What additives could remain undetected by V/UOA

[wemay]

We know what SOPUS uses to some extent and those ingredients are much beloved I.e., Boron and Moly. Other oils have add packs that don't show any of the 'good stuff' like VWB, MS5K, SynPower etc. Yet, these are great oils that have proven themselves. What additives could remain hidden that are known or rumored to be used in the industry?

 

[Rand]

those dont show very much at all about the formulation.

There are a large amount of unknowns.

esters being an important piece.

 

[Clevy]

I'm not 100% sure however I've read many times that organic adds are not detectable which makes sense because of how a shamble is analyzed by burning it.

 

[wemay]

Do we know/suspect what organic additives?

 

[Shannow]

VOA/UOA will tell you percentages of elements in an oil, but not how they are assembled...take moly and sulfur...they will be measured, but you have no idea whether they are MoS2, or any of the holy grail moly products that are inferred to be the basis of the super oils.

Get past what it doesn't tell you with what it tells you, and as Clevy said, the rest of the oil, the majority in fact, is nowhere in a VOA.

The big GC test programme from a few years shows how expensive it can be just to chase a few of the organic bases/additives.

 

[JAG]

Ashless versions of: dispersants, antioxidants, antifoam additives, metal deactivators, friction modifiers, viscosity index improvers, pour point depressants, seal swell agents; also the almost always ashless: base oils, performance-enhancing fluids (oils used in low dosages that improve the product), and probably others. MolaKule has good posts on this subject.

 

[MolaKule]

Three of the ashless (non-metallic) additives to be introduced early on were the sulferized minerals oils, the VIIs, the GMO friction modifiers, and the succinimide dispersants, in that approximate order.