Originally Posted by lukejo
Originally Posted by RDY4WAR
This is the post I read that stated Mg is twice as effective as Ca. This was the first I'd heard this and nobody refuted it so I created this thread looking for confirmation or if the statement is a load of bull.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4214347/re-detergents#Post4214347
Right—if Mg is as good or better than Ca, and according to SonofJoe above, Mg tends to be cheaper, why did companies like Amsoil stick with Ca until LSPI and Dex gen 2 came on the scene?
Which makes me wonder if, as I alluded to in my recent post, if you don't need Gen 2 in your application, would one of the "old school" gen 1 oils loaded with Ca (like Shaeffer's) be a better choice than the gen 2 cert oils and newest formula from Amsoil?
In terms of commercial availability, Calcium-based detergents are far more common than their Magnesium-based counterparts. Somewhere back in the past (long before my time) Mg got itself a bad reputation. I seem to recall being told by my so-called colleagues (I use the word in its loosest sense) that it caused bore glazing on the Ford Tornado engine test, that it reacted badly with water and that the Japanese were so concerned about it, that they banned it's use in engine oils!
That said, there was a time, perhaps for internal reasons, when Mg was cheaper for me to use than Ca. This is partly rooted in the fact that it's relatively easy to make a 400 TBN Mg Sulphonate whereas Ca Sulphonates tend to 'top out' at 300 TBN. So I picked up the Mg ball and ran with it and experienced no problems whatsoever! Oh how I laughed when I saw the Japanese patenting Mg-based oils for countering LSPI!!
To the person who asked, once upon a time there were plenty of Mg only oils being sold all around the world. I don't recall any being sold in the US but in my experience the US is very 'herd mentality' based and as regards oil formulating is concerned, they don't do 'brave'.
I sort of remember that Mg was big in Iran (nothing to do with me but occasionally something falls off the back of a camel and you get to see what The Competition is doing).