"What do you know about the oil in your car's engine? From the ads, you're led to believe the most exotic part of a Ferrari's engine is in the sump," writes Fast Fours and Rotaries (FFR) (July 1998), an Australian performance car journal.

"The basic concept of oil is to provide a film of lubrication between two surfaces, FFR continues, "reducing friction, wear and heat and ensuring an engine's long life span. But the reality is that while all claim to be superior, there are some that are better than others. We decided to test most of the major brands to see how the well-known brands, the ones most of us can readily buy, shape up in a real-life engine test."

  

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Test Procedure

FFR chose to test only high quality synthetic oils. High quality synthetics are each oil makers' top product and high quality synthetics are "most relevant" to performance enthusiasts. The testers ran each oil through a "short yet grueling" dynamometer session followed by professional oil analysis.

Sam Blumenstein, of COME Racing, performed the dyno testing on his SuperFlow engine dynamometer using a mildly modified five liter V8. Bill Reid, of Lubrication Management, performed the oil analyses. Ryco supplied oil filters.

After establishing baseline performance using a mineral oil, the test team subjected the test oils to three timed sessions at high engine loads, between each of which were three full-power runs.

"The intent," says FFR , "was to establish a number of criteria. Firstly, whether any of the oils would improve horsepower; whether any of the products would lose viscosity; evaluate [the] ability (or lack thereof) to prematurely wear components or suffer from discoloration. As it turned out, discoloration didn't prove to be a factor.

"We approached ten oil suppliers/manufacturers, informing them of our intention, and all were reasonably keen and eager to be involved, although Pennzoil didn't want to commit and Penrite flat out said no – a little strange given this company has actually advertised with and for this [performance] market."

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The oil probe is placed in a solution to free it of all oil, leaving behind just the raw wear particles. Once the magnet is clean, a piece of cellophane tape is applied to stick any metal particles for analysis either on a contrasting background or under a microscope.

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Viscosity Test

FFR first subjected the oils to a test of viscosity retention. "Note," writes FFR , "that being such a short test it was felt that none of the oils would lose any of its viscosity rating, and indeed six oils suffered an inconsequential loss of less than one percent." The other five, Torco MPZ , Shell Helix Ultra , Shell Helix Plus , Hi-Tec HTO and Castrol R suffered significant viscosity losses . 
Amsoil Series 2000 Synthetic 20W-50 Racing Oil
NO VISCOSITY LOSS REPORTED
 

Oil  Product Viscosity Loss Type Test # Torco  MPZ 18%  Synthetic 5 & 6 Shell  Helix Ultra 14% Synthetic 8 Hi-Tec HTO 8% Synthetic 9 Castrol  R  6% Synthetic 12

                    
 
FFR points out that the loss of viscosity suffered by the five oils was very rapid. "Under normal conditions it's suggested oil which loses viscosity this quickly would be subject to significant losses over 5000 mi. [8045 km]. Indeed, one would be suspect of the potential for increased wear over this period."

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Wear Metal Test

Oils inhibit wear by inhibiting metal to metal contact of engine parts. To test each oil's ability to protect parts from contact and wear, FFR subjected each oil to a test of wear metal generation. Their test "indicates the size and number of wear particles for each oil. The higher the rating the greater number and size of wear particles," writes FFR . 
Amsoil Series 2000 Synthetic 20W-50 Racing Oil
LOWEST WEAR METAL GENERATION

Rating Oil Average particle size Overall (micron) Test# #1 Amsoil Series 2000 5-10 micron  5-50 micron 10 #2 Hi-Tec HTO 15-20 micron 10-60 micron 9 #3 BP Visco 5000 15-20 micron 15-60 micron 4 #4 Shell Helix Ultra 15-25 micron 15-60 micron 8 #5 Shell Helix Plus 10-20 micron 15-50 Micron 1 #6 Mobil 1 5W-50 20-25 micron 15-60 micron 3 #7 Mobil 1 OW-40 15-20 micron 15-50 micron 11 #8 Castrol R 20-30 micron 15-100 Micron 12 #9 Torco 15-20 micron 15-100 Micron 5 & 6 #10 Royal Purple 15-20 micron 15-100 Micron 7 #11 Castrol SLX 20-25 micron 15-100 Micron 2

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Horsepower

FFR averaged three runs per oil, noting power figures at 500 rpm increments between 3000 and 5000 rpm and noting peak power and torque. While the engine FFR used for testing was a large tolerance engine for which a 20W-50 grade oil is ideal, some of the oil manufacturers supplied 0W-30 grade oils for testing. The low grade viscosity oils delivered somewhat greater horsepower than the high grade oils did, but as FFR notes, "around 4000 rpm the power produced is very similar across the range and it's only really the top end where there are substantial differences. That said, the AMSOIL [20W-50], Castrol R [10W-60] and Mobil 5W-50 prove themselves very well." 

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They Say Nothing Outperforms Mobil 1?  Wrong! AMSOIL INC. set out to examine the specifics of the overly broad "Nothing Outperforms..." Mobil claim. AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil (ASL) and  Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil were analyzed in five key bench tests measuring motor oil performance: NOACK volatility, flash/fire point, pour point, four ball  wear and total base number (TBN). As shown in the charts below, AMSOIL  outperformed Mobil 1 in all five areas.

NOACK Volatility
The NOACK Volatility Test determines the evaporation loss of lubricants in high-temperature service. The more motor oils vaporize, the thicker and heavier they become, contributing to poor circulation, reduced fuel economy, increased oil consumption and excessive wear and emissions. A maximum of 15 percent evaporation loss is allowable to meet the API SL and ILSAC GF-3 specifications. As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil lost an extremely low 4.9 percent of its original weight during high-temperature service, maintaining its superior protective and performance qualities,while Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil lost 9.17 percent of its original weight.

Four Ball Wear
The Four Ball Wear Test determines the wear protection properties of a lubricant by measuring the wear scars produced by four metal balls in sliding contact under the test parameters. The smaller the average wear scar, the better the wear protection provided by the lubricant. As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil completed the Four Ball Wear Test producing a smaller wear scar than the Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil.

Flash/Fire Point
The Flash/Fire Point Test determines the lowest temperatures at which application of a flame will cause lubricant vapors to ignite (flash point) and sustain burning for five seconds (fire point). Lubricants with higher flash and fire points exhibit more stable volatility characteristics and are safer to use and transport. As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil has higher flash and fire points than does Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil.

Pour Point
The Pour Point Test determines the lowest temperature at which a lubricant flows.The lower a lubricant's pour point,the better protection it provides in low-temperature service.As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil has a lower pour point than Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil.

Total Base Number
Total Base Number (TBN) is the measurement of a lubricant's reserve alkalinity. The higher a motor oil's TBN, the more effective it is in handling contaminants and reducing the corrosive effects of acids for an extended period of time. As shown in the graph, AMSOIL 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil has a higher TBN than Mobil 1 SuperSyn 5W-30 Motor Oil.

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