Total Quartz Energy 5w40 VOA - Interpretation?

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Hello everyone,

First post here. The reason for my post is I'm trying to select an oil for my track car. It sees highway miles as I drive too and from the track. The rest of the miles are hard miles on track. I change oil every two-three events, depending on the schedule and how many miles. I would expect between 2,000-3,000 between changes.

I thought I was going to make a switch from Mobil 1 15w50 to Total QE 5w40, so I sent in a VOA. The results are a bit confusing for someone like me. Some of the numbers were not as high as I expected; zinc and TBN for the most part. And, as shown in the report, the Sodium levels were odd.

What I'm asking for is a bit of help interpreting the results. And should I run this oil? I realize that's a tough question to answer. But for reference, I chose this oil over MB1 15w50 and Shell Rotella T6.

Here are some VOA of the other oils I was considering.

MB1 SM: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2384725
MB1 SN: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2365764#Post2365764
Shell T6: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2330040

Regards, and thanks in advance,
Brian


Total Quartz Energy 5w40



How do I post an image of the VOA?
 
jt1bfr.png
 
Welcome to BITOG!

I clicked on "download image" and the pasted the URL from that page to Tinypic. There might be an easier way.

I'll let someone else comment on the oil for use in a track car, as that's not something I have experience in.

Edit: They will want to know some details about the car though. Make/model/year/engine/mods and what sort of races you're participating in would likely help.
 
Last edited:
Bandito,

Thanks for doing that. I'll keep that in mind for future posts!

Car is a 1996 BMW M3. 3.2L inline six. Stock engine, 100k miles.

I use the car for instructing with BMW CCA doing HPDE. Usually see 20-30 minute sessions (hopefully at WOT,
wink.gif
)
 
Isn't that the engine that BMW developed the 10w60 oil for? I'm thinking RedLine 10w50, or M1 15w50 of the two you listed.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Isn't that the engine that BMW developed the 10w60 oil for? I'm thinking RedLine 10w50, or M1 15w50 of the two you listed.


I believe they started using that weight starting the generation after.


From a forum post (http://www.m3forum.net/m3forum/showthread.php?t=113805);

"Apparently, many board members are using non-ACEA A3 and/or BMW LL-xx rated oils, so I wanted to post some information regarding this topic. More information could be added and the post would be easier to read if .pdf and/or .xls files could be posted, but oh well.

First off, the factory fill for the S50 U.S./S52 engine family was 15w-40 mineral oil, which transitioned to 5w-40 synthetic in ‘98. At this period I believe BMW was using Valvoline synthetic oil, after ’01 they have been using European Castrol. Below are pages from an October 2001 BMW press release discussing oil applications for ’01 BMWs as well as ’98 and older models.

2001 BMW Oils Specs_1.jpg

2001 BMW Oils Specs_2.jpg

2001 BMW Oils Specs_3.jpg

2001 BMW Oils Specs_4.jpg

Below is a table containing the more common A3 rated oils offered in the U.S., excluding the Castrol U.K. products. I included these for comparison purposes, because BMW uses European Castrol as factory fill. Essentially, A3 rated oils are suitable for extended drain intervals and have a High Temperature/High Shear rate viscosity > 3.5 mPa.s.

2007 ACEA A3 oils.jpg

Red Line oils are not included, because they do not submit for ACEA (European Automobile Manufacurers Assoc.) and API (American Petroleum Institute) testing. The bottle only says recommended for API SM/SL, etc. Here’s a Red Line engineer’s response regarding the testing.

Our oils have not been submitted to the API for the certification nor submitted for the European test procedures. The oils would still be suitable for use though. These tests are not a performance test but just a minimum level. There are a couple of reasons we don't submit products for these procedures. They are extremely expensive so would add substantially to the cost of the product without a benefit to the consumer. Also especially in reference to the API certification, we would need to change our formulation changing the additive package consequently reducing the protection offered and/or make an inferior product specifically for certification, neither option we find acceptable.

The Red Line oils would be well suited for use in your BMW, suitable for use with the various current oil spec requirements.

Below is an excerpt from the Red Line tech document discussing appropriate viscosity selection.

