I was reading in "Machinery Lubrication" July-August 2002 issue page 19 about how "we are approaching rediculously light oils (0w-30, 5w30) and their ability to lubricate for the oil change interval is decreasing"
I know from 40 years of experience that a good lube oil needs to never be drained if you can keep it free of contamination. My experience has been with single wt oils. Chevron Delo 15-40, Shell Rotella T 15-40 oils, Amsoil 10-40, Mobil 1 15w50. I know these will go the distance with submicronic bypass filters. I sell filters that clean oil. Should I recommend only the oils I know will go the distance and tell my customers to stay away from thin oils?
Why do people pick on Fram filters? They can not clean oil as well as the others can not clean oil. Ful flow filters are not supposed to clean oil. They are supposed to remove the large engine damaging abrasives from the "full flow" of oil to the engine. A good engine has virtually nothing in the oil that can be removed by the full flow filter. It is insurance that you hope you don't need. You probably won't if you take care of the small stuff with proper filtration.
You might find the following interesting:
EnviroSense
Department of Defense
Pollution Prevention Technical Library
Bypass Filter for Vehicle Motor Oil Introduction:
Gasoline and diesel fueled internal combustion engines require
lubricating oil to reduce friction and dissipate heat. The lubricating oil must be changed once the oil's effectiveness diminishes. Lubricating effectiveness generally does not deteriorate in high-quality oils, but what does occur is contamination of the oil with particles and a breakdown of the
lubricating oil's additive package. The additive package, which can be 50 percent of the oil's volume is responsible for maintaining pH and preventing deterioration of the oil. Bypass filters are designed to remove smaller particulate than would normally be removed by the engine's normal filter so that oil changes are not necessary. Oil added during filter changing, and to replace burned oil, is normally sufficient to replenish the oil's additive package.
Ralph
