Rico
Talks Miatas
Oil
Additives-----Boon or Bust
Just about a year
ago, a Federal Judge handed down a restraining order to the Quaker State
Oil Company to stop "misleading" advertising of their product "Slick
50". During the proceedings, Quaker State could provide no evidence that
"Slick 50" provided any more engine protection, gas mileage improvement,
or just about any of the claims they made for the product than high
quality engine oil all by itself.
Teflon (PTFE) has been an enigma since the first day it was accidentally
discovered at the bottom of a fluorine tank after an experiment to try
and produce something completely different. The scientists at E. I. Du
Pont had a remarkable answer; now the product just needed a question for
it to fill. Early on it was discovered that Teflon had the second lowest
co-efficient of friction known to man. The first being ice, sliding
against ice. It was also inert. Nothing would chemically mix with it,
nor could it be chemically mixed with anything else. As a protective
coating it resists acids, salt, and corrosives of all sorts. But the
real big thing was that if you took a block of it and let it rub against
a metallic object, it would coat the object with Teflon, and not "spall"
or groove the mother material, as would other bearing surfaces. You then
had Teflon on the journal, rubbing on Teflon on the bearing surface.
A very desirable situation.
Unfortunately not a perfect one.
Teflon in its pure form is a very low density (soft) plastic. Under
conditions of high pressure and velocity, Teflon will cold extrude out
of place like toothpaste from a tube. Subsequent experiments with
fillers, and stainless steel backing plates have produced bearings that
have more quality in operating in a harsh environment (Like acids, salt
water, and the vacuum of space) than in the arena of high speeds, and
heavy loads.
Then somebody got the bright idea of mixing Teflon particles with motor
oil so that all the internal moving parts could get a coating of Teflon.
Unfortunately the transference of Teflon onto bearing surfaces does not
work that way. It just sounded like such a good idea that people kept
plunking down the $15 to S20 a quart for something that the best can be
said for it is that it won't harm your engine.
During the 1970's ARCO (Atlantic-Richfield) came out with a
graphite-impregnated oil. Graphite coated bearings have been a staple
for industrial use for decades. Unfortunately graphite suspended in oil
does no more good in an internal combustion engine than the addition of
Teflon. Graphite oil did however make the checking of your oil level a
snap. Being a solid black in color, the level on the dipstick stood out
very well.
Then there are those oil additives, which tout molybdenum disulfide as
an ingredient. Molybdenem is an element added to steel to make it
harder. Which means some of your internal engine components can get much
harder than the factory specifications, and lose what is called
ductility. Ductility means the ability to bend. Get a part too hard, and
instead of bending it breaks.
Then there is the sulfur in the disulfide part (S2O4). Add water from
condensation (H20), and heat from the engine to the sulfur available in
the sulfides, and presto, you have H2SO4.
Sulfuric acid.
