F1 Engine Oil Better as of 2011 -- Anybody Know?

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Originally Posted By: sprocketser
This might interest you mate : http://www.crash.net/f1/feature/199831/1/fluid-technology-solutions-for-f1.html


Racing tech! "The smaller Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and increased power per litre mean that the new engine runs hotter. Oil thins at higher temperatures and thus a hotter engine needs a thicker oil to stop metal components from rubbing together and failing.

However, the hotter conditions and reduced quantity of oil in the ICE (reduced from almost seven litres for the V8 to fewer than three litres for the V6) also mean that the oil must contribute more to cooling the engine. This requires thinner, faster flowing oil.

Additionally, the regulation changes restrict the quantity of fuel that can be consumed per race to 100 kg, which means that the oil needs to help conserve energy by minimising friction. Again, this requires thinner oil.

In order to meet these complex and contradicting requirements, the new engine oil for the 2014 car is a precisely balanced mixture of advanced, thinner synthetic base oils to help cooling and polymer viscosity boosters (which kick-in at higher temperatures) to thicken the oil. Friction-reducing oil components, which make it easier for metal surfaces to slide past each other, have also been used to improve overall fuel economy.

Another consideration is that the higher temperatures also make it more likely that the oil itself will stop working properly. High performance additives have been included to stop the oil from breaking down under these extreme conditions.

Energy losses in the gearbox can also have a significant impact on fuel economy. To address this, Petronas technologists have also produced precision gearbox lubricants for the 2014 car to ensure that energy losses in the transmission are kept to a minimum, whilst making sure that the gearbox is protected from failure.
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Thinner oils with lots of VI. The "Friction-reducing oil components" part is mysterious. Petronas and Mobil battle it out.
 
I decide that I'd to stop reading the magazine article in this part:

Nissan chose ester hydroxyls, part of the alcohol family, probably because the properties of esters in motor oil are well understood as esters have been used as friction modifiers in motor oil for decades. Nissan chose [/B]an ester called PAO; an ester often found as a friction modifier in oil[/B]. By adding PAO so it would be around 10-15% of the oil, when combined with the hydrogen free DLC coating, Nissan created oil that would be attracted to the cam follower on a molecular level.

[censored]? Embromation? GTFOH
 
Rosetta, you mean the article on Nissan Ester oil offered thru dealerships for Nissan engines with the DLC coatings. Its probably not what F1 racing is using, although it uses very small nano diamonds to interact with the ester/DLC interface, which seems advanced.
 
With the advant of turbo this year and insanelly long durability of race engine need .all team probably needed new lubricant this year .even more so if their oil is in the 5 or 10 viscosity.i suspect they heavily use graphene.
 
Just a comment on the magazine articles, a lot of those are based off of information provided from whatever company the article is written about. They can put pretty much whatever they want in there and most people will believe it and move on.

I remember maybe 10 or so years ago when the FIA said that an engine had to last a whole race weekend. There were shockwaves through the garage area and people ran around like the sky was falling saying an engine couldn't last more than 400 miles. Ferrari and BMW were crying because they couldn't use their Q engines. The same thing happened in NASCAR, no way could an engine last a whole weekend. Not only have lubricants advanced, but the engines and manufacturing and machining process have improved to the point that they make more power and are more reliable than ever.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Just a comment on the magazine articles, a lot of those are based off of information provided from whatever company the article is written about. They can put pretty much whatever they want in there and most people will believe it and move on.

I remember maybe 10 or so years ago when the FIA said that an engine had to last a whole race weekend. There were shockwaves through the garage area and people ran around like the sky was falling saying an engine couldn't last more than 400 miles. Ferrari and BMW were crying because they couldn't use their Q engines. The same thing happened in NASCAR, no way could an engine last a whole weekend. Not only have lubricants advanced, but the engines and manufacturing and machining process have improved to the point that they make more power and are more reliable than ever.


I wondered that too. How much of the recent big jump in reliability is because of coatings, metallurgy, better finite element analysis, etc.? Both F1 articles mentioned in this thread are giving the credit to oil. I guess they toss truth our way.

"Concentration ruins your Saturday nights."
- Sabe R. Toothtiger
 
Originally Posted By: yvon_la
With the advant of turbo this year and insanelly long durability of race engine need .all team probably needed new lubricant this year .even more so if their oil is in the 5 or 10 viscosity.i suspect they heavily use graphene.


Do you drive a truck for a graphite mining company (are there any graphite mines in the northland??)?
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Well Buckyballs from diamonds and coatings are ok, the problem was the confusion between Esters (from alcohol + acid or group V) and PAO (group IV). Errata on Basics ... That hurts!
 
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A while back, I read an article that stated Mercedes and Petronas were making 30-50 more horsepower in their fuel compared to their competitors. I see no reason why they wouldn't be spending money on improving the oil. I would assume they can "free up" power thru a better oil.
 
I like the Synthium 5000 5w30 (dexos1), even the group3 Synthium 3000 5w40. I tried in my bike last year when there was a promo like 12 bucks a quart in here (kindda half price). Pretty good oils from them.
 
The oil might be better, to get the dramatic gains in longevity out of the engines. I'd say coatings and metallurgy have as much to do with it. According to this Piston Pin Article says dragster and NASCAR engines get between 4 to 16 times the life due to DLC coatings on piston pins. Like the F1 article in the first post in this thread.
 
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