The Full Frame

Okay, so I just bought some royal purple 10w30, firstly because it was on sale. Secondly because I wanted to go a bit thicker for summer.

So far, engine temps are unaffected, as well as oil pressure.

But I took some of the oil to the lab today and ashed the oil to see how much of it is left over after combustion.

I followed the following procedure;

1) remove Pyrex ash crucible from 105 degree Celsius drying oven to a desiccator to cool down to room temperature. (the crucible needs to be ambient temp because hot air rises, and can throw off the scale because of tiny air currents) (the crucible is in the oven because it keeps it completely moisture free)
2) weigh crucible on analytical balance, record weight
3) Tare crucible
4) add oil to crucible
5) record weight
6) burn off the bulk of the matter using a Bunsen burner in a vented fume hood (just so nobody has to smell it as it is combusting)
7) Place in 600 degree Celsius muffle furnace ( 1112 degrees Fahrenheit)
8) wait
9) take crucible out of furnace and place in 105 degree Celsius oven to cool down
10) take out of 105 degree Celsius oven and place in desiccator to get to room temperature
11) weigh, record weight
12) calculate

Anyways, the scale is accurate to four decimal places, and is calibrated daily, along with weekly trends being performed for accuracy.

The scale is approved by the FDA and USDA for pharmaceutical manufacture.

So
41.3644 (crucible + burned oil) – 41.3570 (crucible)
—————————————————————-
.6139 (weight of oil)

multiply that by 100 = percent unburned at 1112 degrees Fahrenheit for 3 hours.

= 1.2 percent

Its kind of unnerving that 1.2 percent of the total oil injected is not combustible at 1112 degrees Farenheit for 3 whole hours.

Sweet.

tomorrow I will do some regular dino oil

—————————-
Valvoline 10w30 dino oil

44.0788 (crucible + burned oil) – 44.0746 (crucible)
—————————————————————-
.6160 (weight of oil)

multiply by 100 = .7 percent

Mobil 1 10w30 synthetic oil

42.6640 (crucible + burned oil) – 42.6600 (crucible)
—————————————————————-
.5719 (weight of oil)

multiply by 100 = .7 percent

Castrol 10w30 dino oil

40.1356 (crucible + burned oil) – 40.1318 (crucible)
—————————————————————-
.6123 (weight of oil)

multiply by 100 = .6 percent

So:

Royal Purple 10w30 = 1.2 percent
Valvoline 10w30 conventional = .7 percent
Castrol 10w30 dino oil = .6 percent
Mobil 1 10w30 synthetic oil = .7 percent

Analysis:

The Royal Purple left an oily looking black/purple residue on the bottom of the crucible even after the 3 hour period. It is likely that this would be trace minerals and metals similar to anti seize products. This may be what causes the polishing effect that Royal Purple claims increases the cleanliness of the engine. Also, around the oily blotch on the bottom of the crucible was what looked like a ring of yellow sulfur. Very noticeable. Sulfur in certain molecules is generally not very good for organic things, such as rubber seals or skin for that matter. There is no way to know the causticity of the residue without further analysis.

The Valvoline burned cleaner from the start, it left hardly any residue after the initial burn in the Bunsen burner, and coming out of the 1112 oven all that was left was a small splotch of gray ashes.

So, my interpretation of the two oils is this:

The Royal Purple is made as a lubricant, with superior additives for engine lubrication and heat resistance. This may be a bad thing in an engine designed to consume oil, as the additives have show burning resistance in very high temperatures.

The Valvoline is also primarily made as a lubricant, but its mostly organic nature allows it to burn “cleaner” as it has fewer additives designed to withstand high temperatures (metal ions and such). This may make it better to use in an engine designed to burn the oil. But the downside of this is it seemed that pure carbon was the result of the ashing, a side product of the breakdown of the organic molecules.

Basically you have two choices: Royal Purple = metal and semi-metals in engine, Valvoline = carbon in engine.

I will buy some two stroke, and some other synthetic oils to test.

-*******************

Impressions on Castrol and Mobil 1

The Castrol burned well, with very little soot on the crucible. Results comparable to valvoline.

the mobil 1 burned well also, but strangely enough, left a purple blotchy residue just like the Royal Purple did. Even so, its organic content was greater than that of Royal Purple.