FYI FILE from Vette forum..
Most technically inclined gearheads
understand the value of real world,
motor oil “load carrying capacity/film strength”
testing. The results show us how various oils compare when it comes to wear
protection. And we can use that information to make an informed decision as to
which
oil we want to select for our
engines.
Though, there are some folks who are extremely set in their
beliefs about what they’ve always been told and read, regarding high zinc oils
providing excellent wear protection. But, the truth is, like all things in
life, motor oils are NOT all created equal. And some
oils are simply better than others, no matter what their zinc levels are. Anyone
would have to be delusional to think otherwise. And “Wear Testing”, RATHER THAN
ZINC LEVELS ALONE, can show us how various oils stack up against each other
regarding wear protection capability, as you will see in the real world test
data below.
Some folks, who
REALLY believe the notion that more zinc in their oil will provide more wear protection, often
throw a tizzy fit and get very nasty when test data shows a low zinc oilproviding better wear protection than a
high zinc oil. But, the fact is,
behavior like that will NOT change the facts regarding what oils provide
excellent wear protection and what oils do not. However, to keep everyone’s
blood pressure down this time, we’ll look at ONLY HIGH ZINC OILS here. That way,
all the oils are on an even playing field. However, true zinc lovers will no
doubt be disappointed, because not all high zinc oils tested well, even though
they all have plenty of zinc.
And keep in mind for comparison with
the oils below, that earlier oil industry testing has found that above 1,400
ppm, ZDDP INCREASED long term wear, even though break-in wear was reduced. And
it was also found that ZDDP above 2,000 ppm, started attacking the grain
boundaries in the iron, resulting in
camshaft spalling. So, no matter what zinc
fans might “believe”, there is such a thing as
"too much of a good thing".
The following group of 40 oils have zinc
levels above 1100 ppm, and are ranked according to their “load carrying
capacity/film strength”, or in other words, their “wear protection capability”,
at
230*F.
The tests were repeated multiple times for each oil, and even though all the results for
each oil were consistent within a few percent, those
results were averaged to arrive at the most accurate and representative final
psi numbers shown below. And every single oil was tested EXACTLY THE SAME, so they all had
the same opportunity to perform as well as their chemical formulation would
allow.
But, before we get into the ranking list of those 40 oils, let’s
take a closer look at one of those oils in particular. The
oil is:
10W40 Summit Racing Premium
Racing Oil, API SL conventional
The bottle makes some bold claims, such
as:
* Double the zinc for superior flat tappet cam protection.
*
The additive package contains 1800 ppm ZDDP, providing levels of protection
unattainable from conventional
motor oil. Provides excellent protection from
metal to
metal contact.
Problem
is, this oil fell FAR SHORT of living up to that inflated
boasting. These claims were obviously created by the Marketing Department with
no regard for what this oil can actually do. This oil ranked a pathetic 85th out of the 94 new
oils I’ve tested so far. And it ranked only 34th out of the 40 oils examined
here. Once again, here is an oil with high levels of zinc that DID NOT help
it perform very well, even among other high zinc oils. Buyer beware. Motor oils are among the worst products for false
advertising.
Now let’s consider the claim on its bottle of 1800ppm ZDDP.
Since Oil Companies typically don’t publish the ZDDP
values of their oil, I sent this oil to Professional Lab, ALS Tribology in
Sparks, Nevada, to see just what is really in it, and to see how that claim of
1800ppm ZDDP compares to reality. Here are the results that came
back:
zinc = 1764 ppm
phos = 1974 ppm
NOTE: Most of the time,
an oil’s zinc level is higher than its phos level, but the phos level here is
greater than the zinc level. That is NOT a typo. That is how this oil’s results
came back from the Lab. I’ve seen phos levels higher than zinc levels in
approximately 40% of all the oils I’ve sent in for component level Lab Testing.
So, it varies and just depends on a particular oil’s formulation. And the values
listed below are all just the way they came back from the Lab.
If you
average the zinc and phos values of this
Summit Racing Oil,
you come up with 1869 ppm. And that value is of course more than the 1800 ppm
ZDDP claimed, so it appears they’ve averaged the values and then rounded down to
the nearest 100 ppm, to be on the conservative side.
And since the ZDDP values are not
usually available for most oils, we’ll calculate the ZDDP values for all the
oils below, in the same manner as this oil, which should get us very close, if not
right on target. But, for quick and dirty mental calculations, you can just
figure the ZDDP value as approximately half way between the zinc and phos
levels.
