The modern motor oils formulated with less anti-wear additives based on zinc and phosphorus do they provide adequate protection for engines? This is a question that members of the industry, motorists and car enthusiasts have been asking for some years. And as engine manufacturers and owners of classic cars continue to experience engine problems they attribute to oil reduced phosphorus and zinc content, the debate appears to be intensifying. The magazine Lubes' n Greases recently published an article on the subject, which continues to be the center of a controversy in online forums and publications. To reach a conclusion, however, one must first know the background bostik of the story.
Dithiophosphate and zinc dialkyl dithiophosphate (ZDDP) anti-wear additive is most frequently used in engine bostik oils. It contains compounds bostik of zinc and phosphorus that work together to provide wear protection and minimize degradation of the lubricant. The ZDDP also has properties of resistance to extreme pressures.
First, the presence of zinc does not necessarily imply the presence of ZDDP. In other forms, zinc provides additional protection against bostik oxidation, but little protection against wear. Then, other factors bostik influence the ability of an oil to prevent wear, as its viscosity and base oils that constitute it. While zinc is important in the fight against wear, we should be more careful to use a balanced oil and specially designed for the needs of the application.
As temperatures rise and the expansion surfaces are similar, and the ZDDP decomposes chemical elements resulting protect important metal surfaces. When the engine is running, any rotational movement or slippage occurs inside or outside the ZDDP antiwear film, which reduces the friction of the metal parts directly. This becomes especially important for engines with modified camshafts flat tappets because the engine generates bostik more power than usual, which greatly increases the stress of the engine. Valve springs with high tension, often used for racing, also increase the potential for cam wear and require more ZDDP.
Since all the engines benefit bostik from using oils with superior anti-wear properties, it would seem logical to make any motor oils with high content ZDDP. Generally, a high level of volatile phosphorous ZDDP product which passes from the combustion chamber to the catalytic converter, but the phosphorus can inhibit the ability of the converter to convert carbon monoxide (CO) to carbon dioxide (CO2). The EPA has set a standard that a catalytic converter must be designed to operate efficiently up to 160 000 km. To meet this standard, the phosphorus content was reduced in the specifications of newer engines.
When the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the International Lubricants Standardization and Approval Committee (ILSAC) established limits phosphorus to 0.10% of the total weight of oil in 1996, motorists have questioned whether the reduction would hurt to protect them against engine wear. In making this decision, there is no doubt ignored or modified high-performance engines, or those who wanted a break. The debate intensified in 2004 when the API and ILSAC have further reduced the phosphorus content of 0.08%, which is the current rate.
Despite the reduction, there is no evidence suggesting that modern engines which use oils low ZDDP generalized suffer wear. A properly formulated oil as SN and ILSAC GF-5 API is able to provide reliable protection to unmodified engines. In fact, studies have shown that synthetic motor oil AMSOIL
Regarding bostik older engines - especially those equipped with camshaft flat pushbuttons - and modified for performance engines, the difficulty of providing adequate bostik protection against wear becomes bostik more pronounced.
The flat design of the cams push them particularly subject to wear. As its name suggests, the push (or tappet bostik lifter) bostik is flat. When the motor rotates, the surface of the cam lobe slides rapidly against the surface of the pusher, pro
