Brooking 850
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- Oct 3, 2011
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Checking on the checker!!!
So after having a cam failure and getting sucked into reading way to much crap about oils, I decided if I wanted to know I better do some more testing.
I had a Timkin scar tester some years ago but never thought it gave me any good valuable info so I put something together to do some testing. It is basically a scar tester that uses a Norton follower instead of a Timkin roller. This gives me line contact instead of point contact so I can use a lot more speed and load without causing an instant scar like the Timkin tester did. That plus the ability to monitor oil temps gives me an idea of the friction.
Here is what I built. Not real pretty but it works rather well.
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Here are the three oils I tested
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Before each test I installed a new race on the arbor and resurfaced the follower with a 600 grit finish. Two ounces of oil were measured into the reservoir.
The first five minutes of each run were done with low weight on the follower to allow the parts to mate. Then the load was increased to full load which places approximately 150 lbs of pressure on the follower. I reported the temperature every five minutes and stopped at 30 minutes unless the oil failed sooner.
The first test is VR1 20-50
The second test is Royal Purple XPR 20-50
The third test is Mobil 1 20-50 V-twin
The fourth test was VR1 again.
You VR fans might want to change the channel.
The clear winner as far as friction goes was the XPR
For the next test I want to raise the temp of the XPR and make sure it still holds the load at 200 degrees like the Mobil 1 did.
The I have some Spectro v-twin, some Rotella and some Yamalube to test next and some Motul 20-60 on order.
Jim, I worked for Torco for a number of years, we made products for most of the motorcycle industry over the years. The Zinc additives come in various qualities, they are not all the same. Some work at lower temps some higher. We had a Falex tester, something similar to what you used in your test. But with oil temp and the temp of the part being tested. I've been away from the oil business for some years now so I'm not up on the latest stuff. The reason the temp on M1 oil test may have been coming down is the cam follower may have gotten hot enough to activate the zinc reducing the temp of the follower and the oil sample.
Torco's MPZ product had two types of Zinc in it. One would activate at 350 F and one at 500 F. That's the temperature of the part not the oil. The oil temp could have been 250 to 270 F. Pretty normal for a race engine. Too much Zinc and phosphors can lead to deposits, sticky rings etc. Valvoline used to make a product called Indy Ford racing oil. It was not sold at the retail level but was available to certain sponsored racers. The load carriers in that product were very high to protect cams and followers. Deposits were not of concern because of the short time it was used. Before NASCAR went to roller cam followers PSI on the nose of the cam was as high as 700 to 1000 PSI. I'm surprised the cam lasted as long as they did.
I'm sure I'm not saying anything you don't already know. Maybe roller cam followers would solve the Norton cam wear issue?
Money sent a couple of days ago. Thanks, Jim, for testing that Castrol v-Twin 4T. Looks like I'll be paying more for oil in the future.If you guys are finding value in what I am doing and want to contribute a little to help offset the costs -then I will gladly accept paypal at my e-mail address. Jim
Done! I accept the actual data now that I've seen how it matches my perception based on witchcraft and marketing.If you guys are finding value in what I am doing and want to contribute a little to help offset the costs -then I will gladly accept paypal at my e-mail address. Jim
Money sent a couple of days ago. Thanks, Jim, for testing that Castrol v-Twin 4T. Looks like I'll be paying more for oil in the future.
Best deals I cd find on eBay today (delivered prices) :
Next to the per liter price, I put the Follower pressure limit as seen in the tests, in parentheses, and next to that, the dollar/liter per pound of pressure, in square brackets.
112630 Mobil 1 20W-50 (from Pep Boys online!) $7.36/qt = 6.965/Liter (194) [$.0359]
822347 Valvoline VR1 Racing $8.663/qt = 8.20/L (118) [$.0695]
06116 Castrol V-Twin 4T $9.79/qt = 9.27/L (171) [$.0542]
02707 Gibbs Driven 15W-50 Synth (12 Qt case) $13.33/qt = 12.62/L (120) [$.1052]
6051 Royal XPR 20W-50 $13.705/qt= 12.97/L (199+, 205 estimated) [$.0633]
104245 Motul 300V 20W-60 $38.98/2 liter can = 19.49/L (199+, 215 estimated) [$.0906]
I cd not figure out which Spectro was tested...
Done....... looking forward to the bean oil which is "in the mail"If you guys are finding value in what I am doing and want to contribute a little to help offset the costs -then I will gladly accept paypal at my e-mail address. Jim
Will you be testing Redline 20 W 50 Synthetic.......Thanks for all the work.
Here is the Spectro I tested.