High loads, low displacement and high power, we tell you where and how modern lubricants protect the latest generation engines
Lubricant is vital to engine life, without it our impeller would last minutes before succumbing to an inferno of friction, wear, overheating and melting of its internal organs . In addition, it helps keep the machine clean and prevents corrosion.
Imagine how the requirement is for lubricants in the latest technology engines, since they must maintain their qualities in a more stressful environment where weight and displacement are reduced, but power and efficiency are increased . We take advantage of YPF’s experience in the production of its Elaion lubricants that include TAS® technology, an anti-stress factor, to explain each part and each challenge that lubricants have when it comes to protecting your engine.
Cold start
Lubricants must guarantee their performance in one of the most critical moments for the engine, cold start, facilitating its pumpability in all temperature conditions. The problem is that this quality deteriorates over time as large molecules are formed that make the oil thicker. The new TAS® technologies are formulated to neutralize this degradation to allow the lubricant to retain the highest molecular displacement capacity, ensuring fluidity (or pumpability ) and less wear on your engine at start-up.
Viscosity and friction
Here we start from a dilemma, on the one hand, lubricants must reduce viscous friction, that is, not be so dense that the parts move freely; On the other hand, they must ensure that the lubricating film is constant under the worst operating conditions: extreme temperatures, high pressures and high relative speed between moving parts (such as the connecting rod bearings of a highly stressed engine).
This combination of thickness and viscosity is achieved thanks to an adequate balance of bases and additives specifically selected to achieve lubricants with anti-stress technology.
Camshaft
One of the most compromised and critical areas to lubricate in the engine is its upper part, because it is one of the sectors furthest from the oil pump, and also, because it is the first from which the lubricant drains when the engine stops. Despite this, it is not the most critical for a highly loaded mechanism like the camshaft, where the contact pressures to overcome the tappets are very large and where -by design- the mechanism lacks hydrodynamic lubrication.
Under these conditions the contribution of the oil viscosity is minimal, while the anti-wear additives make the most important contribution by acting under conditions of high pressure and temperature in the contact zone . For this, TAS® technologies must be applied that form a protective chemical film between the cam and plunger, avoiding adhesive wear on both surfaces.
Oxidation and corrosion due to urban traffic
High temperatures have negative effects on lubricants, and this does not occur only if we go at high revolutions, but also in situations such as traffic jams during the summer, where the engine is required in constant starts and the amount of air that enters the radiator is short.
Under these conditions, a natural mechanism of oxidation of the lubricant begins, which has various stages and affects different components of the impeller , including the formation of acids that selectively attack some metallic compounds such as bearings, creating high molecular weight compounds that increase their viscosity and formation of deposits that end up being located in the hottest parts of the engine, including the pistons.
heavy traffic
The repetitive start-stop-start action of bottlenecks also leads to the formation of sludge or sludge in winter , which results in decreased fluidity of the lubricant. If the lubricant does not have the appropriate formulation, it leads to a sad reality: the wear of the parts. For this, anti-stress technologies resort to additives that provide an adequate alkaline reserve, excellent detergency and excellent dispersing capacity. In addition, synthetic bases add an important extra protection.
Fuel savings
The lubricant must also follow the requirements of many automakers to meet certain consumption goals . In this case, a decrease in friction is vital as a result of the selection and quality of the latest generation synthetic bases and additives.
Biofuels
Biofuels or conventional fuels with additions of these have characteristics that must be met by the lubricant. For example, bioethanol in mixtures with gasoline can create a more corrosive environment due to the accumulation of acidic components in the crankcase. In a similar sense, biodiesel engines that perform short-haul services with continuous starts and stops, may present greater lubricant dilution due to fuel passing into the crankcase, increasing the tendency to form deposits in the engine.
In both cases mentioned, it is vital to have lubricant formulations that provide correct control of deposits, corrosion and thermal degradation phenomena.
Less oil and gas post-treatment
Due to improvements in environmental care, the most modern engines work with lower volumes of oil in circulation and add exhaust gas post-treatment systems . This makes the car companies demand a longer useful life from the lubricant, and also help reduce fuel consumption. In addition, they must be specially designed to be used in engines that have exhaust gas post-treatment systems.
