Exxon Elite Oil Test Advertisement

[TheLoneRanger]

Hi guys. This refers to an ad on page 55 of the May "AOPA Pilot". It pictures 3 cam followers with progressively more wear, using 3 different oils, with Exxon Elite showing the best results. The text says that the Exxon oil performs better because of it's special anti-wear/anti-scuffing additive.....dosen't mention the additive name.

The 'very' fine print says that the test results were based on a "MIRA" test rig, cam rpm 1250 (engine rpm 2500), oil temp 240*F, and spring load 195# - increased to 50% overload after 80 hours. Total test 300 hours, but was stopped early on the two inferior oils because of "severe surface damage".

Is this a severe test, or what? I'm not saying the test was rigged, but I'll bet in the real world with normal oil temps, spring pressure, and drain intervals, all three oils would perform equally well. Comments.......

 

[GeorgeCLS]

I work with several fleets (100+ aircraft with both Continental and Lycoming engines) that have switched from Aeroshell 15W-50 and 50W and they have all experienced:
1. Less oil consumption
2. Absolutely no premature failures of any type.
3. All engines making TBO
4. Engine teardowns have revealed exceptionally clean intermals.
5. Some engines that had previously notorious camshaft/rocker wear problems had no indications of accelerated wear..
6. Previous corrosion problems were eliminated.
Bottom line: the fleets have now accumulated well over 30,000 hours on Exxon Elite and are very, very pleased with its performance. It has replaced 4 different oils for one operator and has reduced consumption on the order of 25% for the fleet, which is a significant amount when one considers 88 twin engined aircraft.
George

 

[cheetahdriver]

as one other datapoint, i used exxon elite for about 150 hours in an O320. at that point, my oil consumption had gone from 1qt every 15hrs to 1 every 5. i got uncomfortable, hearing of problems with glazing of cylinders on HC engines, so i shifted back to aeroshell 100 plus. oil consumption went back down. i am now in the process of converting the cheetah to an IO360 which will dine on aeroshell 15-50 in the winter and 100plus in the summer. i still have a case+1 of exxon elite if anyone wants some.

on a related note. blackstone labs has up a statement on their website that with their database of engine/oil combinations, they have found the following:

""Many people have very strong loyalties to certain brands of oil. They'll swear by their favorite brand and assure you that anything else is bound to ruin your engine. But we're here to dispel that myth. After nearly 20 years of testing oils from gasoline and diesel engines, aircraft engines, and industrial machines, we have discovered an interesting fact: it doesn't really matter what brand of oil you use.
But wait! Before you dismiss us as heretical, listen to what we do recommend. We always suggest using an oil grade recommended for your engine by the manufacturer and a brand that fits your budget. The grade of oil is much more important to performance than the brand of oil.
We performed an in-house test, comparing the wear produced by Lycoming IO-360 engines on three major brands of aircraft oils. We wondered if one brand of oil would produce significantly more or less wear in an engine than another. What we found was, the range of metals produced by the oils differed by only 4 ppm. How significant is that? You could have 4 ppm of a metal in your eye and not even know it.""

i think that this means that most aviation oils are so close to the same as to be identical in performance. it is obvious that elite is using more EP additive than the others. is that good? only if it doesn't cause problems with the rest of the package. while i am an early adopter, i also am not one to walk out on a limb that is vibrating. i still have the case+1 for sale.

[ April 28, 2003, 09:45 AM: Message edited by: cheetahdriver ]

 

[TheLoneRanger]

There's no question that Exxon Elite is an excellent oil. I have used Exxon/Mobil products and they perform very well.

It's the advertising that I thought was exaggerated. Being a reader of BITOG

, I tend to read oil ads completely, rather than just take them at face value.

What I questioned were the facts that this was not a "real world" test (as the picture seems to imply), and the valve spring load was increased 50% (which would seem to give the advantage to the oil with the most ZDDP and MoTDC).

I know, that's how advertising works.

George, I trust your "real world" results much more than what the ad tried to depict. Maybe you should write up some copy for Exxon.......

 

[Jimbo]

The lawyers must have scrubbed the ad copy a little. It is interesting that they compare Philips 66 20/50 and Aeroshell 15/50 with Aviation Elite without naming the competition, but most everone knows who they are talking about.

I just stopped at the local pilot shop to see what is in the Lycoming oil additive ($18.95 for a 6 ounce bottle). It says triphenol phosphate on the label. Aeroshell W100PLUS claims to contain the Lycoming additive. I wonder how the 100PLUS would do in the same test? That seems to be the favorite oil by far around here, not any of the multigrades. Since a am a renter, I use oil provided by the FBOs. My home airport is LGB, mostly warm temperatures all year.

It would not surprise me that straight SAE 50 would have lower oil consumption compared to multigrade. The question is which one protects the engine better? In other words, which is more economical in the long run?

 

[cheetahdriver]

loneranger, that was part of what i was trying to convey, that the exxon/mobil was rigging the test to favor the oil with the most anti-scuff/EP. the other thing is that aviation oils do not use ZDDP or MoTDP.

Aircraft oil does contain a detergent, called by a more technical term, an Ashless Dispersant (AD oil). It is a succinimide. Aeroshell 15W50 also contains triphenyl phosphate as an extreme pressure (EP) anti- scuffing additive. it used to be Tricresyl Phosphate, but they changed when the later was discovered to be a neurotoxin (among other things). zinc of any form in an aircraft engine is a good way to initiate RSI (Runaway Surface Ignition), which will cause the pistons to liquify and run out the exhaust.

while i swear by mobil 1, new oils (mobil included) have not had much sucess in aviation. i was convinced enough by exxon's ads, and aviation consumer's admittedly faulty testing to switch to elite. it was my own experience with elite that caused me to switch back.

still have a case for sale.

[ April 28, 2003, 10:22 PM: Message edited by: cheetahdriver ]

 

[cessnaguy]

Can anyone here advise me as to how I can buy cases of Exxon oil in Canada at the lowest price?