Proper lubrication reduces wear and friction by acting as a physical barrier (oil film) between moving parts. Contrary to common belief, metal-to-metal contact does occur, and the effectiveness of an anti-wear coating on these surfaces is crucial. Oil also keeps crucial engine components like bearings cool. Throughout the engine’s operating range, the amount of viscosity in the motor oil has a significant impact on the “hydro-dynamic bearing” oil film layer that develops on and between moving engine components. 

When there is insufficient layer to prevent surface contact, boundary lubrication occurs, which is where the primary anti-wear component ZDDP contributes to the engine’s protection.

In modern engines, using thicker lubricants than the manufacturer recommends may not always give better protection; instead, using thinner oils will typically result in higher fuel efficiency. Lower viscosity motor oils are crucial for increasing fuel efficiency because they lessen drag where high viscous friction occurs in hydrodynamic lubrication. 

Lower viscosities have the adverse impact of diminishing the engine oil’s hydrodynamic film strength and high temperature high shear viscosity, two factors that are essential for protecting high performance engines, even though they greatly boost fuel efficiency.Detergent oils contain dispersants, friction reducers, anti-foam, anti-corrosion, and anti-wear additives, all of which can affect how durable and strong anti-wear films are. 

Not all motor oils are created equal when it comes to the quantities of base oils, chemicals and detergents used. New technology has arrived. Hi Performance hydrocarbons created from renewable and sustainable feedstocks and processes. Molecular modeling has created carbon backbone that is much thicker in these molecules allowing better heat transfer across the carbon bonds. Less branching means less friction, More linear molecules something that isn’t possible with petroleum as it crystallizes when it tries to achieve such linearity. In addition, new eco label degreasers eliminate contaminants like wear particles and neutralize acids produced by combustion byproducts and naturally occurring oil breakdown, but they can also stop ZDDP anti-wear films from developing on critical engine components. 

Rumor has it that the EPA has banned zinc and phosphorus in motor oils. This is false.

In particular, the zinc (Zn) and phosphorus (P) that are contained in ECORSA Motorsport Engine Oils are the zinc (Zn) and phosphorus (P) that make up the anti-wear ingredient ZDDP, zinc dialkyl dithiosphosphate. ZZDP is used in the Ecorsa Motorsport® Engine Oil. But it’s vital to remember that “racing,” “extreme duty,” and other motor oils may not necessarily be covered by the new API regulations. Most Petroleum Racing Oils due to their lack of shear stability and relatively high quantities of viscosity improvers, the majority of typical 10w40 and 5w50 and 20W50 petroleum grades should be avoided. 

Due to different formulation requirements than those for older engines, modern or synthetic oils may not provide your engine with the amount of protection it needs. When choosing oil for your engine, brand, prior performance, or manufacturer approvals alone do not guarantee the best oil. Evolve Lubricant’s pursuit of the best performing oil led it to renewable hydrocarbons.

Even before the API’s SM and SN standards were published, there was concern that the 2003 API SL standards, which restricted ZDDP, the “most effective combination anti-wear and anti-oxidant additives currently available,” would prevent motor oils from being backwards compatible. SAE 2003-01-1957, Shell Global Solutions, Effect of Oil Drain Interval on Crankcase Lubricant Quality. Oils must continue to provide protection during intensive activities, according to the Shell scientists, but their usefulness is “restricted by environmental considerations.” Furthermore, they believe that it may take an engine’s lifetime to realize the effects of these reformulated oils because estimating their effects with only one oil change is difficult. 

WHY PORSCHE ?

         “ It is said of most car collections there is at least one air cooled Porsche to be found”

What universal characteristics especially make motor oils suitable for an air cooled engine? Apart from Porsche’s guidelines, what makes a decent motor oil? 

These oils must “maintain proper lubrication and protect critical engine components under the intense pressure and high temperature conditions” found in air-cooled Porsches. They must also be thermally stable, with a high flashpoint and low Noack volatility. 

Many well-known Porsche engine builders recommend using 20w50 viscosities in hotter climates above 90F and 15w40 viscosities in colder climates below that. Mobil 1 15w50 has been a popular year-round option in air-cooled Porsche models, and Porsche recommends and uses it as a factory fill in new cars. What was once considered “safe” oil is no longer so, as many of these lubricants have been reformulated for a variety of reasons, including longer drain intervals and emissions control protection. 

