Lubricants expert warns against using supplements
Lubricant additive supplements have no place in today’s engines and could invalidate a warranty, an industry expert has warned.
Adrian Hill, Automotive Product Manager at leading oil blender Morris Lubricants, urged car owners to resist the temptation of buying an off-the-shelf additive supplement in the belief that it will help the engine to perform better.
“The idea that you can add a little bit of extra additive into a car engine to improve things is a complete and utter fallacy,” he said.
“All you’re going to do is end up ruining a perfectly good oil formulation. When you buy five litres of engine oil, whether it’s Morris Lubricants or any other reputable brand, the formulation in there has been developed extensively with bench testing and field trials to achieve certain performance levels. The chemistry has been very finely balanced to meet the specifications of the OEM. That product is all that engine needs for its service life. You can’t improve upon that because hundreds of thousands of pounds have been invested in developing that formulation to optimise the performance of that engine between service intervals.
“If you dollop some additive supplement
in there, all of that technology becomes unravelled. It’s like having a really nice cup of coffee and putting a teaspoon of salt in it.”
Adrian said that warranties could become ‘null and void’ if an OEM calls for a specific engine oil and then an additive supplement is added.
And he said that additives could damage components and reduce the life of the engine.
He continued: “In modern engines there are after-treatment devices incorporated to clean up the emissions leaving the exhaust pipe. These rely on the correct lubricant being used so that their efficiency is not reduced. If you put an additive supplement in there, it may not be catalytic converter friendly or diesel particulate filter friendly and it can become a very expensive exercise to have them replaced.
“You think you’ve paid a few quid to increase performance, but if you’ve got an engine that requires a low or mid- SAPS lubricant with after treatment devices, you will damage those expensive devices at costs of thousands of pounds. Additive supplements do not have a place in Euro 5 or Euro 6 engines, or even prior to that.”
Adrian said that additive supplements can be used successfully to boost an engine which is nearing the end of its life or in the classic and vintage market. But he added: “The additive supplement was always a sticking plaster for a mechanical problem. If you’ve got an engine that is burning oil and creating smoke because you’ve got worn compression rings, the addition of a supplement that thickens the oil up to stop it getting past the rings is only a short term fix. You’re only putting off the inevitable that you need new rings and possibly a re-bore. Additive supplements were only ever a temporary measure.”
Morris Lubricants is a British company that has been manufacturing lubricants in Shrewsbury since 1869. The company is now manufacturing more than a dozen passenger car engine oils. Even as recently as 2005, that figure would have been as low as two or three.
The company has recently launched WHATOIL? – which can be found at
www.whatoildoineed.com – as a user-friendly internet-based system which advises the correct product simply by entering a few basic details.
LINKS
www.whatoildoineed.com
www.morrislubricants.co.uk
is Britain’s most admired company for innovation
Croda International Plc, based in Yorkshire, UK, manufacturers of speciality chemical ingredients that enhance everyday consumer and industrial products, has recently been awarded first place in the innovation segment, second in the chemical sector category and eighth place overall in the 2014 Britain’s Most Admired Companies Awards.
The renowned Management Today awards are the largest awards of their kind in the UK; they highlight corporate reputation by recognising key factors critical to business success, with winners identified by means of peer review.
Steve Foots, Chief Executive of Croda said “To be named Britain’s most Innovative Company is a fantastic accolade and
14
we are hugely proud to collect this award. Innovation runs through every part of our business and for this to be recognised by industry peers, and the investment community, is testament to the dedication and hard work of our employees across the globe.”
Organisations are scored against nine performance areas; from quality of management, financial soundness and quality of goods and services, to the ability to attract, develop and retain top talent, the capacity to innovate and commitment to community and environmental responsibility. Opinions on these areas are sought from more than 200 Board members at some of the UK’s largest companies, as well as analysts and City commentators.
LUBE MAGAZINE NO.125 FEBRUARY 2015
Commenting on the results, Matthew Gywther, editor of Management Today said “Croda took the 2014 criteria award for Capacity to Innovate, in recognition of its world-class reputation for generating new ideas for its customers and bringing them to market. Researched by Professor Mike Brown and his team at Birmingham City University, and with a history dating back over 20 years, Britain’s Most Admired Companies provides a fascinating insight into that most hard- won of intangible assets, corporate reputation.”
LINK
www.croda.com
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