Lubes N Greases: The Science of Interchange and Read-Across
This new article contains some great information about the challenges of both base oil interchange and viscosity grade read across. For BITOGer's who are interested in some of the complications that formulators go through when certifying different kinds of products and technologies. These rules are also the basis for the single technology matrix techniques that allow formulators to use the same additives to certify multiple grades and base oils without repeating a lot of engine testing. Some changes can be predictably adjusted with bench testing, however for some just isn't possible to make large swings without repeating engine testing which can costs in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The author also brings up the difficulty we see between differentiating the performance of Group II+ and Group III base oils or Group III+ and Group IV base oils. In many cases the performance can be similar and the BOI/VGRA rules may need to be rewritten to take this into account.
I foresee the day when less attention is payed to whether an engine oil is synthetic or not and more focus is put on the fuel economy enabling abilities, protective chemistries and renewable/sustainable content.
So instead of synthetic vs conventional or thick vs thin the BITOG community will have to find something else to argue about...
This new article contains some great information about the challenges of both base oil interchange and viscosity grade read across. For BITOGer's who are interested in some of the complications that formulators go through when certifying different kinds of products and technologies. These rules are also the basis for the single technology matrix techniques that allow formulators to use the same additives to certify multiple grades and base oils without repeating a lot of engine testing. Some changes can be predictably adjusted with bench testing, however for some just isn't possible to make large swings without repeating engine testing which can costs in the high hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The author also brings up the difficulty we see between differentiating the performance of Group II+ and Group III base oils or Group III+ and Group IV base oils. In many cases the performance can be similar and the BOI/VGRA rules may need to be rewritten to take this into account.
I foresee the day when less attention is payed to whether an engine oil is synthetic or not and more focus is put on the fuel economy enabling abilities, protective chemistries and renewable/sustainable content.
So instead of synthetic vs conventional or thick vs thin the BITOG community will have to find something else to argue about...