1
1analguy
Guest
So . . . your opinion is that Mobil 1 V-Twin is intentionally formulated to be LESS capable than the other Mobil 1 engine oils (even though it has the highest ZDDP content)? Other than your speculation that V-Twin was "very specifically formulated" for H-D engines and therefore the oil doesn't need to be as robust (as opposed to, say, this is all a marketing ploy), do you have ANY objective evidence to support your claim?
Re-read my post, carefully. I never claimed, nor do I believe, that Mobil 1 V-Twin synthetic is in any way "less capable". In fact, I think it's the best thing since sliced bread...for a Harley Twin-Cam. M1 V-Twin originally hit the market before H-D started selling their own synthetic oil, and the first retail outlet for the oil was the H-D dealer network. The point of my post, and I apologize if I did not make my meaning clear, was that the oil requirements of the Boxer in my RT probably share more in common with a liquid-cooled car engine than with an air-cooled Harley! Hell, there are probably several people on this forum who have been very successfully running M1 V-Twin in their Beemers and are happy as clams because, though it wasn't formulated specifically for our Boxers, it is very good oil. In a way, I'm now a bit sorry that I even posted on this subject as I have come to the same conclusion that many here have: As long as you've got good, clean oil of the proper rating in your Beemer, you're not going to have any problems with your engine, short of a non-oil-related mechanical failure. And, we probably do spend way too much time on this subject.
As far as mechanical (needle/roller/ball) bearings being "harder on oil" than plain bearings, I don't buy it. While it's true that at each moving point of contact in a mechanical bearing there exists a greater load per unit of area, it is a rolling point of contact and so causes almost no friction and, therefore, almost no heat. There are millions of two-stroke engines out there running long and hard with no dedicated oiling systems whatsoever because their mechanical bearings get what little lubrication they require from the slight amount of oil mist wafting through the crankcase along with the intake mixture. On the other hand, lab tests (some performed at the facility where I work) have shown quite clearly that if you spin a bare crank (no rods/pistons, chains, cams, etc.) in its plain, pressure-fed bearings using an electric motor, considerable heat is generated in the bearings due to the shearing action taking place in the oil between the crank and the bearing shells.
The engine's mechanical oil pump adds even more heat to the oil, not from compressing the oil, but from oil shear that takes place due to internal leakage through the necessary internal clearances in the pump. Of course, since most modern engines have oil pumps, this factor is a "wash"...