Tests you wish were on everyone's spec sheet

[Solarent]

So I've spent a frustrating amount of time today tracking down spec sheets for a bunch of different oils to do a comparison and that got me thinking....

If you were to design the perfect list of specs you would like to see on everybody's spec sheets what would it be? Here's what I have so far:

• Kinematic Viscosity @ 40°C (cSt)
• Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C (cSt)
• Specific Gravity 15.6ºC
• CCS - Cold Crank Viscosity
• MRV - Viscosity
• HTHS Viscosity
• Viscosity Index
• Flash Point
• Pour Point
• Total Base Number
• Sulphated Ash % wt
• Phosphorus
• Zinc
• NOACK Volatility

Got anything to add?

 

[fdcg27]

Maybe other metallic adds, like moly, boron, sodium and so on.
A wish list might include basestock blend and organic adds, but that isn't happening.
It's really more a matter of consistency in the various PDS/TDS sheets than their content.
It's hard to compare oils between brands or sometimes even within them.
You've got a good list, though.

 

[brandini]

A shear stability graph out to 400 hours.

 

[Shannow]

High shear 100 viscosity.

 

[artificialist]

Originally Posted By: brandini
A shear stability graph out to 400 hours.

+1

Is there some kind of standardized test to measure shear stability?

It would also be a great way to settle some of the 10wXX versus 5wXX debates or 5wXX versus 0wXX debates.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: Solarent
Got anything to add?


Varnish potential at X miles.

 

[Solarent]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
Originally Posted By: brandini
A shear stability graph out to 400 hours.

+1

Is there some kind of standardized test to measure shear stability?

It would also be a great way to settle some of the 10wXX versus 5wXX debates or 5wXX versus 0wXX debates.


I'm not even sure how this would be done. There are so many factors in how the viscosity changes in service - fuel dilution, oxidative thickening etc. I'm going to look into it.

 

[A_Harman]

There is a stay-in-grade shear stability test consisting of 90 passes through a diesel fuel injector (or something like that). But I don't think it is very predictive of how well an oil stays in grade in the field. Schaeffer's PDS for their 9000 5w40 has a really thorough listing of specs that includes aged oil shear stability and aged oil MRV.

 

[A_Harman]

If there was some way to report synthetic content without being too intrusive on company secrets. I've pictured synblends as being susceptible to being the minimum necessary to get by: 3% of cracked and hydrotreated GrpIII, with the rest GrpII. Can't there be some kind of standard saying synblends have to be at least 25% severely cracked, hydrotreated, and isomerized GrpIII? Or to be considered synthetic, a base stock has to have a minimum tight distribution of molecular weights?

 

[A_Harman]

Deposit mass from the TEOST test.

 

[A_Harman]

Four-ball wear test scar diameter. Yeah, I know how people like to bash wear rig tests, but pick an ASTM method that is relevant to wear problems in modern engines and rigorously apply it. Maybe that will reduce the tendency of some blenders to create their own "one-arm bandit" tests to make their product look good and others look bad.

 

[KrisZ]

I would like to see more marbles vs dice tests...

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: Solarent
So I've spent a frustrating amount of time today tracking down spec sheets for a bunch of different oils to do a comparison and that got me thinking....

If you were to design the perfect list of specs you would like to see on everybody's spec sheets what would it be? Here's what I have so far:

• Kinematic Viscosity @ 40°C (cSt)
• Kinematic Viscosity @ 100°C (cSt)
• Specific Gravity 15.6ºC
• CCS - Cold Crank Viscosity
• MRV - Viscosity
• HTHS Viscosity
• Viscosity Index
• Flash Point
• Pour Point
• Total Base Number
• Sulphated Ash % wt
• Phosphorus
• Zinc
• NOACK Volatility

Got anything to add?


That's everything I'd prefer for the most part. I would add ASTM D 5481 to the list and that's about it.

Most importantly proof of meeting targeted spec.

Schaeffer's puts results from the IVA/IIIG wear tests on their PDS's. I believe they provide the most detail of any oil blender I'm aware of.

For mainstream brands, Mobil 1 has always had the best PDS's. Most consistent and reliable.



http://www.astm.org/Standards/D5481.htm

 

[wemay]

TEOST

 

[buster]

^+1. Forgot about that, yes.