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But were there some printing/proofreading errors? Or did I mis-read some things? The text said that in Fig. 1 it showed the API rating at the bottom of each column but it wasn' t there. And Fig. 2 and 3 both had a Zinc/Phosphorus legend in the lower left corners but it wasn't relevant. And I didn't understand the red curve in Fig.2...there weren't any units on the right vertical axis, just 0 to 90. These didn't particularly detract from the article but made it a little confusing. I know...picky, picky, picky...
I did with the same authority and self appointment that everyone of you responds on the forum.
I have read the article since my last post and leave my comments where they are. I saw many of the comments as attacking the author rather than the subject matter and or how it was presented. The article can be legitimately analyzed and criticized in a number of ways. I just choose not to consider attacking the author rather than the product not to be one of the ways. If I offended any of you in the process I apologize. At the same time I must admit I will probably offend again. I tend to be willing to defend people even if I don't like or agree with their ideas, or writings.
The question for most, however, is "but what does all this me to ME"? Probably one of the confusing issues here is that MOST, if not all, of the test oils performed well within the scope of what most of us need the oil to do. Thus, we all can leave basically saying that "my particular oil is the best." I doubt that anyone was convinced by that article to change anything.
Consumer Reports ran a test on taxi cabs which has disappeared from the planet...
Over the years, I've read the CU test a number of times, and don't find it particularly helpful, since the tested taxi engines were running almost constantly, at full operating temperature
I think that constant running at full operating temperature (not sure exactly what that temperature is, did you mean maximum temperature?) is a good test of any oil.
BMWCCA's Roundel magazine published a mfg's test that was about the new(at the time) Mobil-1 syn oil that just happened to use an E-30(1980's BMW car) as the test car. The car went for like a million plus miles? & it was done on a dyno type treadwheel situation so no cold starts or road vibration, cannot remember much else as pretty long ago. I recall being impressed with both the car & the oil as few components failed in the time it ran 24/7. The tests was also indicative of how hwy miles are much kinder to vehicles than TAXI cabs ,as an e.g., since that just came up as a poor test of oil. Stop & go driving is a tough situation for any vehicle in many ways. Sitting in traffic with poor airflow is a temperature factor, huh?Over the years, I've read the CU test a number of times, and don't find it particularly helpful, since the tested taxi engines were running almost constantly, at full operating temperature
I think that constant running at full operating temperature (not sure exactly what that temperature is, did you mean maximum temperature?) is a good test of any oil.
http://www.bmw-motorrad.co.uk/media/pdf/70583_A1_BMW_POSTER_MCO00066_low_res.pdfBMW recommend Castrol oils as they are co-engineered with our BMW motorcycle engineers. Use of the incorrect oils or products can lead to premature wear, poor performance and incorrect operation of engine parts, clutch, gearbox and axles. Please refer to the Castrol Recommended Oils Guide.
.... My biggest take away was that Castrol GTX has as much anti-wear additive as their 4T Four Stroke Motorcycle Oil. They are comparably priced but GTX is easier to find. ....
Thanks for the link; however, that does not look like the article I read. It might be a summary of the one I am referring to. That article was much longer and had actual measurements of bearings and had pics too. It had a complete section on the summary of synthetic versus petro which was very controversial at the time. The taxi engines were running stop and go, which is way more destructive than average mix of bike or car usage. IMO "full operating temp" is a red herring. The test I saw was months and I believe at least a year long. Temp averages out and your bike gets up to and maintains full temp very quickly. The bottom line for me is that an oil analysis of crap in the oil and a boat load of other oil attributes does create a set of indicators, BUT they DO NOT show actual WEAR. For example, I mean something like the bearing loses 0.010 mm with Oil A in X miles, not there is 100ppm of bronze in the sample. That isn't an indicator, that is hard, cold data.Here ya go:
http://www.xs11.com/xs11-info/xs11-info/articles/51-consumer-reportstruth-motor-oils-july-1996.html
Over the years, I've read the CU test a number of times, and don't find it particularly helpful, since the tested taxi engines were running almost constantly, at full operating temperature.
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We all owe Kurt a big thanks for taking this on. Brave soul indeed! Shame that no good deed seems to go unpunished!
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But the most important thing that makes engines last long is temperature. Keeping your motor away from high operating temperatures will increase its life.
Adding oil coolers, maybe larger radiators and thermostats that open earlier are a great help. Even running the heater in the summer will add miles to the engine. There is enough hard evidence about this out there. Both from lab tests and the real world.