A Shootout of a different kind:
major oil brands go head-to-head on the dyno and in
the lab.
What do you know about oil in your car's engine?
From the ads, you're led to believe the most exotic
part of a Ferrari's engine is in the sump, "oils
aint oils", "you know what I mean",
one brand is the "world's most advanced"
and "the best protection you engine can get"
for every John, Dick and Barry.
The basic concept of oil is to provide a film of lubrication
between two surfaces, reducing friction, wear and
heat and ensuring an engine's long life span. But
the reality is that while all claim to be superior,
there are some that are better than others. We decided
to test most of the major brands to see how the well-known
brands, the ones most of us can readily buy, shape
up in a real-life engine test.
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| COME's in-house engine dynamemeter
was the venue for all our testing. |
TEST PROCEDURE
The idea behind the test was to run each oil through
a short yet grueling dynamometer session measuring
various parameters including horsepower, followed
by professional oil analysis.
Aiding our quest was COME Racing's Sam Blumenstein
who offered his hi-tech SuperFlow engine dynamometer.
Sam literally put all his time and equipment on the
line as he was extremely interested in seeing the
results. The engine was mildly-modified five-liter
V8 for tow main reasons: COME's dyno is designed to
quickly and easily accept this type of engine and
FF&R's sister publication, Performance Street
Car, would be running the same story.
Next in line was Bill Reid of Lubrication Management
who offered his oil analysis abilities - an intricate
operation requiring considerable expertise and equipment.
The benefit of oil analysis for the average consumer,
fleet owner or engine builder is the results will
indicate what engine internals are wearing, to what
extent they are wearing, how the oil affects wear,
if the oil is contaminated with fuel, general discolouration,
viscosity losses and more.
We also called upon Ryco, which kindly supplied us
with all the oil filters we needed for accurate testing.
We decided to only run high-quality synthetic oils
because not only do they represent a brand's top oil,
it's the oil most relevant to performance enthusiasts.
We would also establish a base line with a mineral
oil. Each oil would be subjected to three timed sessions
at high engine loads, between which would be three
full-power runs.
The intent was to establish a number of criteria.
First, whether any of the oils would improve horsepower,
whether any of the products would lose viscosity,
evaluate its ability (or lack thereof) to prematurely
wear components or suffer from discolouration. As
it turned out, discolouration didn't prove to be a
factor.
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| A neat technical tip is, when
possible, always fill new oil filters with oil
to prevent starvation on start-up, since oil travels
from teh sump, to the filter then the engine's
parts. we marked filters to eliminate any potential
confusion and the sump probe logged oil temperatures. |
To properly execute an oil analysis oils are run
in extreme conditions for at least 70 hours, but given
its complete impracticality, we hoped the much shorter
testing would provide at least measurable results.
We approached 10 oil suppliers/manufactures, informed
them of our intention, and all were reasonably keen
and eager to be involved, although Pennzoil didn't
want to commit and Penrite flat out said no - a little
strange given this company has actually advertised
with and for this market.
VISCOSITY
Viscosity is the measure of the resistance of a liquid
to flow. The thicker the oil, the higher the viscosity.
Lubricating oils are usually measured in SAE grades
ranging from 0 SAE for a very thin oil to an extremely
thick 140 SAE - a grade normally seen in slow-moving
industrial applications.
An oil's viscosity number relates to its cold and
hot temperature viscosities: a 0W-30 oil is very thin
when cold, and of average viscosity when hot, whereas
a 20W-50 oil is thick when cold and can cope better
with much higher temperatures.
A car engine requires oil capable of flowing at low
temperatures to lubricate internal moving parts on
start up, and it must retain enough film strength
(thickness) to protect surfaces as temperatures rise.
Generally, an old-tech engine like a push-rod V8 has
larger tolerances than a high-tech twin-cam four-cylinder,
so anything thinner than around SAE20 may provide
too-little protection for start-up.
With tighter-tolerance engines, a 0W-30, 10W-30 or
maybe a 10W-40 is more appropriate and a 20W-50 may
be too thick. Check the owner's manual for the recommended
oil viscosity for your car.
Strangely, although we specified exactly which type
of engine we were using, and that its recommended
rating is 20W-50, some companies sent us SAE viscosities
of 0W-30 or 0W-40!
VISCOSITY TEST
Note that being such a short test it was felt that
none of the oils would lose any of its viscosity rating,
and indeed six oils suffered an inconsequential loss
of less than one percent. However the following five
suffered significantly.
