Originally Posted By: Garak
I don't look at it that way at all. "Fully formulated" to me means that the oil has been mixed with an objective (and specifications) in mind, while also noting that there is more than one way to skin a cat. I freely admit that I don't know enough to want to tinker with moly levels, but I do know that there are different kinds of moly (not to mention other friction modifiers), so I don't fret over how many PPM of moly appears in a VOA or UOA.
If I say "your product is snake oil but my product is 'fully formulated', do you know any more about the products? Well, other than I like my product and dislike yours? It's just a form of name calling - nothing more. And, it provides no useful information about the products.
Go to the
PQIA synthetic oil analysis sheet. All of these oils are "fully formulated", right? But, if you look carefully, you'll note that more than a few of these oils have a healthy dose of phosphorous and zinc, but not much else. Are they 'fully formulated'? Or, were they tossed together on a Friday, just to get a product out the door?
Look further: some of the phosphorous/zinc formulations also include Molybdenum - usually in the 80ppm range. Are these 'fully formulated'? If they are fully formulated, then what about the phosphorous/zinc formulations which lack molybdenum? Maybe the tribologist at this company forgot to take a class on molybdenum?
Still not convinced? Take a look at the oil bottle labels. Lucas Synthetic 5w-30 proclaims "America's Finest Motor Oil". That's good to know.
Many of the brands say "Full Synthetic" or "Fully Synthetic" - but that is almost certainly false, at least in the sense that the German Castrol folks use that term. Maybe "Full Synthetic" or "Fully Synthetic" are just marketing terms which really mean very little.
Quaker State proclaims "Ultimate Durability". That's good to know. This claim is from a company that controls about 65% of the additives market, including such fine products as Slick 50.
As I asked in an earlier post, what is in Bestline Engine Treatment? That would be useful information. As for "formulated engine oil", that could mean just about anything, or more likely means nothing. It's just an advertising claim that has graduated from college.
--
Can't think of anything that would improve Quaker State? Why don't you ask the Quaker State folks? They have more additive products available than Carter has peanuts. You should trust them!