Furthermore, purchasing a certain brand no longer ensures satisfactory performance. While using a manufacturer-approved oil to protect your warranty is generally preferable if your vehicle is still under warranty, using a factory-approved or suggested oil does not always ensure the best results. When there are no warranty conditions, your lubricant options grow dramatically.

To select the finest lubricant, it is critical to understand and be open to new advances in both chemistry and modern refining, to both base oils and additive technology. Modern molecular modeling, combined with advancements in the technique that permits exact control of branching, has resulted in higher performance base oils that outperform synthetic petroleum engine oils. Specifically, renewable hydrocarbons that are sulfur-free. Evolve EvoSyn® Renewable Non- Petroleum Lubricants are API-SN certified suitable for use in you Porsche or other high-performance automobile. 

Earlier SH/SJ Mobil lubricant formulations, including Mobil 1, had more Zn and P content than more recent SL, SM, or SN formulations. Even the most recently “re-introduced” formulations are not what many retailers and company owners are used to. Many products with “adequate” Zn and P levels still contain high levels of Ca detergents, which are well known in various SAE publications for wearing out engines faster than Ca/Mg or Ca/Mg/Na detergents and were previously present in oils like Mobil 1 15w50 when it was API SH/SJ rated and before it was reformulated.

This contributes to the industry-wide trend of eliminating zinc and phosphorus from motor oils and transitioning to ca-based detergents, with an ultimate reduction to 0.06-0.08% or, worse, the removal of these additives, which are critical to the longevity of an air-cooled Porsche engine. Zn and P levels in racing oils should be between 1500 and 2200 ppm, with lesser detergency oils requiring less Zn and P. This is determined by how detergent an oil is and the detergents used. As previously mentioned , finished lubricant refiners have reduced their use of Zn and P as anti-wear additives. 

The API, or American Petroleum Institute, which is in charge of developing permanent standards for motor oils, has ordered this phosphorus content reduction from ZDDP. Zn and P have been found to be harmful to catalytic converters. Unless there is oil in the exhaust, this is not a concern. 

 API introduced the API SJ classification in 1996 to limit viscosities of 10w30 and below to a maximum of 0.10%. For the standard Porsche engine viscosities of 15w40 and 20w50, there was no maximum phosphorus limit. Despite the fact that the API SL standard had lower constraints for high temperature deposits, it maintained this higher limit. To limit sulfur, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbon emissions, the API SM mandated phosphorus concentrations of less than 0.08%. 

The most significant difference between the API SM and SN standards is that the latter mandated a maximum phosphorus content of 0.08% for all motor oil viscosities, not just the 10w30 and lighter oils that the previous API standard limited, and limits for high temperature deposits are reduced, necessitating more detergency for increased engine cleanliness and allowing longer drain intervals. However, the right approach to get longer drain intervals is to use an oil that does not oxidize as quickly as petroleum; yet again, the superior specialized molecular modeling of Evolve Lubricants renewable base oils vastly outperform petroleum’s best attempt in oxidation performance. 

The most recent API SN+ and SP oil standards add protection against low-speed pre-ignition, improved engine cleaning, and higher fuel efficiency while preserving the same phosphorus concentration limitations. Because of these variables, the majority of modern oils are incompatible with older engines. To address this issue, Evolve introduced Ecorsa Motorsort® Engine oil for older air-cooled engines. 

Before the tendency to reduce Zn and P levels, lubricants recommended for use in aircooled boxer engines typically included 0.14% Zn and 0.14% P content with less detergency than present street-car formulations.  In comparison, an API SE-rated virgin oil sample of Kendal GT-1 motor oil from the 1970s showed 0.14% Zn and 0.12% P and significantly reduced detergency with the relatively short drain intervals then recommended by auto manufacturers. This sample was created prior to today’s strict Zn and P requirements. 

Oils with newer API SH and SJ requirements and no phosphorus limit were devised, tested, and used in aircooled engines until the end of production of the Porsche 993 with aircooled Mezger engine. Given an average of 0.25% total detergents and this information, it is possible to estimate that every given motor oil must include at least 0.14% zinc and 0.12% phosphorus for aircooled engines (which is the average detergency for API SJ rated oils). The lower the detergency, the less ZDDP is required. Always remember that formulation balance is everything here!

