Hi Günter, are you considering a lower ZDDP and lower Ca line of oil, perhaps one that will be LSPI and GPF friendly?
Dear Chris719,
Thank you for your question. It is refreshing to engage in a technical and strategic discussion.
The short answer is both yes and no. We are not planning to reduce ZDDP levels in our formulations; rather, we are always looking for ways to push these- and our ester levels. A significant portion of our colleagues and customer base operates heavily modified engines, such as those equipped with aftermarket turbochargers or aggressive camshaft profiles, which benefit from higher zinc content.
Regarding LSPI and GPF, our experience suggests these risks may be overstated today. We work closely with reputable engine tuners who perform extensive dynamometer testing and have observed zero LSPI events in modern BMW and Porsche engines under their testing conditions. Not one or two, or so, but zero events. While this isn't a standardised LSPI certification test, it is supported by independent third-party LSPI testing of our oils, which also reported no events. Of course, the engines our customers use our oils in are track-oriented, aren’t prone to LSPI to start with (they're big!), and are often new and/or well-maintained; they have little to no blow-by, so GPF risks are also non-existent.
Our zero LSPI record is also attributable to overall additive balance. In particular, our formulations do not rely on excessively high levels of calcium or magnesium detergents, which are more commonly associated with LSPI risk. ZDDP itself is not so much.
In summary, we think it is highly feasible to formulate higher-viscosity oils with elevated ZDDP content without introducing additional LSPI or GPF risk, provided the additive system is properly balanced. To illustrate this with an example: BMW’s modern engines operated at the Nürburgring are typically specified for LL-04 oils. Due to our higher additive and ZDDP content, we currently don’t offer this specification level. Nevertheless, vehicles running our oils, despite nominally requiring more modern specifications, have recorded zero LSPI events during dynamometer tuning and/or driving data logging, and remain a popular choice for notable performance results, including record-setting runs (
).
Our recent blog may also be of interest in this regard, and we thought oil geeks here might be keen to discuss it. BMW may prescribe different oils for its GT4 models vs road-going cars (despite having the same engines), which would be a super interesting thread for this forum.
That said, as mentioned in response to an earlier comment, we are also developing additional products aligned with more modern performance requirements and specifications. Personally, our experience at the track is that even modern engines perform well with slightly more authentic formulations. That said, consumer and manufacturer requirements can’t be ignored. We’ve started testing the ZDDP limits of modern formulations. In doing so, we have made some modern C3-spec oils with what we believe is the highest ester/ZDDP content on the market, whilst still remaining within the maximum allowed levels for a C3-level motor oil. Let us know how you like the specs (we can't attach .pdf files, unfortunately)!
Kind regards, Motor Milk™
