Oil additive testing

[bwilson4web]

Having throughly looked at the data and followed the vendor's recommended instructions, my observations are:

• oil change particle reduction - there is strong evidence that changing the oil substantially reduces engine fuel consumption, ~2.07 gm/sec MAF.
• boron CLS - appears to accelerate suspension of particle suspension and increased drag, ~2.25 gm/sec.

I can find no evidence of direct friction reduction of boron CLS without taking extra steps to reduce particle suspension. The boron CLS appears to increase particle suspension and engine friction.

I am planning to drop the engine pan and throughly clean out all accessible places. This should also substantially reduce the ~25% carry forward of old oil. Then retest to see if engine idle friction is reduced.

Bob Wilson

[bwilson4web]

Here is the data in graphical format:

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

Having throughly looked at the data and followed the vendor's recommended instructions, my observations are:

• oil change particle reduction - there is strong evidence that changing the oil substantially reduces engine fuel consumption, ~2.07 gm/sec MAF.
• boron CLS - appears to accelerate suspension of particle suspension and increased drag, ~2.25 gm/sec.

I can find no evidence of direct friction reduction of boron CLS (aka., boric acid) without taking extra steps to reduce particle suspension. The boron CLS appears to increase particle suspension and engine friction.

One additional observation is how the existing gunk in the engine can so quickly reduce the effect of an oil change. In effect, the 25% carry forward and engine pan material quickly brings the new oil to the same friction level as the old, particle loaded oil.

Bob Wilson

[suspectnumber961]

Very interesting to say the least. Looks like my use of Pure One filters and running a pint of kerosene in the oil before each change are at least going in the right direction? My idea of letting the oil changes go for 7K isn't.

I will be adding the Motorsilk myself in a few hundred miles.

Maybe this is the way to go?

AMSOIL By-Pass Filter Bypass Installations

So...I'd like to see what happens when you've changed the oil again at zero miles and after a few K miles WITH the boron treatment.

And I'm wondering about a cost/efficiency comparison between changing dino oil every 3K vs changing synth oil every 5-7K.

And also the effect of using a commercial oil flush (Gunk) at each oil change?

Looks like you've got a LOT of testing to do!

Just kidding.

Nice to see some real data instead of opinions and opinions about opinions.

[bwilson4web]

Thanks! The commitment to empirical testing is what attracted me to Ecomodder and requires a disciplined life.

In the case of engine oil additives, I wanted to know what is going on. Unlike other additives, the science behind boron CLS (aka., boric acid) is backed by Argonne Labs research. It looked to be the first oil additive that due to the chemical action would remain after the first treatment and not get flushed out. But I knew my 2003 Prius, 138k mile Prius, would be a challenge.

I still need to look at the oil testing metrics, particle and material, to see if there is a correlation with observed engine friction. I had particle counts performed as well as the standard oil test and these may provide a pattern, a template, to indicate the state of the engine oil.

Engine oil pans were once easily removed because they used a gasket but the 1.5L Prius oil pan is 'sealed'. To drop the pan, I'll need sealant and tools to remove the old sealant. When I drop the pan, I'll try to capture and quantify the amount of gunk removed. I just wish there were a practical way to make a real gasket instead of having to apply a bead of sealant. Then cleaning the oil pan like I do now with the transaxle, would be more practical.

What really irritates me is how little we know about the oil filters beyond the advertisements. Here is a part that is designed to pass all of the oil and the natural home for a micro-filtration trap. But no micro-filtration trap is going to remove a layer of gunk that I suspect is in my engine.

In my minds eye and soon enough, camera lense, is probably a layer of gunk several millimeters thick and hundreds of square centimeters wide, the area of the oil pan. It may be that the best practice is to have the oil pan dropped and cleaned either as a result of some threshold from oil testing or 100-150k miles.

Bob Wilson

[suspectnumber961]

The auto trans on my car had the same thing...silicone was used to seal the pan on. I found a rubber gasket for it and can remove it when needed.

You might find an aftermarket gasket for your oil pan...or...make one from sheets of gasket material? The heavy paper type would work if you would glue it on the block using say the Permatex red non-hardening gasket goop...then cover the pan lip with a good layer of moly bearing grease....should be removable. Main thing is to not overtighten them...once the rim of the pan is bent...it's hard to get them to seal right again.

One other thing I do is add a strong neo magnet (1"x1/2"x2" approx) to the outside of the oil filter to help catch steel particles...probably the worst of the stuff causing extra friction? Also one on the outside of the pan near the drain opening?

The gummy sludge is probably best removed by using a flush between oil changes? I've also heard of people pouring a qt of kerosene thru the engine after draining the oil to help flush it.

Ideally...a synth oil drained every 3K would be best for mpg...but might get expensive? The multipass fine filtration might be less expensive on the longer run? Both might pay for themselves in fuel saved????

[bwilson4web]

You've offered a lot of brain food to consider. However, I'm looking at the quantitative effect:

(2.1-2.3)/2.3 = 89% or -11% friction reduction fuel savings

I'm running a little over 50 MPG so I could be looking at 55.5 MPG.

My thinking is I want to do one maximum, engine oil system cleaning to remove the bulk gunk and residual material. Then I want an effective capture system for new material, especially the small stuff, that supports effective removal without costing a mint. So this is what I'm thinking:

• Reusable K&R filter, S9 - uses a micro machined, stainless steel trap, not filter paper, in an aluminum billet. Comes with a built-in magnet, $140.
• loose weave, carbon fiber and glass fiber mat - layered over the bottom of the oil pan with an oil-tight, electrical connection. The layers are arranged so a high-voltage between them electrostaticly attracts and fixes suspended material. Since it is a large surface area at the lowest gravitational point, it complements the forced filter and over time, loads up with the smaller debris and gunk. Monitoring the leakage current indicates the relative load.

I don't mind dropping the pan every 5+ years to remove the fine material and using a reusable filter that should easily cost less than disposable filters.

Bob Wilson

[slowmover]

Has any reading been done over on - Bob is the Oil Guy Some points or questions above I've seen discussed over the past eight years over there. There is some quite good stuff on oil filter material, construction and "action". There may be some noise to filter out (sheer number of threads), but one can get a good start by reading through the posts & articles by "Molakule". (And others: GeorgeCLS, Johnny, Haas, etc.) No one may be the guru, but there may be considerations raised that are of benefit.

[bwilson4web]

The early days of "Bob is the Oil Guy" showed promise but the last time I was there, I got the impression they'd been captured by product advocates. I could be wrong but the signal-to-noise ratio was too low for my tastes. Regardless, I'll take another peek.

Bob Wilson

[slowmover]

I agree with the assessment. Still, some of the other questions (products) may have already been "answered" to some degree.

[bwilson4web]

I finally got around to adding the particle counts to this chart:

I didn't have much luck finding similar data at 'Bob is the oil guy' and I think that has to do with the charter here versus there.

As MetroMPG pointed out, Ecomodder is a place for those who use empirical methods. So to report on oil additive effects, we needed:

• engine friction metric - it does no good to funk-up the oil if there is no way to tell if it had a measurable effect. I seriously think measuring idle fuel consumption when the thermostat opens is new.
• quantitive measurements - not just after the change but after a significant number of service miles to see what the carry forward and accumulated gunk did. Old Bob was good about measuring oil but his engine friction effect metrics were a little thin.

I've got a full-up account over there and may yet post a report of this work. But I'm not just interested in lubrication but whole vehicle performance. I'll have to think about it.

Bob Wilson