Since Zn, P, and sulfated ash were discovered to be harmful to catalytic converters, oil companies have reduced their use of Zn and P as anti-wear additives, instead opting for alternative zinc-free (ZF) additives and ash-less dispersants in their new low SAPS oils. Boron and molybdenum disulfide, among other friction modifiers, have been added to modern oils to compensate for the EPA’s need to cut the levels of zinc and phosphorus since they do not clog the catalysts in particulate emissions filters or catalytic converters. Notably, most Porsches have run their whole lives with high Zn and P oils, such as those found in API SG-SJ oils as recently as 2004, and we have never heard of catalytic converter problems with these vehicles. 

Evolve’s Renewable Evosyn® engine oils’ cutting-edge technology has bridged the gap between fuel efficiency and wear requirements. These enhancements do not completely address the wear issues of older vehicles that demand greater quantities of Zn and P, such as Evolve’s Ecorsa Motorsport®. In addition to emissions regulations, several other design variables, such as increased fuel efficiency and longer drain intervals, are considered while designing engine lubricants. 

Many manufacturers have reformulated oils to suit the EPA’s mandated longer emission control warranties and contemporary engine design, as well as to improve fuel economy by reducing fiction. With hydrodynamic lubrication in bearings, large viscous friction forces and drag may occur, or boundary lubrication may generate high friction in such areas. 

The use of friction modifiers such as moly (there are many different species of Mo-based friction modifiers that help to reduce friction in metal-on-metal contact). With even marginally over additized quantities of Molybdenum in Toyota Formula Atlantic Race Engines of Hasselgren Engineering, we have seen oil filters and passages blocked by Moly resulting in engine failure. Although marketed as an anti-wear ingredient, “moly” has mostly been used to improve the CAFE fuel economy criteria. When combined with ZDDP, the inclusion of boron improves anti-wear properties (Corporate Average Fuel Economy, established by Congress in 1975). The European ACEA A3/B4 “mid-SAPS and full-SAPS” classifications are better at taking into account wear and engine longevity, and allow for higher Zn levels while capping P levels at 0.10-0.12%. 

A good example is a Porsche A40 certified lubricant for more current water-cooled models, which, although possessing an API SM or SN grade, must contain 0.10-0.12% Zn to meet ACEA criteria. 

The ACEA A3/B4 categories currently require higher high-temperature high-shear (HTHS) viscosities, stay-in-grade sheer stability, and stronger limits on evaporative loss (Noack volatility), high temperature oxidation, and piston varnish. In each of these ASTM tests, Evolve Oil tested with Porsche AG outperformed every other reference oil on the market today. 

Because the valve train wear restrictions are far stricter—between 1/6th and 1/4th of the wear permissible in the sequences for API’s SM or CJ-4 standards—oils meeting these ACEA requirements are thus considerably better for your Porsche. Evolve Renewable completed these A40 standards (which were paid for by Porsche) and, as a young company, we are striving to finalize the A40 certifications with Porsche and the 511,512 approvals with VW for our EvoSyn® Non-Petroleum Renewable High Performance Engine Oils. 

 Similarly, when choosing between a 0w40 and a 5w40, the 5w40 with its narrower viscosity spread will keep its viscosity better and provide overall higher protection, albeit at a slight loss in fuel efficiency. Synthetic oils have higher shear stability than conventional oils, making them more resistant to thinning and evaporation at high temperatures. Furthermore, synthetics have excellent cold flow qualities that significantly reduce start-up wear. 

Although the bulk of modern synthetics contain seal-swelling agents, esters based on traditional, group IV and V base oils leak. Evolves 100% renewable synthetic oil is created from exceptionally highly refined hydrocarbons and is designated as a Group III Plus not esters, which are known to cause leakage at the seals.  Evolve’s products provide a solution for customers concerned about the introduction of new leaks or the escalation of current breaches. 

Whether you use non-synthetic or synthetic oil, the formulation is equally as important as whether you use conventional or synthetic lubricants. Except for expense, there is no reason not to use synthetic oil in your Porsche or any other aircooled engine.