VISCOSITY GRADE SELECTION
The proper viscosity grade to use depends on many factors such as ambient temperature, miles on the engine, bearing and piston clearances, and type of service. A general rule of lubrication is to use the lowest viscosity possible which will provide the proper separation of metal. Anything more than this minimum will increase power loss due to friction and will reduce the pumpability of the oil at
all temperatures. However, one must consider synthetics differently when determining viscosity requirements. At high speeds, a petroleum 5W30 can appear to be a 15W in the bearings due to the shear stress, yet Red Line 5W30 will actually be an SAE 30 in the bearings. There is a significant difference in lubricating an engine with a 30 compared to a 15W. Red Line Synthetic oil will provide better viscosity protection than the next higher petroleum viscosity grade. If clearances are tight and very little lugging occurs, then the 5W30 or 10W30 should be adequate. Less turbo lag will be noticed with the 5W30. If ambient temperatures will regularly climb above 100°F, then the 10W40 would provide an additional safety margin. If the engine is air-cooled, or if the engine is older and has greater bearing and ring clearances, the 15W50 and 20W50 will develop a thicker oil film. If very low temperatures occur, the lower viscosity grades, (5W30, 10W30, or 10W40) will flow better and lubricate the engine more quickly after start-up.

It seems that a Xw-40 grade should be the starting point for determining oil viscosity in the S50 U.S./S52. Then you can account for variables such as track driving, high mileage and larger bearing tolerances and alter the selection if necessary.

Of course, BMW does recommend their High Performance Synthetic, which is a 5w-30, but the viscosity specs show that this oil is a viscous 30 weight. A 30 weight can run from 9.3-12.5cst@100c, the BMW oil is approximately 12.2cst. This is close to many 40 weight oils, therefore, it's the exception."
 
Have you considered Total Quartz racing 10W50?

Here's a (russian) link to a VOA

https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=3&hl=fr&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.oil-club.ru/forum/forum/33-laboratornye-analizy-svezhie/

This Total quartz 9000 Energy 5W40 is MB 229.5 certified so it shouldn't be that bad
smile.gif

Also it starts on the heavy side of a 40 grade (compared to most 0W40/5W40).
 
Originally Posted By: Popsy
Have you considered Total Quartz racing 10W50?

Here's a (russian) link to a VOA

https://translate.google.com/translate?depth=3&hl=fr&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.oil-club.ru/forum/forum/33-laboratornye-analizy-svezhie/

This Total quartz 9000 Energy 5W40 is MB 229.5 certified so it shouldn't be that bad
smile.gif

Also it starts on the heavy side of a 40 grade (compared to most 0W40/5W40).


Thanks for your reply.

I can say that I haven't necessarily considered that oil. At $40/5qt it's a fair bit more than what I obtained my current oil for, $25/5qt. At $40/5qt I believe that opens up a lot more options that I would love to run but simply can't see myself paying at this point.

I'm hoping that if I just change the oil more frequently that may be better than running a more expensive oil for longer duration. Perhaps this is flawed logic. Obviously if I changed them at the same interval...but once again, at some point I need to have a cut-off or my wife is going to want to know why the oil in her car costs so much!


Can anyone speak specifically to the values of the VOA? I'm mostly interested in what the takeway should be when comparing this oil to MB1 15w50 and Rotella T6. With regards to TBN, Sodium, and Zinc.
 
I would steer clear of French oils in the US and stick to one of the Mobil or Shell Sopus group (Penn) race oils. Check to see what your owners manual says about the API or Acea cats and SAE groups required and check the oil company web site oil finder page to see what is listed as a cross check.
 
I'll state the obvious, since I'm not an expert in VOA analysis
wink.gif


M1 (SN since I don't think SM formula is still available ?)uses Moly instead of Boron and a mixed Magnesium/Calcium detergent add pack. M1 has more Zinc, Total has Sodium. Don't know how they both compare
Total uses no Moly but Boron, and mostly Calcium as detergent. They both have similar starting TBN, but I remember seeing somewhere that in certain case Magnesium helped retain TBN better than Calcium (I may be wrong) ?

M1 15W50 is way thicker, I'm not sure it is really good for your car? You can maybe consider M1 0W40 or a mix of 15W50 (or 5W50) and 0W40 instead ?

Rotella T6 has a similar add pack to M1 (I guess Infineum add pack ?), a stronger TBN (more Magnesium). It is thinner than the Total and the M1 oil. It has good reputation (lol)
 
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