That's what I was getting at earlier. AMSOIL has a single A40 licensed lube, but recommends multiple products for A40. They are likely buying the A40 additive package from Lubrizol and then only formally licensing the product that they sell the most of.
I don't buy the leftover-calcium argument. I never saw a significant amount of leftover metals in my used oil analysis. I think the Ultra 0W-40 has a lot more detergent than the Ultra 5w30. The past SN VOA/used oil analysis comparisons showed that the Euro 0W-40 and Ultra 0W-40 had very similar calcium levels:
So, the licensed product uses a generic preapproved third-party add pack and the nonlicensed products use their own boutique add packs, just like the API-licensed generic Amsoil OE line vs. the non-API-licensed boutique Amsoil Signature Series line, right?
Calcium was reduced, significantly, from the SN Ultra, to the SP Ultra based on the two used oil analysis. Yes, it is currently higher than the 5w30, but I'm simply suggesting that SOME of that may be residual. I'd like to see a few more SP Ultra 0w-40 used oil analysis before we settle on what the current level is.
The original Ultra 5w30 (before it was Ultra Platinum) had insanely low Noack #'s, I'm sure everyone remembers that, back when the GTL bases were first introduced. Then, they started to go up and then Shell stopped publishing them.
Unfortunately the PQIA seems to be hit or miss on Noack as of late, but, they used to test them and I don't recall Noack going the direction you've stated here. I recall them all being INSANELY low originally, then going up, then Shell stopped publishing them, as I noted above. The Noack for the GTL base oils has always been good, as evidenced by the above VOA, and other VOA's around that time. Shell started to mess with the formulations and must have begun using lighter bases because they all went up when the product was re-branded and then Shell dropped Noack from their PD sheets.
I think the original Pennzoil Ultra was PAO-based.
Is there a Calcium level that is common among the SP rating when compared to the SN rating? I read somewhere that SP generally has a "lower" Calcium than SN because Calcium can exacerbate the tendency for LSPI. But, is there a general level that is "low"?
Yes, of course, calcium in SN PLUS and SP is lower in comparison than in SN in order to reduce the number of LSPI events. Magnesium is added to make up for the missing calcium.
Is there a level that defines "Low Calcium", such as under 1500 or 1000 or 500?
Approvals only list the sulfated ash, and 0.8% is the maximum for European mid-SAPS categories. I haven't seen calcium limits, but the maximum calcium ppm is determined by the number of LSPI events; therefore, the designer of the add pack must adjust and limit the maximum calcium ppm so that the oil passes the LSPI tests. Magnesium is used to make up for the reduced calcium. Mixed calcium/magnesium detergents are superior to all-calcium and all-magnesium detergents in acid neutralization because magnesium alone, unlike calcium, doesn't neutralize all types of acids, but magnesium itself has the advantage of having high TBN retention.
It was GTL based. I have SDS for it. The Pearl bases were launched in the summer of 2011 and full capacity was achieved in 2012. That coincided with the precipitous drop in Noack we saw with the Ultra lubes, which were the first batch of oils they produced using those base oils from Pearl. These sheets showed up in December of 2011:
Yes, that's excellent Noack. In fact, it's the same Noack as the Platinum 5w-20 at 8.2%:
Yes, though I also noted that SN Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 and the Pennzoil Ultra Platinum SRT SN 0w40 had roughly the same calcium levels.
Interesting. Yes, you can increase the base-oil quality of any type of Group III by increasing the severity of hydroprocessing. This is independent of whether it is GTL or petroleum-derived Group III.
Yeah, but Pennzoil Platinum Euro SN 0w40 had about the same calcium level (2,469 ppm) if not slightly less as the PP Ultra 0W-40 SN (2,482 ppm) if you look at the VOA and UOA in my post above.
Its phosphorus level was higher though (854 vs. 682 ppm).
Yup, seemed to be the SOPUS "default" lol, for SN.Yeah, but Pennzoil Platinum Euro SN 0w40 also had the same calcium level (2,469 ppm) if not slightly less as the PP Ultra 0W-40 SN (2,482 ppm) if you look at the VOA and UOA in my post above.
It might, and so could have MS-12633, but the spec it replaced (MS-10725) definitely didn't when Mobil 1 0w-40 was the SRT oil.
Here is Chrysler MS-6395:
This might be the additive package used by the entire Castrol EDGE Extended Performance lineup.
It's not just the add pack that is approved, it's the total formulation. So even if you are using an add pack that has been proven in testing, if you use it at a different dosage, or with some different base oils, polymers, boosters etc then you have to do your own testing.
