When is a motor oil not a motor oil?

Citation

Margaroni, D. (1999), "When is a motor oil not a motor oil?", Industrial Lubrication and Tribology, Vol. 51 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/ilt.1999.01851daa.002

When is a motor oil not a motor oil?

When is a motor oil not a motor oil?

Keywords Motor oils

There are many examples of products available to the consumer in the UK, which, although purporting to be motor oils, do not offer the degree of performance which could rightfully be expected from such a product. Many low grade products, at the very bottom of the price scale, although often meeting the readily evaluated viscometric requirements, contain low, or in some cases, virtually zero levels of the additives which confer protection against wear, corrosion, oxidation, sludge formation, etc. That this situation is allowed to exist in today's consumer-protection orientated society is something of an anomaly, but can be explained by a number of reasons. First, the consumer is unable to perform any sort of evaluation of quality at the time of purchase, and second, there is no discernible ''cause and effect'' relationship when vehicles are refilled with inferior quality oils. Any subsequent problems arising directly from the use of low grade lubricants may well not become apparent until later in the life of the vehicle, perhaps after several thousand miles have elapsed and a possible change of ownership. Regulation bodies are reluctant to commit to expensive engine testing necessary to properly evaluate lubricant performance, although the degree of inadequacy can often be evaluated by ion analysis. All engines in good condition can benefit from the use of quality lubricants, even those which were manufactured many years before the availability of today's high performance oils. Engines in poor condition would be written off by the MOT emission tests. Admittedly, the owner of the vehicle destined to be written-off at the next MOT would not welcome the prospect of having to top-up with a high quality motor oil and, in this sort of situation, the use of a low grade lubricant would be appropriate. However, the current sales volumes of such low grade lubricants considerably exceed the expected requirements of the current vehicle parc falling into this category, leading one to believe that much of the low grade product currently being purchased is being used inappropriately. In an effort to alert the public, the British Lubricants Federation has recently issued a Lubricants ''Fact Sheet'' which is being widely distributed. The leaflet endeavours to explain the situation to the layman in relatively simple terms, and plans are in hand for further follow-up measures to rectify this anomaly.