Motor Oil Info

A farmer and his dad raise beef cattle on there farm and grow their own hay and oats to feed the herd. Last year was the first time they used AGGRAND Natural Liquid Fertilizer instead of their usual 16-16-16 and 46-0-0 chemical fertilizers on their oats and hay crops.

Altogether, their planted about 140 acres with oats and hay. They fertilized the fields in early spring, 1.5 gallons of AGGRAND 4-3-3 natural fertilizer mixed in 33 gallons of water per acre. The plants came up slowly. By May they started to perk up, they didn’t have much spring rain last year.

In late May, a hard rain fell that knocked down the plants. They didn’t think the oat crop would come up, but it did come up and they gave it a second shot of AGGRAND. In the second round of fertilization they applied one gallon of AGGRAND Natural Fertilizer 4-3-3 and one quart of AGGRAND Natural Kelp and Sulfate of Potash per acre. It was mostly dry after that, they pretty much grew that crop with that one rain.

At harvest time, the plants were almost more heads than stems. They got more than they usually get on a good year.

It was some of the heaviest oats we ever grew seedwise. They could tell when they combined it that it had a lot more weight.

The most commonly used anti-wear additive in motor oil is zinc dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP). ZDDP contains both zinc and phosphorus components working together to provide anti-wear protection, and is most important during cam “break-in” procedures. Proper break-in lubes should be used during the break-in phase for all new or rebuilt engines with flat tappets. These lubricants provide the extra protection required to reduce wear at the point of contact during break-in and help the flat tappet face properly mate with the cam lobe. Once the break-in phase is completed, AMSOIL motor oils, which are formulated with high levels of zinc and phosphorus, will provide premium protection to flat tappet cams.

All engines, especially high-performance modified engines, benefit from oils with superior film strength and anti-wear properties. The flat tappet/camshaft lobe interface is the one area in an engine that has extreme contact load. Since this load increases significantly when non-stock, high-pressure valve springs are employed, the use of properly formulated motor oils is extremely important to reduce wear and extend flat tappet/camshaft life.

Flat tappet camshafts undergo extreme pressure and loads, thus requiring an engine oil that is fortified with anti-wear additives to provide premium protection. The severity of higher spring pressure in racing engine also creates the need for additional wear protection.

To preserve catalytic converter life, phosphorus levels in motor oil have been reduced. Concerns have risen that oils containing lower levels of zinc/phosphorus could provide insufficient protection in high-pressure areas of flat tappets and camshaft lobes found in many older and high performance engines.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) and International Lubricants Standards Approval Committee (ILSAC) have mandated the reduction of phosphorus to extend catalytic converter life. However, reducing the level of (ZDDP) zinc dialkyldithiophosphate can compromise protection to engine components, most notably in flat tappet camshafts. Current API SM and ILSAC GF-4 specifications for gasoline engine have maximum and minimum phosphorus levels of 800 ppm and 600 ppm. AMSOIL has synthetic motor oil with high levels of anti-wear additives.

Typically, a type of additive called Viscosity Modifier (VM) or Viscosity Index Improver (VII) is added to the base oil to achieve multigrade performance. These types of organic polymer additives thicken the oil at high temperatures while having a minimal thickening effect at low temperatures. The addition of a viscosity modifier allows for the use of lower viscosity base oils to achieve the cold temperature requirements. The use of light weight petroleum oils increase oil volatility (burn-off), contributing to excessive oil consumption and oil thickening.

AMSOIL Heavy Duty Diesel Oil (ACD) and Small Engine Oil (ASE) meet multigrade viscosity requirements without the use of viscosity modifiers. This is accomplished through the use of naturally high viscosity index, wax-free synthetic oils. These oils meet both the low temperature requirements of SAE 10w and the high temperature requirements of SAE 30. Thus the products are true SAE10w-30 and SAE 30 oils.

A way to classify the motor oil is to add the letter “W” behind the number. The “W” stands for winter and indicates that an oil is suitable for use in colder temperatures. The lower the number in front of the “W”, the better the cold temperature protection. This service classification mainly looks at the low temperature viscosity of the oil.

