Gulf Competition 0w30

[A_Harman]

Originally Posted By: dparm
I guess it depends on what their test consists of. I'm betting it's something generic in a simple motor. A high-performance engine that is particularly hard on oil (which the Gulf oil is targeted at) probably gets very little practical use out of such a test.

It's hard to make a very light oil stay in grade, though. The Gulf stuff has almost no room to shear in order for it to become a 20-weight, whereas GC has a ton.


API's test for shear stability is to flow the oil for 90 passes under high pressure through a diesel fuel injector of specified hole size. The oil must stay in its declared viscosity grade to pass. This does not seem like a challenging test to me. I think a lot more oils would fail if they tested in a Nissan VQ engine at max power and 150C oil temperature for 50 hours. This is the kind of test that would satisfy us track rats.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Well what do you mean that shear is "not an issue"? The oil is going to shear, but not much.

It is the VIIs that shear in an oil, the base oil doesn't shear much if at all.
In fact oils that don't contain much if any VIIs tend to have a viscosity increase with the inevitable oxidation that occurs with mileage.

 

[dparm]

Well that would certainly explain why my Motul 300V used oil analysis at 2000 and 5000 miles actually showed a slight increase in viscosity towards the end of the OCI.

 

[dparm]

Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Originally Posted By: dparm

It's hard to make a very light oil stay in grade, though. The Gulf stuff has almost no room to shear in order for it to become a 20-weight, whereas GC has a ton.

But that's not the point.
With those vis spec's there is no possibility of VIIs in this oil and therefore shear is not an issue just like it is not an issue with RL.


I think the low KV is an indication of Gulf's confidence of the ability of the oil to stay in grade. Since the KV100 is only ~3% above the min limit for remaining a 30-weight they have not left a lot of room for decrease. Or are ACEA's specs for shear stability different than API's?



I wonder what a VOA would show us, if anything, about this oil.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: dparm
I wonder what a VOA would show us, if anything, about this oil.

Do we have a volunteer?

 

[dparm]

Feel like donating to the cause? Problem is going to be getting a bottle of it here in North America.

 

[CATERHAM]

What would answer a lot of questions would be to know the oil's HTHS vis and a VOA won't provide that. An email to them might work.

While I enjoy learning about a new oil as much as anybody
lets not forget the true bottom line about this Gulf oil and that is how outrageously expensive it is!

 

[dparm]

Terry Dyson charges in excess of $200 to measure HTHS. Let's see if my email gets answered...

Opieoils sells it for a good price, under $12/L since it's on sale (on par with Motul 300V and Redline) if I order two 5L bottles. Problem is they won't ship it overseas. But I'll ask again

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: dparm
Feel like donating to the cause?

Nah... I don't see a point. I will never use this oil considering its price and availability.

 

[dparm]

Finally!



HTHS of Gulf Competition 0W-30. Here is the value : 3.58 mPa.s.

This oil is designed to provide the maximum power, the fastest engine rev raising and, at the same time, resist at high temperatures reached under high stress : for this reason, we designed 0w30 grade with a “High HTHS” (> 3.5 mPa.s). This makes this oil suitable for any type of engine, both recent and vintage design.