engine oil. The combustion process takes place at about 2000°F to 3000°F, which can heat pistons and valves to 1000°F in extreme cases. In pistons, much of this heat travels down the connecting rods and affects the bearings. Since tin and lead, two common bearing materials, soften drastically around 350°F and melt at 450°F and 620°F (respectively), it is important for the oil to transfer excess heat away from the bearings as quickly as possible. In valves, the long, thin valve stem is more easily stretched when hot as the valve spring pulls the valve tight against the seat. Too much stretch, and valve clearances disappear and valves and seats burn.

There are ways of helping the oil keep its cool without resorting to chemistry. Increasing sump capacity increases the length of time the oil gets to cool off before being thrust into the breech again, and the more oil there is the more BTUs it takes to heat it up and keep it hot. Adding an oil cooler allows the oil to more readily lose heat, and can add to the volume of oil in the engine.

Incidentally, installing a high-volume oil pump to cure high oil temperatures actually exacerbates the problem in most engines. A high-volume pump takes more horsepower to run (creating heat), and it over-pressurizes oil passages, which can lead to greater oil consumption as the oil is squirted or flung onto the cylinder walls or past seals.

The Issue with Petroleum Oils:

Conventional Petroleum Oils do not conduct heat too well, and actually most of the increase in oil temperature can be attributed to internal friction in the oil itself as the bulk oil temperature will rise rapidly with engine speed much faster than with engine load.

Typical Motor Oil running temperature is about 20°F higher than the coolant temperature. It is however possible to have oil sump temperature in excess of 300°F even when the coolant is in 220°F to 240°F range. In many Air-cooled engines and especially the very small ones used in generators and lawn equipment it is not unusual to see oil temperatures approaching 400°F.

Conventional Petroleum oil deteriorates rapidly at temperatures over 260°F and at 320°F its useful life is only about two hours !

Are there different types of biodiesel?

Biodiesel is a domestic, renewable fuel for diesel engines derived from fats and oils such as soybeans and animal fats.

Biodiesel can be used in any concentration with petroleum-based diesel fuel in existing diesel engines with little or no modification. 

Biodiesel is not raw vegetable oil! Biodiesel must be produced by a chemical process that removes glycerin from the oil.

Biodiesel blend, nn. are a blend of biodiesel fuel meeting ASTM D 6751 with petroleum-based diesel fuel designated BXX, where XX is the volume percent of biodiesel. Common blends are b2, b5, b10, b20 and b100.

Why biodiesel and why now?

To begin with, we currently import over 50% of our petroleum needs  - this is expected to grow to 70% by 2025.  Once roughly half the oil has been extracted, it becomes harder – and more expensive – to get at the remainder.  The key date is not when the oil runs out, but when production peaks, meaning supplies decline.  The peak may come by about 2020.

Thus, we should be looking at biofuels seriously as an alternative to petroleum fuels. 
For example:

• B100 biodiesel has the Energy content of #1, 8% less than #2
• High Cetane (avg. over 50)
• Its Sulfur free
• Cold flow - B2 biodiesel has the same low temperature flow characteristics as #2 petroleum diesel
• It also has an Energy Balance (3.24 to 1)
• Finally, it's Biodegradable and Non-Toxic

Like synthetic lubricants, biofuels are an important part of our energy future.  There is no question that conventional energy reserves will peak, and this reality guarantees that the era of "cheap" petroleum products is over...  From here on, we better get used to higher prices for these products.

AMSOIL Motor Oil extended drain interval recommendations do not apply to vehicles using biodiesel fuels at any mix ratios with petroleum diesel. When using biodiesel fuels at any mix ratio, follow the OEM recommended oil drain interval.

That's why any place you can save money, by use of synthetic products (and their unique advantages), is just plain smart, don't you think?

For Serious Protection You Need filters that Cover the Entire Filtration Spectrum

The Introduction of AMSOIL Ea filter line has placed AMSOIL at the forefront of the filtration world. The nanofiber technology used in Ea Filters is new to the auto/light truck market, and available only from AMSOIL. These revolutionary new filters were the beginning of a filtration overhaul at AMSOIL. Along with the introduction of Ea Filters, AMSOIL added filtration products from Donaldson, WIX and Twin Air PowerSports Filters, offering a wider variety of products to cover nearly every filtration application from heavy-duty off-road, to racing and transmissions and much more.

                  

"The Absolute Facts About Air Filtration" video effectively illustrates and explains the harm airborne contaminants cause vehicle engines, the shortcomings of traditional air filters and the advantages offered by AMSOIL Ea Air Filters.

                  

NEW!

