High Detergent Additives Remove Zinc In Oil?

[MrBeachcomber]

Here's a link to a claim by Joe Gibbs Driven Oil that high detergent levels remove zinc as well as sludge and varnish in "modern" oils. I thought that calcium-based detergent additives essentially bonded chemically with oxidized compounds to kept them soluble while the dispersant additives prevented them from falling out of solution and forming deposits. Why would these compounds bond with zinc? The web page seems to imply that high detergents prevent ZDDP from forming a protective layer on high friction, metallic surfaces. Thanks in advance for any explanation.

 

[229]

The detergents are competitive with zinc and phosporus, ZDDP, for attachment to metal surfaces. That is why nondetergent oil has been advocated for break-in.

 

[MolaKule]

In racing oils you want maximum anti-wear capabilities which why you use a racing oil instead of Pennzoil Platinum. ZDDP, moly compounds, titanium compounds, phosphorous chemistries and antimony compounds are all good anti-wear additives. In racing, frequent oils changes is the norm so cleaning capabilities for racing oils is really due to the changing of the oil to refresh the detergent-dispersant additives. Racing oils do have a small amount of detergents and dispersants, so don't think that just becuse an oil is designed for racing, it doesn't mean it has zero detergents and dispersants. The main reason for reducing metallic detergents was the buildup of ash deposits on plugs and valves. Newer non-metallic detergents don't compete so much with AW additives as the older metallic detergents. The low levels of calcium you see in modern motor oils is not so much for detergency as for rust protection. For daily drivers that don't see high temp racing conditions, you need maximum cleaning chemistries.