Here’s the ranking list:
Wear protection reference
categories are:
*** Over 90,000 psi = OUTSTANDING protection
***
75,000 to 90,000 psi = GOOD protection
*** 60,000 to 75,000 psi = MODEST
protection
*** Below 60,000 psi = UNDESIREABLE
The higher the psi
number, the better the wear protection.
1. 10W30 Lucas Racing Only
synthetic = 106,505 psi
zinc = 2642 ppm
phos = 3489 ppm
ZDDP= 3000
ppm
NOTE: This
oil is suitable for short term racing use only,
and is not suitable for street use.
2. 10W30 Valvoline NSL (Not Street Legal) Conventional
Racing Oil = 103,846 psi
zinc = 1669 ppm
phos = 1518
ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm
NOTE: Due to its very low TBN value, this oil is only suitable for short term racing use,
and is not suitable for street use.
3. 10W30
Valvoline VR1 Conventional Racing Oil (silver bottle) = 103,505 psi
zinc = 1472 ppm
phos = 1544
ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm
4. 10W30 Valvoline VR1 Synthetic Racing Oil, API SL (black bottle) = 101,139
psi
zinc = 1180 ppm
phos = 1112
ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm
5. 30 wt Red Line Race Oil synthetic = 96,470 psi
zinc = 2207
ppm
phos = 2052 ppm
ZDDP = 2100 ppm
NOTE: This oil is suitable for short term racing use only,
and is not suitable for street use.
6. 10W30 Amsoil Z-Rod Oil synthetic = 95,360 psi
zinc = 1431 ppm
phos = 1441
ppm
ZDDP = 1400 ppm
7. 10W30 Quaker State Defy, API SL semi-synthetic
= 90,226 psi
zinc = 1221 ppm
phos = 955 ppm
ZDDP = 1000 ppm
8.
10W30 Joe Gibbs HR4 Hotrod
Oil synthetic = 86,270 psi
zinc = 1247 ppm
phos = 1137
ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm
9. 15W40 RED LINE Diesel Oil synthetic, API CJ-4/CI-4
PLUS/CI-4/CF/CH-4/CF-4/SM/SL/SH/EO-O = 85,663 psi
zinc = 1615 ppm
phos =
1551 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm
10. 5W30 Lucas API SM synthetic = 76,584
psi
zinc = 1134 ppm
phos = 666 ppm
ZDDP = 900 ppm
11. 5W50
Castrol Edge with Syntec API SN, synthetic, formerly
Castrol Syntec, black bottle = 75,409 psi
zinc = 1252 ppm
phos = 1197
ppm
ZDDP = 1200 ppm
12. 5W30 Royal Purple XPR (Extreme Performance
Racing) synthetic = 74,860 psi
zinc
= 1421 ppm
phos = 1338 ppm
ZDDP = 1300 ppm
13. 5W40
MOBIL 1 TURBO DIESEL
TRUCK synthetic, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CI-4, CH-4
and ACEA E7 = 74,312 psi
zinc =
1211 ppm
phos = 1168 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm
14. 15W40 CHEVRON DELO
400LE Diesel Oil, conventional, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus,
CH-4, CF-4,CF/SM, = 73,520 psi
zinc = 1519 ppm
phos = 1139 ppm
ZDDP =
1300 ppm
15. 15W40 MOBIL DELVAC 1300
SUPER Diesel Oil conventional, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CI-4,
CH-4/SM, SL = 73,300 psi
zinc = 1297 ppm
phos = 1944 ppm
ZDDP = 1600
ppm
16. 15W40 Farm Rated Heavy Duty Performance Diesel, CI-4, CH-4, CG-4, CF/SL, SJ
(conventional) = 73,176 psi
zinc = 1325ppm
phos = 1234 ppm
ZDDP = 1200
ppm
17. 15W40 “NEW”
SHELL ROTELLA T Diesel Oil conventional, API CJ-4, CI-4 Plus, CH-4,
CF-4,CF/SM = 72,022 psi
zinc = 1454 ppm
phos = 1062 ppm
ZDDP = 1200
ppm
18. 0W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 (semi-synthetic) = 71,377
psi
zinc = 1621 ppm
phos = 1437 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm
19. 15W40
“OLD” SHELL ROTELLA T Diesel Oil conventional, API CI-4 PLUS, CI-4,
CH-4,CG-4,CF-4,CF,SL, SJ, SH = 71,214 psi
zinc = 1171 ppm
phos = 1186
ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm
20. 10W30 Brad Penn, Penn Grade 1 (semi-synthetic)
= 71,206 psi
zinc = 1557 ppm
phos = 1651 ppm
ZDDP = 1600 ppm
21.