Lubrication Snafus - The difference between Theory and Practice

There's often a big difference between what we know we should do, and what we actually do.  This human tendency also applies to equipment lubrication practices.  Let me share with you just a few examples:

Theory
Lubrication instructions from equipment manufacturers must be observed.
Practice
Often there is no clear information about type of lubricant, lubricant amount, lubrication intervals, and operating conditions of machines and equipment.
Example
Performing lubrication with grease guns until old grease leaks from the application, resulting in over lubrication of the lubrication point
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Theory
No lubricant mixing.  Manufacturer recommendations that a different grease gun must be used for each lubricant.
Practice
Most of the time, the same grease gun is used for different lubricants without cleaning it before a new lubricant cartridge is attached.
Example
Maintenance people just change the lubricant cartridge without cleaning the grease gun.
Result: If lubricant A is not compatible with lubricant C it can cause chemical reactions which lead to bearing failures – even though the bearing was lubricated.
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Theory
Exact lubrication cycles and quantity
Practice
Other work often has priority
Example
Maintenance gets delayed due to other needed equipment repair, personnel illness, or not enough personnel to perform the work needed
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Theory
Getting at hard to reach lubrication points is extremely dangerous and often leads to accidents.  Provide a schedule of maintenance to ensure these critical components are attended to
Practice
These lubrication points are often totally ignored or are maintained with little safety precautions.
Example
Injuries to personnel, equipment failures that lead to unplanned downtime.
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My dad used to tell me that you pay for a lubrication program, whether you have one or not.  I've learned that human nature does not change, so we must adapt and be more proactive, or use better quality lubricants to improve equipment protection, while extending maintenance intervals.

Otherwise, equipment will continue to break down prematurely.

Readers, care to weigh in with your own personal experiences?

Burning Cleanly - Why do Synthetics do Better than Conventional Oils

The oil is called upon to lubricate such tricky areas as the cylinder walls and the valve guides and stems, which means that some oil is going to enter the combustion chamber and be burned along with the fuel. If it leaves a residue, piston rings can become stuck, dropping compression and overall engine efficiency.

If the oil leaves metallic deposits when it burns, they can clog the electrode on the spark plug and cause misfiring, which will also drop engine efficiency and accelerate the formation of sludge materials. If the oil leaves behind crystalline or abrasive residue when it burns, cylinder walls and bearing surfaces will be slowly but surely machined away as the sharp-edged crystals circulate through the motor.

Of course, a build-up of black carbon on the head of the piston and on the combustion chamber attracts and absorbs heat to a far greater extent than does a clean metal surface. This extra heat can cause detonation, place a higher demand on the engine's cooling system, and hasten oil break-down.   

The Problem with Petroleum Oils:

Conventional Petroleum Oils that are pure do not cause too many deposits, as they burn relatively cleanly in the combustion process. However modern Petroleum oils like the latest API SM category do contain many chemical additives which will form deposits in engines with high oil consumption.

This is one reason why manufacturers now finally pay attention to oil consumption and why latest engine designs consume "almost" no oil in normal operation.

A Practical Application

Two-cycle engines are simple and have no lubricant distribution system to speak of. In pre-mix engines, oil is added to the fuel, and in injector systems, oil is added to the fuel and air at a rate appropriate to conditions as the fuel and air enter the engine. In either case, the oil is simply mixed with the fuel to lubricate the engine parts.

The reason two-cycle engines work so hard is simple: every stroke is a power stroke. In a four-stroke engine, the piston rises and is driven down by combustion (a power stroke), but the next time the piston rises it simply pushed out exhaust gasses. In two-cycle engines, exhaust gas is driven out by the incoming oil-fuel mixture as the piston forces the mixture into the combustion chamber - on each and every stroke. These factors combine to place tremendous demands on lubricants.

• Must Burn, and burn cleanly
  Since the oil is mixed with the fuel, it must also be burned with the fuel, and burned cleanly. If you've seen the tell-tale blue smoke coming from an outboard boat motor or motorcycle, you've seen a case where oil isn't burning cleanly - environmental regulations, concern for the environment and just plain common sense make that kind of scene unacceptable.
  
  A more subtle danger when oil doesn't burn cleanly is what happens to the engine itself. Deposits in a hard-working two-cycle engine can cause scuffing and ultimately engine failure. Even exhaust outlets can become plugged, and when that happens, engine efficiency drops and wear increases.

• Must Resist volatility
  Two-cycle engines run hot. But while the oil must burn cleanly at combustion temperatures, it must not burn at the hot temperatures found outside the combustion chamber. If an oil is not highly resistant to this volatile evaporation, deposits can begin to form and cause engine damage.