Under normal conditions, its suggested oil which loses
viscosity this quickly would be subject to significant
losses over 5000km. Indeed, one would be suspect of
the potential for increased wear over this period.
Interestingly, in stark contradiction, Hi-Tec actually
fared extremely well in the wear particle analysis,
where results of the other varied.
| Oil |
Product |
Viscosity Loss % |
Type |
Test# |
| Torco |
MPZ |
18% |
Synthetic |
#5 & 6 |
| Shell |
Helix Ultra |
14% |
Synthetic |
#8 |
| Shell |
Helix Plus |
12% |
Petroleum |
#1 |
| Hi-Tec |
HTO |
8% |
Synthetic |
#9 |
| Castrol |
R |
6% |
Synthetic |
#12 |
WEAR PROTECTION
The main function of oil is to lubricate an engine's
moving parts to prevent friction and wear. The oil
forms a thin film on, around and between parts which
work in close proximity. Metal to metal contact creates
tremendous heat and frictional forces and causes wear
in the form of minute particles of metal, which in
either captured and is suspended in the oil, or is
trapped in the filter.
A good quality motor oil contains anti-wear additives
to protect engines by bonding to metal surfaces and
forming a protective layer, for optimum performance
for a cold-start. This layer doesn't in fact prevent
the parts rubbing together, but minimizes the effects
of contact and produces similar and fewer wear particles.
Quality synthetic oil will contain the necessary additives
to provide the protection needed, generally concealing
the need for any aftermarket additives.
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The oil
filters are carefully opened with a specialised
tool which prevents metal pieces being cut off.
Then the oil is heated so any particles are suspended
rather than tsettled. A probe/magnet is then placed
in the oil to collect a sample, careful not to
touch the sides of the filter body. |
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WEAR METAL TEST
Indicates size and number of wear particle for each
oil. The higher the rating the greater number and
size of wear particles.
| Rating |
Oil |
Average particle size |
Overall (micron) |
Test# |
| #1 |
Amsoil Series |
5-10 micron |
5-50 micron |
10 |
| #2 |
Hi-Tec HTO |
15-20 micron |
10-60 micron |
9 |
| #3 |
BP Visco 5000 |
15-20 micron |
15-60 micron |
4 |
| #4 |
Shell Helix Ultra |
15-25 micron |
15-60 micron |
8 |
| #5 |
Shell Helix Plus |
10-20 micron |
15-50 micron |
1 |
| #6 |
Mobil 1 5W-50 |
20-25 micron |
15-60 micron |
3 |
| #7 |
Mobil 1 0W-40 |
15-20 micron |
15-50 micron |
11 |
| #8 |
Castrol R |
20-30 micron |
15-100 micron |
12 |
| #9 |
Torco |
15-20 micron |
15-100 micron |
5 & 6 |
| #10 |
Royal Purple |
15-20 micron |
15-100 micron |
7 |
| #11 |
Castrol SLX |
20-25 micron |
15-100 micron |
2 |
OIL PROPERTIES
The basic difference between a mineral and petroleum
based oil and a full synthetic oil is one is dragged
out of the ground while the other is man made. Mineral
oils are subject to the impurities associated with
petroleum based products, plus they don't have the
additives inherent in synthetics. Synthetics on the
other hand, by virtue of the fact they're man made,
can be equipped from the outset with any number of
additives to aid lubrication, reducing potential contamination,
slow viscosity losses and as such are generally seen
to be a vast improvement over mineral oil.
