Any info on the Elf oils?

[ikeepmychevytoo]

In the last years engine never felt so fluent as with Elf's Evolution 5w 30. I had bought it as what was avaible and not overpriced in the shop. So after the drain at 10K kms I searched what I actually did. Well, it is thinner than the Mobil, claims %6 average (up to %9.3) fuel economy. Has high flash point and 11+ TBN with the similar price of non-syth. Mobil 5w 30s. There's litlle info beyond this on the net, the base oils, if it is synthetic, the additives, shared attributes with other brands etc.

here are the blender's specs...

Elf Evolution SXR 5w 30
ACEA-2004 A5/B5, API SL/CF

density @15°C............857 kg/m^3.........(ASTM D1298)
viscosity @40°C..........56.1 mm^2/sn.....(ASTM D445)
viscosity @100°C........9.85 mm^2/sn.....(ASTM 445)
viscosity index...........163.......................(ASTM D2270)
pour point..................-45°C (-49°F).......(ASTM D97)
flash point..................236°C (456.8°F)...(ASTM D92)
T.B.N..........................11.5 mgKOH/g.....(ASTM D2296)

http://www.lubricants.elf.com/lub/content/NT00051FAE.pdf


Just wanted to bring this French take on fuel economy oil to the bitogers' attention.

 

[Drivebelt]

You can check the base oil by looking up the MSDS (material safety data sheet) … (under Quick Links tab) … just go to the Total Lubrifiants site … and search for Solaris, Evolution ..etc …

Elf …

The MSDS will indicate whether the base oil is PAO (polyalfaolefins) or …"Petroleum-derived severely refined mineral-base product Content in PAH according to IP 346 method < 3%…" which means Group III. I think a couple of their oils may be a mix of PAO/Group III.

 

[ikeepmychevytoo]

many thanks Drivebelt! MSDSes also give a rough idea for comparing ZDDP and Calcium levels.

 

[Tornado Red]

Elf (Total) and other Euro oils are pretty easy to figure out. "Synthetic" means full synthetic, PAO or better. "Synthetic technology" or "semi-synthetic" means Group III.

 

[ikeepmychevytoo]

hmm... may be this oil falls within the Mobil's FE lines... In their site they label something as Inter Molecular Friction technology, but their explanation is usual marketing as spending three paragraphs without anything substantial.

In MSDS, ZDDP is marked as <3%. While how less from 3% is still a question, isn't this very high? Other varieties of ELf specs <1.6%. It is a SL oil, with high Zinc this looks like a Mobil? IMF "technology" is still a curiosity.

 

[MI_Roger]

ELF branded oils will be soon be replaced by TOTAL branded oils, TOTAL Quartz Energy branded oils to be specific.

The full synthetic will be labeled as TOTAL Quartz Energy 9000, whereas the semi-synthetics will carry the 7000 identifier.

It also appears this change will improve ELF's Excellium 5W/40 NF from a Group III to a Group IV when labeled as TOTAL, from comparing the two MSDS forms. But maybe this improvement happened earlier when the LDX moniker was dropped for the NF, indicating New Formula.

All this info is from the ELF-Canada site. The brand label change was initiated on Nov 1, 2007 so it will take a while for the ELF bottles to disappear from dealer's shelves.

 

[7TFord]

Have also been using the SXR 5/30 for awhile now and was suprised to learn that it was not "100%" non mineral. According to the site the new Total superceeded Quartz Future 9000 isn't either!

http://www.elfcanada.ca/File/E220(1).pdf

 

[cosynthetics]

Yep, ELF will no longer be. It will now be Total. You can find a bit of information about their oil on TDI sites. It's a favorite of VW owners.