15W50
Mobil 1, API SN synthetic = 70,235 psi
zinc =
1133 ppm
phos = 1,168 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm
22. 30wt Edelbrock
Break-In Oil conventional = 69,160 psi
zinc = 1545
ppm
phos = 1465 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm
23. 10W40 Edelbrock synthetic =
68,603 psi
zinc = 1193 ppm
phos = 1146 ppm
ZDDP = 100 ppm
24.
15W40 LUCAS MAGNUM
Diesel Oil, conventional, API CI-4,CH-4, CG-4,
CF-4, CF/SL = 66,476 psi
zinc = 1441 ppm
phos = 1234 ppm
ZDDP = 1300
ppm
25. 10W30 Royal Purple HPS (High Performance Street) synthetic =
66,211 psi
zinc = 1774 ppm
phos = 1347 ppm
ZDDP = 1500 ppm
26.
10W40
Valvoline 4 Stroke Motorcycle
Oil conventional, API SJ = 65,553 psi
zinc =
1154 ppm
phos = 1075 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm
27. 5W30 Klotz Estorlin
Racing Oil, API SL synthetic = 64,175
psi
zinc = 1765 ppm
phos = 2468 ppm
ZDDP = 2100 ppm
28.
“ZDDPlus” added to Royal Purple 20W50, API SN, synthetic = 63,595 psi
zinc =
2436 ppm (up 1848 ppm)
phos = 2053 ppm (up 1356 ppm)
ZDDP = 2200
ppm
The amount of ZDDPlus added to the oil, was the exact amount the manufacturer
called for on the bottle. And the resulting psi value here was 24% LOWER than
this oil had BEFORE the ZDDPlus was added to it. Most
major Oil Companies say to NEVER add anything to their
oils, because adding anything will upset the carefully balanced additive
package, and ruin the oil’s chemical composition. And that is precisely what we
see here. Adding ZDDPlus SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED this oil’s wear prevention
capability. Just the opposite of what was promised. Buyer beware.
29.
Royal Purple 10W30 Break-In Oil conventional = 62,931 psi
zinc = 1170
ppm
phos = 1039 ppm
ZDDP = 1100 ppm
30. 10W30 Lucas Hot Rod &
Classic Hi-Performance Oil,
conventional = 62,538 psi
zinc = 2116 ppm
phos = 1855 ppm
ZDDP = 1900
ppm
31. 10W30 Comp Cams Muscle Car & Street Rod Oil, synthetic blend = 60,413 psi
zinc =
1673 ppm
phos = 1114 ppm
ZDDP = 1300 ppm
32. 10W40 Torco TR-1
Racing Oil with MPZ conventional = 59,905 psi
zinc =
1456 ppm
phos = 1150 ppm
ZDDP = 1300 ppm
33. “ZDDPlus” added to
O’Reilly (house brand) 5W30, API SN, conventional = 56,728 psi
zinc = 2711
ppm (up 1848 ppm)
phos = 2172 ppm (up 1356 ppm)
ZDDP = 2400 ppm
The
amount of ZDDPlus added to the oil, was
the exact amount the manufacturer called for on the bottle. And the resulting
psi value here was 38% LOWER than this oil had BEFORE the ZDDPlus was added to it.
Adding ZDDPlus SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED this oil’s wear prevention capability. Just
the opposite of what was promised. Buyer beware.
34. 10W40 Summit Racing
Premium Racing Oil, API SL conventional
= 59,483 psi
zinc = 1764 ppm
phos = 1974 ppm
Claimed ZDDP level on the
bottle = 1800 ppm
NOTE: Summit discontinued this line of oil, as of
spring of 2013.
35. “ZDDPlus” added to
Motorcraft 5W30, API SN, synthetic = 56,243 psi
zinc = 2955 ppm (up 1848
ppm)
phos = 2114 ppm (up 1356 ppm)
ZDDP = 2500 ppm
The amount of
ZDDPlus added to the oil, was the exact
amount the manufacturer called for on the bottle. And the resulting psi value
here was 12% LOWER than this oil had BEFORE the ZDDPlus was added to it.
Adding ZDDPlus SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED this oil’s wear prevention capability. Just
the opposite of what was promised. Buyer beware.