• Must Lubricate
  Two-cycle oils must lubricate effectively under these severe conditions. Failure to lubricate properly can quickly result in excessive wear and finally engine failure.

• Must Assist in cooling
  Two-cycle engines are either air-cooled (hotter) or water-cooled (cooler). In either case, the lubricant must take on a major portion of the cooling duties.

The Problem with Conventional Oil

Conventional petroleum lubricants use bright stock, a heavy cut of petroleum, to add lubricity and anti-scuffing properties. Unfortunately, bright stock doesn't burn cleanly. In addition, petroleum basestocks are more prone than synthetics to volatile evaporation, and when they volatize, they tend to form hard carbon deposits that cause extreme engine damage.

To solve the contamination problems caused by dirty-burning bright stock, conventional two-cycle oil manufacturers use solvents to keep engine parts clean.

When using low-grade solvents, however, there may be drawbacks to this approach. Low-grade solvents help with dispersency, but they can hurt film strength and ultimately detract from lubrication performance, and manufacturers that treat two-cycle oil as a commodity are likely to use bargain-basement solvents instead of more costly ones that perform better.

To meet pumpability, mix ratio and low-temperature fluidity requirements, AMSOIL 2-Cycle Injector Oil uses only high grade solvents, which lead to its superior performance. However, as we'll see, solvents are unnecessary in a high quality pre-mix oil.

Finally, to deal with hotter temperatures, conventional two-cycle oils used in air-cooled applications must employ metal-containing (ash) additives to overcome the weaknesses in their basestocks. Since ashed additive packages can cause fouling problems, these companies then formulate a separate oil for cooler water-cooled applications.

What does AMSOIL say about bio-diesel ?

TSB: MO-2006-05-04
Date: 05/05/2006
Subject: Use of Biodiesel Fuel with AMSOIL Motor Oils Technical Service Bulletin
Product Description: ALL AMSOIL Motor Oils

OBJECTIVE:
To explain to AMSOIL Dealers the nature of biodiesel fuel and its effects on engine operation and lubricant service life.

TECHNICAL DISCUSSION:
Definition of Biodiesel (1)
Biodiesel is a mixture of methyl esters of long chain fatty acids like lauric, palmitic, steric, oleic, etc. It is produced by the transesterification of animal fats and vegetable oils. Typical examples are rapeseed oil, canola oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, palm oil and its derivatives from vegetable sources. Beef and sheep tallow and poultry oil from animal sources and cooking oil are also the sources of raw materials.

The chemistry of conversion to biodiesel is essentially
the same. Oil or fat react with methanol or ethanol in the presence of catalyst sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide to form biodiesel (methylesters) and glycerin.

Biodiesel is not the same as those vegetable oils or animal fats. The properties of biodiesel must adhere to the industrial standard (ASTM D6751). Raw vegetable oils and animal fats do not meet ASTM D6751 specifications.

Biodiesel can be blended with petroleum fuel to create biodiesel blends. These blends are designated as Bxx, where “xx” is the percentage of biodiesel in the blend. For example, a B5 blend is 5% biodiesel and 95% diesel fuel.

Advantage of Using Biodiesel
The physical and chemical properties of biodiesel are similar to petroleum based diesel in terms of operation of compression ignition engines. Therefore, biodiesel can be used in diesel vehicles without expensive alterations to the engine or fuel system. The other major benefits of using biodiesel include the following:

• Biodiesel is biodegradable, non toxic and essentially free of sulfur and aromatics.
• Improved lubricity.
• High cetane number.
• Improved conductivity, particularly for Ultra Low Sulfur fuel.

Disadvantage of using Biodiesel
Lower Energy Content (2)
The energy content of neat biodiesel fuel is about eleven percent (11%) lower than that of petroleum based diesel fuel, resulting in a power loss in engine operation. Engine adjustment for the power losses could lead to violation of EPA antitampering provisions.

Engine Operation Problems (2)
Neat biodiesel and higher percentage biodiesel blends can cause a variety of engine performance problems, including filter plugging, injector coking, piston ring sticking and breaking, elastomer seal swelling and hardening/cracking and severe engine lubricant degradation. There is very little
information on the use of biodiesel with engine durability over the mileage and operating conditions of heavy-duty diesel engines. More information is needed.

Storage and Handling
Biodiesel fuels have shown poor oxidation stability, which can result in long-term storage problems. When biodiesel fuels are used at low temperatures, filters can be plugged and the fuel can thicken. Sub-standard biodiesel fuel might contain glycerin that can precipitate out of the biodiesel fuel and plug the filter at low temperatures.

