Hi,
I don’t feel inclined to defend any lubricant and its performance - or its Producer. The market place does that very well – in true Capitalistic fashion!
The characteristics of M1 0W-40 however have been disputed here on BITOG ever since I have been a Member. The issue of “shearing” was continuously described in a negative way by an Amsoil Dealer of the time – Tooslick! This was a period when the ACEA’s specifications were basically unknown here on BITOG and they were dismissed by some as irrelevant and unnecessary – after all, API rules! Really?? So here we go again.....! Boring stuff!!!
Tooslick was challenged to show the negative results of the in field performance of M1 0W-040 and he was left wanting of course. It was made out that camshafts were being trashed, that shortened engine life was inevitable and that engines would generally “fail”. Really?
There were NO negative results from using this lubricant as directed by the engine Manufacturer or indeed the Oil Company itself at that time. Millions of expensive engines around the World now do many millions of miles annually on this lubricant with extremely good results – and no negative ones that I know of!
Some Euro engine Manufacturers have been using M1 0W-40 as a FF for around a decade. More manufacturers use it now than ever before – many many more for instance than in 2002! This lubricant is at the very top of the M1 “tree” and formulated by the Company with access to the very best of base fluids, ester and PAO structures!
One Euro engine Manufacturer has very distinct viscosity requirements over and above the ACEA baseline. This requirement is based on engine design needs and met via extended duration test protocols at both 100C and 150C. M1 0W-40 is their FF – the “GC” product was one of their Approved lubricants too but hasn’t been for over ten years!! Is there a story there? – believe it!!
As for shearing this is an interesting Post:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...rue#Post1399340
Some other Forums here on BITOG address the issue of shearing.
Articles and Papers from Molakule and others do make interesting reading on this subject. Of the in field performance results of a SAE30 or SAE40 lubricant used in modern engines I would always defer to one the lost a Grade rather the one that gained one!
Many Oil Companies and Blenders now market 0W-40 lubricants and some appear on some Euro engine Manufacturer’s Approval Lists. Some have been there for a decade or more too
The reality is that based on its Worldwide performance in the field in a variety of engine families from many Manufacturers, and in racing conditions, M1 0W-40 has proven to be an exceptional performer. It may just be one of the best engine lubricants ever made – at any price!
The Worldwide market place has proven the quality of the product – here on BITOG we can but surmise!
There is no magic lubricant and no “one size fits all” product either – IMO this is often forgotten
As for “simple” VOA and UOA Lab results, they are traditionally variable. Those from Oil Company Labs when testing their own products are certainly better. At a recent visit to Daimler AG in Unterturkheim, I was assured that they do their own VOAs on FF lubricants as a matter of course. Variances in supply quality do occur!
I do NOT work for any Oil Company and I use a variety of Shell, Castrol and Mobil products – all are used based on their performance over time! And of course by using UOAs too from Oil Company Labs!