View Single Post
Old 06-24-2011, 10:25 AM   #37 (permalink)
bwilson4web
Engineering first
 
bwilson4web's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Huntsville, AL
Posts: 843

17 i3-REx - '14 BMW i3-REx
Last 3: 45.67 mpg (US)

Blue Bob's - '19 Tesla Std Rng Plus
Thanks: 94
Thanked 248 Times in 157 Posts
Hi,

Please do not cast stones or make idle speculation about others:
Quote:
Originally Posted by larrybuck View Post
. . .
I surmise that most of the detractors had very new vehs. w low miles, and felt quality oil was all they needed.
. . .
I'd like to suggest Ecomodder is a great place for experimenters, those who modify and instrument their vehicles and try to measure the effect. Sad to say, there is a lot of FUD about oil additives and the results of my testing are to make no recommendation about the one I tested. An experiment is not that the modification was done but whether or not a measurable change occurred.

In this case, my best measurements indicate other effects completely mask any benefit of boron CLS. So I can not recommend it over straight Mobil 1 motor oil. However, the other effects suggests follow-up testing that may have a sustained and measurable improvement:
  • <10 micro particle reduction - the rapid increase in fuel consumption proportional to particle load is evident. I have some ideas that I will test in Petri dish experiments before trying them in the car. But I can recommend dropping the oil pan and cleaning every exposed bottom surface to mechanically remove the gunk and accumulated debris.
  • thermal effects - I have the option of replacing the 82C thermostat with an 88C unit but just dropping in the part without measurement of the effect is not enough.
This is how we find out what works or doesn't work.

One of the sad things about oils and oil additives are the number of transparently . . . 'optimistic' claims that are made. It is one reason why I didn't do this test for quite some time and have no intention of testing other oils and additives. I don't fault others who want to experiment provided they bring some metrics. But Lord love a Duck, we don't need an echo chamber for 'optimistic' claims made by 3d parties who may make their living from product sales.

So let's look at your resources:
  • Do you have some way to measure the effects?
  • Are you prepared to spend $20 per sample to quantify the oil in the crank case?
  • Can you step back from the product and do the heavy lifting, to find out?
This is how I approach the spirit of Ecomodder, the experimenter's approach.

Bob Wilson
__________________
2019 Tesla Model 3 Std. Range Plus - 215 mi EV
2017 BMW i3-REx - 106 mi EV, 88 mi mid-grade
Retired engineer, Huntsville, AL
  Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to bwilson4web For This Useful Post:
ecocruze (03-19-2017), mort (06-24-2011)