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The oil probe is then placed in
a solution to free it of all oil, leaving behind
just the raw wear particles. Once the magnet is
clean, a piece of cellophane tape is applied to
stick any metal particles for analysis either
on a contrasting background or under a microscope. |
TEST RESULTS
#1 SHELL HELIX PLUS 20W-50 MINERAL
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 255 271 300 291 268
HP 145 180 228 249 255
Maximum HP: 256.2 @ 4900rpm
Maximum Torque: 303.1 @ 3900rpm
Oil temp: 187F
Oil pressure: 44-54psi
Water temp: 188F |
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#2 CASTROL SLX 0W-30 SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 262 290 301 293 272
HP 149 193 229 251 259
Maximum HP: 263.7 @ 4900rpm
Maximum Torque: 314.2 @ 3750rpm
Oil temp: 175FOil pressure: 43-55psi
Water temp: 186F |
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#3 MOBIL 1 5W-50
SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 265 295 305 295 274
HP 155 197 232 252 261
Maximum HP: 261.3 @ 5000rpm
Maximum Torque: 318.1 @ 3700rpm
Oil temp: 197F
Oil pressure: 44-55psi
Water temp: 186F |
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#4 BP VISCO 5000 5W-40 SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 263 286 305 298 271
HP 150 190 232 255 258
Maximum HP: 260.7 @ 4900rpm
Maximum Torque: 317 @ 3960rpm
Oil temp: 194F
Oil pressure: 52psi
Water temp: 187F |
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#5 TORCO MPZ20w-50 SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 262 300 304 294 273
HP 150 200 232 252 260
Maximum HP: 260.3 @ 5000rpm
Maximum Torque: 313.9 @ 2700rpm
Oil temp: 200F
Oil pressure: 52psi
Water temp: 191F |
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#7 ROYAL PURPLE 21 SYNTHETIC
(no SAE
rating - analysis suggests around 0W-30)
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 265 307 304 301 279
HP 151 205 231 257 266
Maximum HP: 266.6 @ 5000rpm
Maximum Torque: 314.9 @ 3750rpm
Oil temp: 200F
Oil pressure: 52psi
Water temp: 190F |
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#8 SHELL HELIX ULTRA 15W-50 SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 274 300 301 299 273
HP 157 202 229 256 260
Maximum HP: 260.7 @ 5000rpm
Maximum Torque: 309.2 @ 3800rpm
Oil temp: 202F
Oil pressure: 54psi
Water temp: 190F |
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#9 HI-TECH HTO 10W-60 SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 259 294 306 294 275
HP 148 196 233 252 262
Maximum HP: 263.1 @ 4950rpm
Maximum Torque: 311.6 @ 3900rpm
Oil temp: 211F
Oil pressure: 55psi
Water temp: 188F |
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#10 AMSOIL 2000 20W-50 SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 262 297 305 296 274
HP 149 197 232 253 260
Maximum HP: 261.7 @ 4950rpm
Maximum Torque: 312.3 @ 3700rpm
Oil temp: 200F
Oil pressure: 52psi
Water temp: 190F |
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#11 MOBIL 1 0W-40
SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 268 311 304 300 283
HP 152 207 231 257 269
Maximum HP: 270.5 @ 4950rpm
Maximum Torque: 318.3 @ 3700rpm
Oil temp: 206F
Oil pressure: 52psi
Water temp: 190F |
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#12 CASTROL R 10W-60 SYNTHETIC
RPM 3000 3500 4000 4500 5000
Ft-lb 265 285 308 284 273
HP 151 190 235 151 260
Maximum HP: 265.2 @ 4800rpm
Maximum Torque: 316.5 @ 3700rpm
Oil temp: 195F
Oil pressure: 55psi
Water temp: 190F |
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Horsepower Comparison Chart
|
| RPM |
Shell Plus |
Castrol SLX
0-30 |
Mobil
5-50 |
BP Visco
5-40 |
Torco 20-50 |
Royal Purple |
Shell Ultra 15-50 |
Hi-Tec
10-60 |
Amsoil
20-50 |
Mobile
0-40 |
Castrol R
10-60 |
| |
|
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|
| 3000 |
145.8 |
149.4 |
155.6 |
150.3 |
150.1 |
151.5 |
157.4 |
148.4 |
149.4 |
152.8 |
151.4 |
| 3500 |
180.9 |
193.8 |
197.0 |
190.7 |
200.4 |
205.3 |
202.3 |
196.3 |
197.9 |
207.5 |
190.5 |
| 4000 |
228.5 |
229.6 |
232.7 |
232.9 |
232.0 |
231.9 |
229.7 |
233.5 |
232.5 |
231.6 |
235.2 |
| 4500 |
249.4 |
251.3 |
252.9 |
255.5 |
252.1 |
257.2 |
256.3 |
252.1 |
253.5 |
257.5 |
251.9 |
| 5000 |
255.7 |
259.6 |
261.3 |
258.2 |
260.0 |
266.6 |
260.7 |
262.0 |
260.8 |
269.8 |
260.7 |
| Max |
256.2 |
263.7 |
261.3 |
260.7 |
260.3 |
231.9 |
260.7 |
263.1 |
261.7 |
270.5 |
265.2 |
| @ |
4900 |
4900 |
5000 |
4900 |
5000 |
5000 |
5000 |
4950 |
4950 |
4950 |
4800 |
HORSEPOWER
During our dyno testing, COME did its best to ensure
all parameters such as barometric pressure, room temperature,
fule pressure and water tests. While we did monitor
oil temperature and pressure, we have only displayed
horsepower and torque, plus footnotes on temperature
and pressure. For each oil we averaged three runs
noting power figures at 500rpm increments from 3000-5000rpm,
and peak power and torque.