Biodiesel fuel is an excellent media for microbial growth, which may cause operation problems, fuel system corrosion and premature fuel filter plugging.

Emissions
Oxygen and other biodiesel characteristics can contribute to increased NOx emissions.

Engine Manufacturer's Position (3-12)

Generally, diesel engine manufacturers accept blending biodiesel fuels up to 5% with petroleum diesel(B5). Concentration beyond 5% could have adverse effects on the engine performance and the fuel system integrity and durability.

Most OEMs express concern regarding the service life of lubricants when higher concentrations of biodiesel are used.

Ford Motor Company:
Ford is advising that any of their vehicles powered by a diesel engine, regardless of manufacturer, may exhibit engine or fuel system problems when using fuels with greater than 5% Biodiesel. Any problems when using fuels containing more than 5% Biodiesel should be referred to the fuel manufacturer. Ford only recomends using fuels containing no more than 5% Biodiesel (B5) in their diesel powered vehicles. In addition, as per World Wide Fuel Charter (WWFC) catagory 1-3, fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) must meet EN14214 and ASTM D 6751 specifications. This was published as Broadcast Message 0884, 3626

 Cummins:
“The oil change interval can be affected by the use of biodiesel fuels and some applications may require shortening intervals to half of the diesel equivalent.”

International:
“The use of higher biodiesel blends may reduce the engine service life and drain intervals.”

Volvo Truck:
“When the customer wishes to use fuels based on vegetable oils, we recommend that the oil changing intervals be halved in order to eliminate the risk of dilution of the engine oil.”

Effect of Biodiesel on Lubricants (13)

• Fuel dilution resulting in viscosity reduction.
• Sludge and varnish formation.
• Depletion of alkalinity reserve in the oil indicated by total base number decrease.
• Total acid number increases more rapidly, indicating oil degradation probably from more NOx acid formation.
• Certain metals such as copper and lead leached from bearing due to biodiesel fuel in the lubricant.
• Oil filters plugging from sludge.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
AMSOIL Motor Oil extended drain interval recommendations do not apply to vehicles using biodiesel fuels at any mix ratios with petroleum diesel. When using biodiesel fuels at any mix ratio, follow the OEM recommended oil drain interval.

REFERENCES:
1.www.biodiesel.org
2.http://www.enginemanufacturers.org/info/division.asp?ID=65
3.Caterpiller Machine Fluids Recommendation,SEBU 6250-14, April 005, Page 53-56
4.http://www.cummins.com/cmi/
5.http://www.detroitdiesel.com/Support/On-Highway/Manuals/Lubricants_Fuels_Coolants/
index.asp
6. www.biodiesel.org/resources/fuelfactsheets/standards_and_warranties.shtm
7.http://www.deere.com/en_US/ag/servicereport/tips/tractors/9000/biodiesel_in_John_Deere_Tractors.html
8.http://www.vw.com/contactus/faqs.html
9.International, Technical Service Information, TSI-05-12-21
10. https://www.fleet.ford.com/showroom/environmental_vehicles/biodieselTechnology.asp
11. General Motor, AltFuels, Fleet and Commercial,2004, Vol 5, Issue 1
12. Volvo Truck Corporation, Service Bulletin, Group 170, No. 44, Version 1, Page 3
13. www.eeci.net/archive/biobase/B10577.html

What Role Does Oil Play in Keeping Engine Parts Clean?

In every internal combustion engine, there are contaminants developed as by-products of the combustion process. These are in addition to other contaminants such as dirt that gets in during frequent oil changes, sand and metal particles that come out of the block, etc.

 

Clearly, it is in your best interest to use quality filters that trap contaminants down to a small number of microns.  But there is an important role that the oil plays as well.

 

The oil filter is designed to catch the large contaminants, but containing the smaller particles is the job of oil additives that serve as collectors of -- and storage areas for -- anything too small for the oil filter to handle.

High-quality synthetic oils are formulated with high-performance additives effectively withstand such contaminants, allowing equipment owners and operators to safely extend drain intervals.  AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils are known for their ability to safely hold contaminants in suspension, while their superior ability to reduce friction and wear keeps engines in top condition.

Issues with Petroleum Oils:

Conventional Petroleum Oils that are pure do not provide any protection against contaminants, these would be API SA oils, which are not suitable for modern engine applications.

However modern Petroleum oils like the latest API SM category do contain detergents and other chemical additives to "keep contaminants in suspension". The theory is that when the Petroleum oil is changed frequently these contaminants will drain out at each oil change.

This is the main reason why extended oil drain service is not recommended with any Conventional Petroleum lubricant.