Driving Innovation Through Precision


Savant Labs combines scientific rigor and customer partnerships to advance the science of fluids.


In today’s rapidly evolving lubricant and fluid markets, reliable testing and data-driven insights are critical to advancing product performance and meeting new industry challenges. For more than five decades, Savant Labs has stood at the forefront of lubricant and fluid analysis while delivering precision, speed, and scientific integrity to clients around the world.


At Savant Labs, our mission is simple yet powerful as we empower innovation through accurate and timely testing. From traditional petroleum-based formulations to cutting-edge fluids for electric vehicles and advanced industrial applications, our laboratory combines deep technical expertise with state-of-the-art instrumentation to help clients understand, validate, and optimize their products.


Our comprehensive testing capabilities


include physical, chemical, and performance evaluations from spanning viscosity, oxidation stability, wear protection, corrosion, deposits, and more. Whether developing a new additive package, verifying product quality, or troubleshooting performance in the field, Savant Labs delivers dependable, independent data that supports confident, informed decisions.


As part of the Savant Group, Savant Labs benefits from close collaboration with Tannas Co. and King Refrigeration, creating seamless integration between testing services and innovative instrument development. This synergy ensures our laboratory remains equipped with the latest technology - including proprietary test methods such as the Conductive Deposit Test (CDT) and Wire Corrosion Test (WCT), each designed to deliver unparalleled insight into lubricant behavior under real-world conditions.


While innovation and precision define our technical foundation, exceptional customer service defines our culture. Our clients


consistently recognize the responsiveness and care that accompany our scientific excellence. As one customer remarked, “You never disappoint. You always overdeliver.” Another added, “Thank you for all your kind support. I realize there is an overwhelming number of requests from our side, and your timely replies and communication help greatly.”


These words reflect what drives the Savant Labs team every day, the belief that successful partnerships are built not only on data, but on trust, communication, and a shared commitment to progress.


Our dedication extends beyond the lab. We actively contribute to ASTM, SAE, and other standards organizations, helping to shape the evolution of testing methodologies and industry best practices. Through these efforts, Savant Labs continues to uphold its reputation as both a trusted partner and a thought leader in lubricant science.


From R&D through quality assurance, Savant Labs provides more than results. We provide


understanding. With our experienced team, rapid turnaround, and unwavering commitment to precision and service, we help our customers bring better products to the market.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/Mvmm 66154pr@reply-direct.com


www.savantlab.com


The Expanding Role of High-Temperature, High-Shear Viscometry in Modern Engine Oil Development


engine components separated. However, this same internal friction also represents energy loss, thus increasing the need for improved additives. Higher-viscosity oils improve wear protection but do so at the expense of fuel efficiency.


Consequently, the industry’s challenge is dual: lowering viscosity where possible to reduce frictional drag while ensuring the lubricant retains enough viscosity under high shear to protect heavily loaded engine components. With newer engines running cooler and using low-viscosity oils such as SAE 0W-16, 0W-12, and even 0W-8, the demand for highly accurate shear viscometry at 150°C, 100°C, and even 80°C continues to grow.


Evolving Engine Design and the Need for Versatile HTHS Measurement


As global pressure for improved fuel efficiency continues, lubricant formulators have been shifting toward lower-viscosity engine oils. These modifications amplify concerns that hydrodynamic protection will be reduced causing friction increase. This trend, driven by both regulatory mandates and OEM engineering strategies, has elevated the importance of High-Temperature, High-Shear (HTHS) viscometry as a core measurement of lubricant performance. With the industry’s transition into ever-lower viscosity grades, precise shear-rate viscometry at 100 °C and below is becoming essential alongside traditional HTHS evaluation at 150 °C.


Engine durability and lubricant viscosity are tightly interconnected. The viscosity of a lubricant governs its ability to form and maintain the protective oil film required for hydrodynamic lubrication. In this regime, the oil’s resistance to flowing out of the high- pressure zone between moving surfaces prevents direct metal-to-metal contact. A fluid with sufficiently high viscosity and with greater internal molecular friction, will resist permanent viscosity loss and keep critical


Worldwide, fuel economy regulations are reshaping engine development. OEMs are designing smaller, more efficient engines with tighter tolerances and higher power densities, all of which impose new lubrication challenges. Lower viscosity oils support fuel efficiency targets, but they must be engineered with precise viscometric properties to avoid compromising engine durability.


This evolution in lubricant formulation requires instrumentation capable of evaluating viscosity under extreme mechanical stress and across a wider temperature range. As a result, HTHS viscometers remain central to defining how engine oils behave under the most demanding conditions they will experience in service.


The TBS Viscometer: The Referee Standard for High-Shear Measurements


Among available instruments, the TBS Viscometer continues to stand as the referee HTHS device for both fresh and used oils. Its global reputation rests on its ability to produce consistent, repeatable, and physics-based viscosity measurements. Unlike instruments


that infer viscosity indirectly, the TBS is an absolute viscometer, directly measuring shear stress and shear rate without reliance on empirical calibration curves.


Using a Newtonian reference fluid, the TBS determines shear rate through reciprocal torque and precision rotor height measurements. This enables accurate characterization of non-Newtonian oils commonly used in modern engine lubrication, where polymeric viscosity modifiers produce shear-thinning behavior.


A unique strength of the TBS system is its use of non-Newtonian reference oils—whose known behavior at various shear rates allows the instrument to automatically or manually verify rotor positioning during operation. This ensures stable operation and eliminates drift, even when testing oils with complex rheology.


Addressing the Shift to Lower Temperatures: ASTM D4683, D6616, and Beyond


Historically, HTHS testing was anchored at 150°C, following ASTM D4683, to simulate high-temperature lubrication environments such as engine bearings. However, as OEMs develop engines that operate at lower temperatures, and as lower viscosity grades proliferate, industry demand has expanded to include testing at 100 °C (ASTM D6616) and even 80 °C.


The TBS Viscometer enables accurate shear- rate control and viscosity determination across this temperature range, with no observable loss in measurement precision. This ability is particularly valuable for evaluating polymeric viscosity modifiers whose temperature- dependent behavior is critical to fuel-efficient oil formulations.


Extensive studies using the absolute viscometer have characterized the viscosity– temperature relationships of low-viscosity oils at 150 °C, 100 °C, and 80 °C, providing insight into how viscous friction affects overall power loss. Lowering viscosity can


reduce parasitic energy loss, provided the oil maintains adequate protection under high shear conditions.


Interpolating HTHS Values Across Temperatures: A Modern Formulation Tool


One of the advantages of using an absolute viscometer like the TBS is the ability to interpolate high-shear viscosities at temperatures beyond the tested points. By accurately measuring viscosity at high shear across several key temperatures, formulators can model performance under real-world engine operating conditions.


This becomes increasingly vital as next- generation engines operate under broader thermal environments, and as specifications evolve to include lower-viscosity oils with stricter durability expectations.


A New Era of Precision Viscometry


As efficiency, durability, and sustainability pressures reshape the lubricant landscape, the need for accurate high-shear viscometry across multiple temperatures is more critical than ever. The transition to lower-viscosity oils has expanded the boundaries of traditional HTHS testing, driving demand for instruments capable of providing dependable, physics- based measurements from 80 °C to 150 °C.


The TBS Viscometer, with its absolute measurement principles and proven stability, remains a cornerstone technology for lubricant developers, additive suppliers, and OEMs. Its ability to characterize modern oils with precision makes it indispensable in the industry’s ongoing pursuit of cleaner, more efficient, and more durable engine performance.


More information online: ilmt.co/PL/LAnA 66349pr@reply-direct.com


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