Unusual Engine Performance Testing Pits Passenger Oil Formula against Premium Racing Formula

Implications for your Engine: Piston Rings

(SEE PICTURES BELOW)

  Both engines placed under heavy loads for the tests.

  Removal of the Piston rings in Engine A showed the engine still had the original manufacturer’s marks on them. In other words, metallic scoring and wear not showing to any real degree despite what would normally have been expected for such trials and loads.

  No blow-by developed in Engine A (Enginall formula).

  Severe Blow-by DID develop in Engine B (premium racing motor oil formula).

  Engine A sustained good lubrication protection. Viscosity maintained throughout the tests in Engine A only. Engine B viscosity thinned, lacking the sustained capacity for metal to metal contact protection in various moving parts of the engine.

Piston Rings
What happened:	Upon removal of the piston rings, we noticed that all the piston rings in engine A still had the manufacturing marks on them.
Why did it happen:	The motor oil provided superior protection to this part of the engine.
Why is this important:	Too large of a gap between the piston ring and the cylinder wall allows combustion gasses and unburned fuel to flow down the cylinder wall and into the oil (blow-by). Over time this dilutes the motor oil and decreases its ability to lubricate.
Vehicle application:	For a motor oil to perform as it is formulated, it is important that it maintains its viscosity. If the motor becomes too thin, it will not provide the necessary boundary lubrication and the result is metal to metal contact in various moving parts of an engine.