It could be that being they are lowering the SA level they were able to lower ZDP to hit a better balance point in wear as anti wear additives and detergents compete for surface space. That latest video I posted with Lake he spoke how good SP oils are. He mentioned this balancing act that is ultimately what's it's all about. It's just as much of an art as it is a science.
I've noticed the SA for even some of Castrol's oils are .78 now. Does the API say you have to be at a certain level, or is it at or below? If they have to be at a certain level, then I have answer for that. * I just checked, and it can't be now more than .08%. There is a limit, but it doesn't say you can't be below it?? Is that right?
What is most interesting to me isn't wear control, it's the cleaning HPL was doing. Then again not everyone was cutting open their oil filters for other oils. Additionally, some have been reformulated recently (M1 Triple).
Wear differences among most oils are at noise level.
The two things that stand out with HPL the most IMO are the TBN retention and cleaning ability. However, the flip side is the SA is also significantly higher than most oils on the market.
Here is what PP claims:
Unsurpassed wear protection 1
Keep pistons up to 45% cleaner than required by the toughest industry standard 3
1.Based on Sequence IVA wear test using SAE 5W-30.
2 Based on the latest industry standard.
3 Based on Sequence IIIH results. Does not apply to SAE 0W-16 or Pennzoil Platinum® Euro motor oil.
4 Up to 15 years or 500,000 miles, whichever comes first, guaranteed, if you exclusively use Pennzoil Ultra Platinum™ Full Synthetic motor oil, Pennzoil Platinum® Full Synthetic motor oil, and Pennzoil Platinum® High Mileage Full Synthetic motor oil. Your engine must have less than 125,000 miles and been manufactured in the past 72 months.
I doubt you can claim the above and cheapen out on a few PPM of ZDP. It's possible but I doubt it. It would make sense to me that as they lower the detergent level they can lower the ZDP level and therefore achieve greater wear protection and lower SA as a result.
In fact, he said specifically that SP oils are "better." He would know as he's testing oils all the time. He also mentioned that how it becomes a marketing arms race when companies market how much XYX they are using. More is not always better he said.
The only area where I want to know %'s is how much your oil exceeds an engine test. Saying your oil has 650ppm of ZDP vs 715ppm tells me nothing in the grand scheme of things.