36. “Edelbrock Zinc
Additive” added to Royal Purple 5W30, API SN, synthetic = 54,044 psi
zinc =
1515 ppm (up 573 ppm)
phos = 1334 ppm (up 517 ppm)
ZDDP = 1400 ppm
The
amount of Edelbrock Zinc Additive added to the oil, was the exact amount the manufacturer
called for on the bottle. And the resulting psi value here was a whopping 36%
LOWER than this oilhad BEFORE the
Edelbrock Zinc Additive was added to it. Adding Edelbrock Zinc Additive
SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED this oil’s wear prevention capability. Just the opposite
of what was promised. Buyer beware.
37. 10W30 Comp Cams Break-In Oil conventional = 51,749 psi
zinc = 3004
ppm
phos = 2613 ppm
ZDDP = 2800 ppm
38. “Edelbrock Zinc Additive”
added to Lucas 5W30, API SN, conventional = 51,545 psi
zinc = 1565 ppm (up
573 ppm)
phos = 1277 ppm (up 517 ppm)
ZDDP = 1400 ppm
The amount of
Edelbrock Zinc Additive added to the oil, was the exact amount the manufacturer
called for on the bottle. And the resulting psi value here was a “breath taking”
44% LOWER than this oil had BEFORE the Edelbrock Zinc Additive was
added to it. Adding Edelbrock Zinc Additive SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED this oil’s
wear prevention capability. Just the opposite of what was promised. Buyer
beware.
39. “Edelbrock Zinc Additive” added to Motorcraft 5W30, API SN,
synthetic = 50,202 psi
zinc = 1680 ppm (up 573 ppm)
phos = 1275 ppm (up
517 ppm)
ZDDP = 1400 ppm
The amount of Edelbrock Zinc Additive added to
the oil, was the exact amount the
manufacturer called for on the bottle. And the resulting psi value here was 22%
LOWER than this oil had BEFORE the Edelbrock Zinc Additive was
added to it. Adding Edelbrock Zinc Additive SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED this oil’s
wear prevention capability. Just the opposite of what was promised. Buyer
beware.
40. 30wt Lucas Break-In Oil conventional = 49,455 psi
zinc = 4483
ppm
phos = 3660 ppm
ZDDP = 4000 ppm
So, as you saw above, the
highest ranking high zinc oil that provided the BEST WEAR PROTECTION of
this group of 40 high zinc oils, had 3000 ppm ZDDP. But, the lowest ranking high
zinc oil had one third MORE ZDDP at 4000 ppm. Even
though this lowest ranked oil had far more zinc in it, it provided LESS
THAN HALF AS MUCH WEAR PROTECTION, making it by far the worst of all 40 oils
tested. Then the 4th place oil had only 1100 ppm ZDDP, and the 7th
place oil had only 1000 ppm ZDDP.
So, the
results above show 2 distinct things:
1. My tester and test procedure
have no problem at all showing excellent performing high zinc oils. Therefore,
no one can justifiably argue that my testing somehow works against high zinc
oils. The absolute fact is, my oil testing performs worst case torture testing
on
motor oil. So, an oilHAS TO BE GOOD to produce good results.
And we saw many high zinc oils with excellent results here. So, when the
naysayers slam the value of my testing, they’re also saying at the same time,
that high zinc oils are no good, since my testing shows excellent high zinc oils
to provide excellent protection. They can’t have it both ways.
2. This is
ABSOLUTE PROOF that not all high zinc oils have equal wear protection
capabilities, which is the whole point I’ve been making for well over a year
now. And why would anyone think that all high zinc oils are good? Not all
tires are good. Not all
cylinder heads are good. Not all camshafts are good.
The world just doesn’t work that way. Some high zinc oils are quite good and
provide excellent wear protection, while other high zinc oils are not good at
all, and provide rather poor wear protection. It just depends on the
particular oil in question. And that makes it totally clear
here, that you simply CANNOT predict an oil’s wear protection capability by
looking only at its zinc level. Life is just NOT that simple. If you only look
at zinc levels, that is no better than guessing. So, if anyone tells you that
you need high levels of zinc for more wear protection, even if it comes from
a
Cam Company,
don’t believe a word of it. Because as you can see above, they have no idea what
they are talking about. Would you really want to use the 40th ranked last
place oil simply because it has more zinc than the
number one ranked oil here? That is just what you’d be doing if
you believed the incorrect advice about only looking at zinc levels. The ONLY
way to know for sure how much wear protection any given oil can provide, is to look at “dynamic wear
testing under load” results, such as I have provided above.
My oil testing data is very similar in concept to
dyno testing an
engine.
An engine dyno test is also dynamic testing under
load. For the guys who just want to look at a motor oil zinc level reference chart, that is like
looking at an engine’s build sheet instead of its dyno print out. You can decide
for yourself which provides more meaningful information.