Motul 3000 4T

[CCI]

Anyone got any experience with Motul 3000 4T?

Any idea what the zinc content is?

 

[Bonz]

You checked on here with a search yet? Don't believe Motul publishes their zinc and phos, for instance, like Mobil does.

 

[Jimiii]

If you change your oil at reasonable intervals Zinc levels aren’t really important. Zinc is only used under high pressure/temperature environments. Then it’s Used up. So higher zinc levels don’t mean MORE protection, but rather LONGER protection. Just like gasoline in your tank doesn’t mean a full tank equals more power, just that you can go longer.

 

[Bonz]

Question for the collective: With TBN does zinc play into that number in terms of what is remaining as active ingredient?

With that, Jimiii can you share how low zinc oils would give the same protection as a high zinc oil, given the damage low zinc is known to cause in many cases within a short time?

Gas has the same energy per unit whether 1 gallon or 20 gallons or anywhere in between in the tank. At any given time, the engine is extracting that exact amount of energy the gasoline has no matter how much is in the tank. Logically, the example shared misses it by a mile.

As an example that holds water, 900 ppm zinc is less concentration vs 1200 ppm (just picking numbers) and not able to have the same ability to protect when it is spread more thinly within the oil, even at the start of an OCI. 900 ppm is starting with 1/3 less zinc circulating in a finite amount of oil by an oil pump that circulates a fixed amount of oil per time based on engine speed? How does that come around to a very certain statement in your post of equal protection, but for a shorter period of time? Or is there something you know about concentration of zinc in a given quart of oil that I have missed?

 

[Jimiii]

You raise an interesting point about the “concentration “ of zinc in the oil. This is an analysis using Mobil 1 (fs) 0W40 euro in my 2018 (new generation), GoldWing shared sump. Zinc tested at 1077 ppm. That’s slightly higher than Mobil published (1025 as I remember), zinc content in that oil due I’m sure to the fact that the prior oil change was with Rotella T6 5W40 and approximately 20 of the oil doesn’t drain on standard change. However that T6 is not exceptionally high in zinc either. The OCI was 3800 miles. Clearly not much zinc was used even though the oil is being squeezed between the transmission gears and subjected to the high friction of the wet clutch. The articles I have read published by lubrication engineers have sided with the belief that higher zinc doesn’t equal better protection. As for flat tapped failures I have never seen any proof that those failures were the result of lower zinc concentrations. However I can see that 40-50 years ago when oils broke down so much quicker, and never had anywhere near the capabilities of even low quality modern oils, that high zinc levels may have been needed. My opinion anyway. I respect your well thought out option as well.

 

[Bonz]

Good info, thanks for the post. Goldwing is one the easier bikes on oil, with that, you make a good illustration.

I still see zinc as being more useful in a higher concentration up to a point that it could start to cause other problems.

However, I don't pay as much attention to zinc as much as I used to, I like to see good boron and/or moly as well. Both of those are not pressure/heat activated and are working the moment the engine starts.