Amsoil Motor Oils are World Class
European
motor oils are widely recognized as among the highest quality in the
world. In Europe, vehicles and engines tend to be significantly smaller
than their American counterparts, thus demanding superior lubricants that
keep heat, friction and wear to a minimum. Tighter environmental standards
overseas further justify Europe’s need for high-quality engine
lubricants that decrease emissions, increase fuel economy and promote
longer drain intervals (European motor oil companies and automobile
manufacturers typically recommend drain intervals between 12,000 and
18,000 miles). While most American motor oils don’t meet the higher
standards of European oils, AMSOIL INC. has over 30 years experience
manufacturing synthetic motor oils that deliver superior wear protection,
longer drain capabilities, and improved fuel economy. AMSOIL Motor Oils
meet or exceed the toughest worldwide standards and are truly “world
class oils.”
AMSOIL
INC. was the first U.S. oil manufacturer to make synthetic motor oils for
automotive applications, the first in the U.S. to utilize the NOACK
volatility test as a standard of performance, the originator of extended
drain intervals in the U.S. market, and the first to make legitimate claim
to making lubricants that actually improve fuel economy. In many respects,
AMSOIL INC. set the standards by which motor oils are measured in the U.S.
American
Motor Oil Specifications
So,
just how are motor oil standards set in America, and how do AMSOIL Motor
Oils compare? In order to establish an efficient and organized way to
introduce newly upgraded engine oil specifications to the marketplace, the
American Petroleum Institute (API) established the Engine Oil Licensing
and Certification System in 1993. Under the system, it is up to the
Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) to indicate a need for a new oil,
while the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) establishes
the tests and testing limits and API administers licensing and auditing.
The first “Gasoline-Fueled” standard, GF-1, was introduced in late
1993. Two years later, with tighter performance requirements, GF-2 was
approved. Most recently, an SAE Task Force chaired by Toyota’s John
Shipinski stated in May 1997 that “a new gasoline engine oil performance
category was needed” and identified improved fuel economy, improved
emissions systems protection and “general oil performance improvement”
as the most pressing needs for the next category of motor oils. After
several delays, GF-3 was finally approved in late 2001 and has quickly
translated into API SL motor oils.
Fuel
Economy
One
of the major successes of GF-3 is the improved fuel economy standards.
According to General Motors’ Mike McMillan, “We now have retained fuel
economy up to 4,000 miles, a major improvement. There were no limits like
that in GF-2 and some of those oils lost all of their fuel economy
improvement as they aged. You can throw a number out, but my estimate is
that we’veimproved fuel economy somewhere between one half and a full
percent over GF-2.” Fuel economy limits for GF-3 oils are measured by
the Sequence VIB engine test, with different standards for different
viscosity grades:
•
0W-20 and 5W-20 oil grades must demonstrate a 2 percent fuel economy
improvement after 16 hours of testing and a 1.7 percent improvement after
96 hours when compared with a reference oil.
•
0W-30 and 5W-30 oil grades must demonstrate a 1.7 percent fuel economy
improvement after 16 hours of testing and a 1.3 percent improvement after
96 hours when compared with a reference oil, and the sum of the two must
be at least 3 percent.
•
For all other viscosity grades, the limits and minimums are 0.09 percent,
0.06 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.
AMSOIL
Synthetic Motor Oils are already far ahead of the curve when it comes to
fuel economy. When compared with conventional automotive lubricants,
AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils have been shown to yield significant increases
in fuel economy. Petroleum lubricants are composed of irregular molecules
of various sizes, making them susceptible to volatility and creating
excess friction. The vehicle’s engine has to burn extra fuel to overcome
this friction, decreasing fuel economy. AMSOIL synthetic lubricants
contain only smooth, uniform molecules, which reduces hydrodynamic
friction, and they are highly resistant to oil volatility, which maintains
viscosity and further reduces friction to allow more fuel to be used for
the task of propelling the vehicle, improving fuel economy. Industry tests
demonstrate that an average passenger car can conservatively decrease its
fuel consumption by 2 to 5 percent by switching to synthetic lubricants,
while independent AMSOIL testing shows that trucks can decrease fuel
consumption by 8.2 percent.