SAE20 and SAE20w are two totally separate monograde classifications. SAE20 describes the high temperature viscosity of the oil and SAE20w describes the low temperature cranking capability of the oil.

In order to allow engines to start at low temperatures while providing sufficient viscosity at high temperatures to protect engines against wear, multigrade oils were developed. An oil can be classified as a multigrade SAE 20w-20 if the can meet both the low temperature cranking viscosity of 4500 cP at -15C and the 100C high temperature kinematic viscosity requirement between 5.6 and 9.3 cSt.

Transplanting is a stressful period for young bedding plants. Minimizing transplant shock keeps plants growing vigorously, avoiding flowering delays and reduced yields.

AGGRAND Natural Fertilizer is a must for watering-in small transplants. Use a mixture of three oz. of AGGRAND 4-3-3/gal. of water for watering-in transplants. The addition of one to two oz. of AGGRAND Liquid Bonemeal to the solution to increase phosphorus and calcium availability when watering-in the transplants will aid in promoting long term root development. Shrubs and trees should be soaked overnight in a bucket of 4-3-3 before transplanting. Use a mixture of one oz. of AGGRAND 4-3-3/gal. of water for bare root soaking.

Avoid transplanting during the heat of the day to avoid root desiccation (drying out).

Cloudy weather is the best time to transplant.

Keep soil moist until root systems are well established.

Sludge formation is caused by oil being subjected to abnormal operation conditions such as high heat, excessive blow-by gasses, glycol contamination or poor crankcase ventilation. Sludge formation, if severe enough, can block the oil passages and oil pump pick up screen, resulting in oil starvation.

AMSOIL Synthetic Oils have better oxidation resistance, detergency and dispersancy than conventional petroleum oils, and they do a better job of resisting sludge. However, they will not stop sludge formation under abnormal engine operating conditions. The use of synthetic oil for the best possible engine protection is endorsed by Consumer Reports.

In order to pass the requirements of MERCON V, automatic transmission fluids must not exceed a 25 percent viscosity increase following 300 hours of testing. AMSOIL Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid easily passed the 300-hour ABOT test, exhibiting no viscosity increase. The test was allowed to continue for 1,106 hours, over three times the standard test length. Even after 1,106 hours, AMSOIL Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fuild exhibited a minimal 6.45 percent viscosity increase, still easily passing MERCON V requirement for 300 hours.

Texaco Havoline Automatic Transmission Fluid did not fare as well. Although it passed the 300-hour test requirement with a 10.66 percent viscosity increase, viscosity increased significantly as the test was allowed to continue. It exceeded the 25 percent viscosity increase mark after 500 hours, then soared to a 3,539.04 percent viscosity increase after 1,012 hours.

More than 35 years of providing consistently superior products has defined a new level of quality. AMSOIL has built its reputation on providing the most advanced synthetic motor oils available, so quality control is paramount. Everything from raw chemicals to quart bottles is thoroughly tested to ensure it meets AMSOIL quality parameters.

Part of the quality control process at AMSOIL includes filtering finished products before they are packaged. AMSOIL has always filtered its products to a higher degree than industry standards mandate, and the recent transfer of AMSOIL production facilities to the AMSOIL Center provided the perfect opportunity to incorporate even more advanced new filtration technologies.

A great deal of emphasis is placed on the importance of using of the most advanced high-quality lubricants, but superior filtration is often taken for granted. The general attitude displayed by many consumers is to use whatever is cheapest, even when they’ve invested in superior lubrication. While AMSOIL synthetic motor oils provide unbeatable protection, performance and economy, they require the assistance of filtration. Without filtration, by-products from the combustion process and abrasive materials ingested from the air will ultimately destroy an engine.

The SAE paper on filtration discusses the introduction of synthetic fibers into the oil filter market, which offer “the capability of achieving high levels of filtration without the traditional sacrifice of dirt holding capacity and increased flow restriction.” Today, a new pinnacle has been reached with synthetic nanofiber technology and AMSOIL Ea Oil Filters offer even greater performance, the message then was the same as it is now; removal of particles measuring 2 to 25 microns is the key to controlling engine wear, and there is a direct correlation between oil filter efficiency and engine wear.