 Notes:
Before drawing any conclusions, three "most
powerful" oils, namely the Royal Purple,
Castrol SLX, and Mobil 0W-40 are all zero-based
viscosities, meaning naturally less friction.
Next in line are the 5W+ oils of Hi-Tech, Castrol
R, Mobil 1 5W-50 and BP Visco 5000 followed by
the only grade of oils actually recommended by
the manufacturer, Shell Torco, and AMSOIL. |
 Note
also around 4000rpm the power produced is very
similar across the range and it's only really
the top end where there are substantial differences.
That said, the AMSOIL, Castrol R, and Mobil 5W-50
prove themselves very well. |
PRICE
GUIDE (FIVE LITRES)
Shell Helix Plus $23.75
BP Visco 5000 $43.90(4L)
Mobil 1 5W-50 $44.95
Castrol R $49.75
Shell Helix Ultra $50.95
Hi-Tec HTO $55
Royal Purple 21 $65.00 (4L also 18 litre)
Torco MPZ $75
AMSOIL 2000 $87.50
Mobil 1 0W-40 $94.00 (4L)
Castrol SLX $50
Torco MPZ additive $34 (500ml)
CONCLUSION
There are many names, numbers, values and suggestions
throughout this article, and to an extent many of
the results show how even the oils are. The one point
proven is just how much better synthetic oil is over
a "mineral" or petroleum based product.
In the case of a pure performance or race engine where
power is priority and oil changes can be frequent,
the 0-30/40 oils such as the Mobil 0-40, Castrol R,
or Royal Purple would be best suited. However, for
regular street-driven engines, it would be better
to look at an oil with a good service interval.
An
overall analysis of the 11 oils suggests in any case,
see your owners manual for the recommended grade of
oil. Torco and AMOSIL supplied the "recommended"
oil for our testing, but added if it were an outright
horsepower shootout, they too would have supplied
a zero weight oil.
Although we've provided criteria to pick and choose
an oil, the stand-out to us appears to be the AMSOIL,
rating well in the viscosity and producing good horsepower.
In the 0 up to 40 weight category, it seems Mobil's
new 0W-40 produces terrific power, insignificant viscosity
loss and a middle-to-fair wear particles rating.
With the variety of grades, use this test as a guide
but always follow the manufacturer's recommendation.
But if we were to stick our neck out in anticipation
of the law suits, from the information we gathered
specific to the supplied oils in this test, we'd rate
the oils in the following order:
1. AMSOIL
2. BP Visco 5000
3&4. Both Mobil 1 (difference between price)
5. Hi-Tec HTO
6. Shell Helix Ultra
7. Royal Purple
8. Castrol R
9. Castrol SLX
10. Torco
Much thanks and free plug to:
COME Racing Engines (03) 9571-4204
Lubrication Management (03) 9794-0700
Ryco Filters
UNIGLIDE
In a separate test, we had been hounded for months
to perform tests on an oil additive called Uniglide.
But as the retailers say, Uniglide is referred to
as a "friction reducing concentrate" instead
of an additive. Still, the directions said to "add"
10-percent of the sump capacity of Uniglide which
will provide more power, reduced emissions, improved
fuel consumption and lower exhaust temperature.
We contacted C&V Performance in Sydney's Matraville
to conduct a chassis dyno test on a car before and
after Uniglide was added to the engine and gearbox.
The test subject was an 880cc Suzuki Hatch, figuring
its power would be minimal and being a carbureted
engine, reasonably "dirty".
With
a base run of 19Kw established, we also measured carbon
dioxide, hydrocarbon and oxygen exhaust emissions
and finally an exhaust manifold temperature reading,
which settled at 320C.
We added the Uniglide, gave it a few minutes to properly
run in (although this isn't required) and performed
the runs.
Not only did outright power improve to 22Kw, it showed
improvement across the rev range, signaling this engine
benefited greatly from reduced friction. In relative
terms, a high-tech, EFI, unleaded late-model engine
would probably show less relative improvement - but
in this case, power improved 15 percent.
However, the exhaust manifold terperature shot up
to over 400C - the upper limit of our temperature
gun. While carbon dioxide exhaust emission were reduced
slightly, hydrocarbons and oxygen actually rose slightly.
As for engine protection of fuel consumption, with
so many variables it would be difficult to accurately
measure either on a regularly-driven street car.
In this test on this carbureted, 150,000km old engine,
the Uniglide improved power remarkably.
Many thanks to:
C&V Performance & Prestige (02) 9700-1835