Oxidative
Stability
Tied
in with fuel economy improvement is improved oxidative stability. Although
improved oxidative stability wasn’t identified as a specific goal for
GF-3, it was an area that needed to be addressed in order to achieve
improved fuel economy over the life of the oil. AMSOIL Synthetic Motor
Oils resist oxidation longer than petroleum motor oils, maintaining their
cooling and lubricating effectiveness far longer than conventional motor
oils, while keeping the engine clean and maintaining efficient fuel
consumption.
Volatility
The
volatility properties of GF-3 oils are improved, lowering oil consumption,
extending oil life, easing stress on catalytic converters and improving
fuel economy. AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils keep oil consumption at an
absolute minimum. Where conventional motor oils can lose up to 15 percent
of their original weight in high-temperature conditions, which thickens
the oil and contributes to poor circulation, reduced fuel economy,
excessive emissions and engine wear, AMSOIL Motor Oils effectively resist
vaporization. In fact, AMSOIL Motor Oils easily surpass rigorous European
volatility standards, set at 13 percent weight loss. According to AMSOIL
Laboratory Director Dave Leitten, “I expect volatility requirements to
become increasingly tighter with each new performance category. AMSOIL is
well ahead of the game in this area.”
Emissions
System Protection
An
initial goal for GF-3 was to reduce phosphorus levels in engine oils. The
primary source of phosphorus in engine oils is in antiwear additives
called ZDDP’s. Although these additives are extremely effective in wear
reduction, some manufacturers believe phosphorus contaminants are harmful
to vehicles’ catalytic converters. However, since there is not total
agreement in the automotive and lubrication industries on this belief, and
since automakers weren’t comfortable reducing the level of ZDDP in
engine oils and sacrificing wear protection, the goal was put on hold for
the upcoming GF-4 agenda. GF-3 does, however, still offer improved
emissions system protection through improved oil consumption
specifications. The less a motor oil vaporizes, the less phosphorus
contaminants end up in the exhaust. Motor oils that demonstrate low
volatility present less risk to catalytic converters, despite their
phosphorus levels. Because AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils keep oil
consumption to an absolute minimum, potentially damaging phosphorus
contaminants are not an issue. AMSOIL Motor Oils offer the ultimate in
both wear protection and emissions system protection, period.
High-Temperature
Deposits
GF-3
addresses high-temperature deposits using the IIIF and TEOST tests, but
the level of improvement is debatable. “We made substantial improvement
in addressing high-temperature deposits using the IIIF and TEOST tests,”
says Mike McMillan of General Motors. “Our reference oil tests show
that.” However, according to Pete Misangyi of Ford, “We didn’t get
enough in deposit control. Antioxidant or long-life aspects could have
been done better. The category could have been more robust from the engine
oil life side. We’ve got improved base stocks and the category ought to
have taken better advantage of that.” The synthetic formulation of
AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils so effectively resists oxidation, they
naturally run cleaner than conventional petroleum motor oils. “At AMSOIL,
we use only the finest detergent/dispersant additives during the blending
process, and this effectively keeps deposits under control for extended
drain intervals,” said Leitten.
Low-Temperature Pumpability
GF-3 improvements in the area of low-temperature
pumpability were minimal. “The viscometric properties of motor oils at
low temperatures can and do change very fast,” says Dennis Florkowski of
DaimlerChrysler. “I think it’s reasonable to expect [aging] oil to
retain its pumpability characteristics throughout the entire drain
interval. We owe this to our customers. We were not successful with this
in GF-3.” Conventional lubricants contain parafins, or waxes, that
thicken and inhibit flow in cold weather conditions. In fact, conventional
motor oils may leave critical working parts unprotected for five full
minutes after startup. Synthetic motor oils do not contain parafins, and
they remain fluid in low temperatures. AMSOIL Synthetic Motor Oils exhibit
outstanding low-temperature pumpability throughout extended drain
intervals, permitting easy engine cranking in the most frigid conditions
for quick starts and immediate post-startup protection.
Coming
Soon: GF-4
Although
GF-3 standards are not even a year old, work has begun on the next engine
oil standard, GF-4, and the auto industry would like to see it implemented
by spring 2004. The list of priorities for GF-4 include even tighter fuel
economy specifications, emissions system protection, improved wear
protection, reduced phosphorus levels, used-oil pumpability and extended
drain intervals. While some engine oil manufacturers have struggled to
meet GF-3 specifications and look forward to the new standard with worry
and uneasiness, AMSOIL Dealers can rest easy knowing that AMSOIL Motor
Oils are world-class products blended to meet the toughest worldwide
specifications.