M1 FS 0W-40, M1 ESP 0W-30, M1 5W-30 ESP Volatility Results - May 2025
The test was conducted on May 24, 2025. These oils were sent them to me by two BITOG members. I still have some more oils to test that were sent by one of the members. As always, 1.000 grams of oil were used for each oil. They are put in aluminum cups with a cutout on part of their sides that allow venting to occur despite the cups being covered with folded aluminum foil to block the radiation caused by the oven coils. The cups were lined up in a row on an aluminum pan and they were roughly 1.5 inches forward of the coils (toward the door) in the oven. In prior tests, they were considerably closer to the door/window. Temperature was set on the oven to ~ 420 F. I usually weighed them every 1/2 hour, and rotated them to the right to help equalize the conditions each oil experiences during the test. Weighed and rotated them every ½ hour instead of 1 hour to improve the data accuracy. Unlike some recent tests, there was no cardboard put around the oven to block the wind. That is a hassle and it was not windy.
Quaker State Euro 5W-40 was also in the test to act as a reference oil. I have a lot of past data on it and its Noack value is believed to be known (5.7%), so it is a good reference oil.
QS 5W-40 was the least volatile, as expected. At 3.75 hours, relative to QS 5W-40, M1 ESP 0W-30 was 33% more volatile, M1 FS 0W-40 was 56% more volatile, and M1 ESP 5W-30 was 62% more volatile. Those are some big differences, especially the latter two.
buster does a great job of posting the Russian Oil Club's (ROC) data on some oils, including the two ESP oils. The ESP 0W-30 tested by the ROC in Feb 2025 had 8.4% Noack. The ESP 5W-30 tested in Oct 2024 had 8.6% Noack. In my tests, ESP 5W-30 had considerably higher volatility than 0W-30 ESP, such that it is seems incompatible with ESP 5W-30 having a Noack that close to ESP 0W-30. I tested these oils one week ago, not just today. Every test has errors and my ESP oils are potentially a bit different than those tested by the ROC.
I think that ESP 0W-30 is less volatile than ESP 5W-30 because of the former having some ester while the latter lacks it. The fact that ESP 0W-30 has a very high VI and is still less volatile than ESP 5W-30 is remarkable.
The first graph shows cumulative weight losses and the second one shows cumulative weight losses, relative to QS 5W-40's cumulative weight losses. I am overall happy with the data quality. M1 0W-40 losses are noisier than I would prefer. The further into the test, generally the more accurate the data is. I made estimates for the Noack values and think they are most accurate at 2.75 hours. The data had some extra noise at 2.0 and 2.5 hours and if it were not for that, it may have been more accurate at 2 hours, like has often been the case in past tests.
One last thing that is not important. The two ESP oils' color got easily-noticeably darker than the other two oils. QS 5W-40 was the least dark and only barely less dark than M1 FS 0W-40. The two ESP oils smelled more bad than is normal during such tests.
The test was conducted on May 24, 2025. These oils were sent them to me by two BITOG members. I still have some more oils to test that were sent by one of the members. As always, 1.000 grams of oil were used for each oil. They are put in aluminum cups with a cutout on part of their sides that allow venting to occur despite the cups being covered with folded aluminum foil to block the radiation caused by the oven coils. The cups were lined up in a row on an aluminum pan and they were roughly 1.5 inches forward of the coils (toward the door) in the oven. In prior tests, they were considerably closer to the door/window. Temperature was set on the oven to ~ 420 F. I usually weighed them every 1/2 hour, and rotated them to the right to help equalize the conditions each oil experiences during the test. Weighed and rotated them every ½ hour instead of 1 hour to improve the data accuracy. Unlike some recent tests, there was no cardboard put around the oven to block the wind. That is a hassle and it was not windy.
Quaker State Euro 5W-40 was also in the test to act as a reference oil. I have a lot of past data on it and its Noack value is believed to be known (5.7%), so it is a good reference oil.
QS 5W-40 was the least volatile, as expected. At 3.75 hours, relative to QS 5W-40, M1 ESP 0W-30 was 33% more volatile, M1 FS 0W-40 was 56% more volatile, and M1 ESP 5W-30 was 62% more volatile. Those are some big differences, especially the latter two.
buster does a great job of posting the Russian Oil Club's (ROC) data on some oils, including the two ESP oils. The ESP 0W-30 tested by the ROC in Feb 2025 had 8.4% Noack. The ESP 5W-30 tested in Oct 2024 had 8.6% Noack. In my tests, ESP 5W-30 had considerably higher volatility than 0W-30 ESP, such that it is seems incompatible with ESP 5W-30 having a Noack that close to ESP 0W-30. I tested these oils one week ago, not just today. Every test has errors and my ESP oils are potentially a bit different than those tested by the ROC.
I think that ESP 0W-30 is less volatile than ESP 5W-30 because of the former having some ester while the latter lacks it. The fact that ESP 0W-30 has a very high VI and is still less volatile than ESP 5W-30 is remarkable.
The first graph shows cumulative weight losses and the second one shows cumulative weight losses, relative to QS 5W-40's cumulative weight losses. I am overall happy with the data quality. M1 0W-40 losses are noisier than I would prefer. The further into the test, generally the more accurate the data is. I made estimates for the Noack values and think they are most accurate at 2.75 hours. The data had some extra noise at 2.0 and 2.5 hours and if it were not for that, it may have been more accurate at 2 hours, like has often been the case in past tests.
One last thing that is not important. The two ESP oils' color got easily-noticeably darker than the other two oils. QS 5W-40 was the least dark and only barely less dark than M1 FS 0W-40. The two ESP oils smelled more bad than is normal during such tests.
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It’s not over yet, since the oxidation portion of the test has been going on much of today. Soon coming up on 11.75 hours of total heating. Typically oils really take a dramatic turn for the worse around 12 hours. Today I increased the temp. to 425 and moved the cups closer to the heater coils. Maybe the ESP 5W-30 will win the oxidation/deposit portion of the test. I value results in this performance category more than volatility.
