Motor Oils Photo:
Motor Oils Photo: Automobile Németh AG/MOTOREX Motor Oils 50 40 30 20 10 0 VW Beetle 1971 32.3 kW/2.5 l These days ever greater power is being produced with ever less engine. Only customized high-tech motor oils are up to the job. We tell you why. High-Power from barrel to engine “3, 2, 1 – blast off!” Ever faster pistons make new demands on the materials and lubricants used in engines. 1. Car oil load rating 1971 – 2004 Trend: rising Citroën C3 1,6i 16V Pluriel 80 kW/4.5 l Smart Roadster 60 kW/2.7 l Opel Signum 3.2 V6 155 kW/4.75 l Audi TT 3.2 V6 184 kW/5.5 l Renault Clio Sport 3.0 V6 187 kW/5.5 l A comparison of vehicle models, ratings in kW and oil content in litres HONDA NSX 3.2 V6 206 kW/5.0 l The V6 gasoline engine in your new car quickly revs up to top speed, its pistons zipping up and down the cylinder at speeds of up to 90 km/h. If it weren’t for the piston rods and crankshafts holding them firmly in place, these pistons would reach the eighth story of an apartment block in just one second. 21, 22, 23... the piston travels 25 m every second, outstripping even the fastest elevator (typical speed 2 m/s). Meanwhile, you are enjoying driving your car. The fact that you are doing so, means that everything is running smoothly. The type of motor oil that you are using, plays an important part in your car’s engine. Fast moving molecules of the lubricant ensure that the metal surfaces of the piston and cylinder never come into physical contact even at 25 m/s, but instead slide hydrodynamically against each other. The motor oil also has the job of providing optimum lubrication for everything that needs it. Increasing performance per liter The hood of your car conceals technical marvels. Today more power is being produced with less engine. The benchmarks for the lubricants used in modern engines are high – very high in fact. Conventional engine oils fall short of the mark. Heavily stressed engines require custom formulations that have proven their value in both laboratory and real-life settings. The oil load rating, which is the quotient of the engine rating in kW and the engine’s oil capacity in liters expressed in kW per liter (see graphic 1), delivers impressive proof of the massive increase in stress to which motor oils are subject. In 1971 a 44 hp (32.3 kW) VW Beetle chugged merrily along with 2.5 liters of oil – a load rating of 13 kw/l. These days an Audi TT with a 3.2-liter V6 engine generating 184 kW needs 5.5 liters of oil. Its load rating is no less than 33 kw/l! Only the best ingredients A master chef can delight diners only if he has the best ingredients for his creations. This simple rule also applies to our chemists and engineers. It needs specially selected base fluids, the ideal additives and close collaboration with famous engine manufacturers to create formulas that merit official, documented approval from companies such as VW/AUDI, BMW, DAIMLER-CHRYSLER, PORSCHE and VOLVO. The biggest decision is the choice of base fluid within the internationally standardized classes 1 to 4 (see graphic 2). Minimum HTHS viscosity < 3.5 mm 2 /s Fun driving and the good feeling that comes from knowing you’re using less fuel – both are now possible with novel SAE 0W/30, SAE 0W/40, SAE 5W/30 or 5W/ 40 super-low viscosity motor oils. An increasing number of vehicle manufacturers have jettisoned the old ACEA A3/B3 limit and its minimum HTHS viscosity of 3.5 mm 2 /s and are demanding HTHS values significantly below 3.5 mm 2 /s (HTHS stands for high temperature, high shear; it refers to the viscosity of an oil at 150°C and a high velocity between the piston and cylinder, see also graphic 3). Engine technology is now deliberately pushing back its own limits, and with them the limits of lubricant chemistry. Since the clearance between piston and cylinder ranges from 2 to 10 thousandths of a millimeter, the lubricating film is compressed to 2 – 5 mm. The oils must also provide perfect lubrication at 250°C all the way up to the head land. Super-class motor oils such as these can only be formulated using fully synthetic and synthetic performance base fluids and sophisticated additive systems. 1) EU application pending 4. Car exhaust emissions, EU3 to EU5 8 9 100% 50% 100% 50% With its XPERIENCE, CONCEPT and PROFILE families, MOTOREX has the ideal officially prescribed engine oil for every in-house approval – or in other words, for every model of vehicle. Step by step toward ZEV? Faster, ever more power with no extra weight, minimum emissions… Where is the future leading us? In the United States, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has pushed through legislation on zero emission vehicles (ZEV). By 2018 up to 16% of all new vehicles will have to be completely emission-free. At present zero emissions are only possible only with electric motors. The future development of the gasoline engine will be determined by huge reductions in emissions and substantially reduced fuel consumption. Technical solutions have already been found to enable diesel car engines to comply with EU4 requirements, which will come into force in 2005, and some of these solutions have already been implemented. As for EU5, although it is scheduled to take effect in 2010, it will certainly come into force earlier. 100% 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 CO 1) 16% 20% HC+NOx EU 3 NOx year 2000 4 2005 5 PM = particles (soot) PM NOx = nitrogen oxide 2008 HC+NOx = hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxide by 2010 CO = carbon monoxide 54% 23% 100% 78 78% in % (EU3 = 100%) Engines and motor oils: a performance partnership that goes hand in hand (see graphic 4). High power in MOTOREX barrels and in your engine! MOTOREX’s specialists are embracing this challenge and will continue to blaze a trail with their forward-looking inventions. efinement stage 2B 2. Base d c la asse se Fully synthetic base fluids 3. HTHS barrier 3.5 mm 2 /s lower viscosity, more power Performance ACEA A5/B5 ACEA A1/B1 HTHS at 150°C ACEA A3/B3 A2/B2 HTHS < 3.5 3.5 > 3.5 HTHS = high-temperature, high-shear 1) Crude oil 40 – 1 20 80 – 120
