quote:
mf150:
PAO is great, but as far as Red Line (polyol esters) not being compat. with seals...BS. The seals are taken into consideration with Red Line's chemistry. I have had no problem with the cars that I have used Red Line in.
Polyol Esters are a better basestock than PAOs, they are attracted to hot metals, which makes them more attractive to the stop-and-go traffic goer. ....
PS- as long as your engine reaches operating temp. ast least once every two weeks, you will have no problem with polyol esters and water.
As far as seal compatibility goes, what you say is what Red Line says.
The seal manufacturers and the manufacturers of polyolester base stocks say otherwise.
Begin with:
http://www.ultracheminc.com/comp.htm
If you need a dozen or so more, I'll provide them.
Polyolesters are not interchangeable with PAO or mineral oils when it comes to seal materials. That's how the tail is on the cat. There's no magic chemistry available to Red Line that's not available to everyone else.
While polyolesters (and diesters) stick to metal, and hot metal, adding a bit of them to a PAO accomplishes the same thing.
As to esters (both polyolesters and diesters) and water, the single lubrication failure I've experienced in 30+ years using synthetics was a problem with an ester, water, and a clogged oil passage.
All Proof, a pioneer in synthetics, was a polyolester. They experienced a variety of problems with both seals and water.
Amsoil changed from a diester to a PAO for that reason.
Mobil 1, a manufacturer of both PAOs and polyolesters, uses the polyolesters in jet and turbine lubricants, and uses PAO for automobiles.
All that said, plenty of people are using Red Line and I believe they're a reputable company. I use Red Line in applications where it's appropriate.
I don't think a car driven rarely is one of those applications.
I don't think a car under warranty is one of those applications.
You may have another opinion.
