The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout

John@ProStreet · 03-28-2007, 04:32 PM

Pro Street will be performing a battery of dyno tests to accurately test and gather information regarding synthetic oils. This thread is meant for informational purposes only. Although we are Greddy and Royal Purple Dealers, this test is NOT sponsored. You WILL see the truth, and real world environments and principles applied to the oils and the vehicle in question.

Test Vehicle : 2006 Nissan 350Z
Synthetic Oils to be tested :
Redline
Royal Purple
Greddy
Valvoline
Mobil 1
Lucas

Negative horsepower pulls and normal horsepower pulls will be posted here, with a ton of information. Check back shortly for more and more results. Thanks guys

trtrex · 03-28-2007, 07:22 PM

Great Idea. How miles will you be keeping the oil in before dynoing the car?

John@ProStreet · 03-29-2007, 09:26 AM

We wont really be keeping anything, it will be a battery of tests on the car, drain the oil, allow for 2 rollon pulls to help the transition from one oil to another, and then testing the car again. We are hoping for some very informative results and something tangible that people can read / use / understand.

GSRTURBO · 03-29-2007, 09:32 AM

props for the idea guys im subscribing

DOHCdreamz · 03-29-2007, 10:13 AM

subscribed

John@ProStreet · 03-29-2007, 05:41 PM

Here are the basic parameters of our test :

2005 Nissan 350Z Sporttronic
All power pulls done in 3rd gear
Ambient Air Temperature : 71.8 - 78.9 degrees
SAE correction
Smoothing set at 3

After checking the base timing, and changing the spark plugs, we decided to determine our starting point.

We will be conducting synthetic oil tests to determine which oil provides :
Results : increases in horsepower or torque
Viscosity : Negative Horsepower testing shows the oils viscosity rating.

We will be rating based on a median of the best 3 pulls for horsepower testing :
The oil that was in the car when we began the test, here are the parameters for the pull.

Using our OBDII datalogger, we present all pertinent data for consistency.

OE Oil - Reportedly Pennzoil - non synthetic
Ambient Air Temps : 71.8
Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 91.2
Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 92.7
Pull 3 Intake Air Temps : 92.9
Pull 1 Peak Timing : 18 Deg
Pull 2 Peak Timing : 19 Deg
Pull 3 Peak Timing : 19 Deg

Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 224.59 hp and 220.46 ft/lbs.

Now, the fun part :

We start the testing with Greddys new 5w-30 Synthetic oil.

Down the hatch!

Greddy Oil - 5W-30
Ambient Air Temps : 71.8
Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 92.9
Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 94.6
Pull 3 Intake Air Temps : 93.8
Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg
Pull 2 Peak Timing : 18 Deg
Pull 3 Peak Timing : 19 Deg

Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 231.52 hp and 224.35 ft/lbs.

Next we test AMSOIL, Royal Purple and Mobil 1

John@ProStreet · 03-29-2007, 06:04 PM

Again, Here are the basic parameters of our test :

2005 Nissan 350Z Sporttronic
All power pulls done in 3rd gear
Ambient Air Temperature : 71.8 - 78.9 degrees
SAE correction
Smoothing set at 3

AMSOIL - 5W-30 synthetic
Ambient Air Temps : 72.4
Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 92.3
Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 92.4
Pull 3 Intake Air Temps : 93.1
Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg
Pull 2 Peak Timing : 19 Deg
Pull 3 Peak Timing : 19 Deg

Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 237.49 hp and 223.81 ft/lbs with the AMSOIL

AMSOIL - 5W-30 synthetic
Ambient Air Temps : 72.6
Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 91.6
Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 92.1
Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg
Pull 2 Peak Timing : 19 Deg

Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 242 hp and 226.53 ft/lbs with Royal Purple. Why isnt there a 3rd graph you ask? Well after much debate, we decided to let the car cool almost completely at this juncture as the intake manifold temps were rising at a much higher rate than before after a pull. Once cooled, we put down a surprising pull :

Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 88.7
Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg

We left this plot out due to it being the coolest the intake manifold had been after pull after pull. ( after 60 or so pulls, the intake manifold did not like us ) and thus this dyno plot has not been averaged out with the other 2. This last pull was done after an hour and a half of inactivity and the car was only brought to operating temps before commencing on the pull. We plan on revisiting our Royal Purple testing in part II of our synthetic Oil shootout.

John@ProStreet · 03-30-2007, 09:59 AM

Thanks for being patient guys, we were here late and I didnt have a chance to upload pics, update thread etc. Having received a ton of messages from people here, other forums and general internet trolls, I would like to point out a few things to help clarify the issue.

1. As stated before, although we are direct with a few of these oil companies, none of them have sponsored this test. These results are for informational purposes only. None of these companies have donated oil, none of these companies have any input to the matter, and none of them have a hand at the results.

2. The car is allowed 2-3 normal pulls to help allow the oil into the motor. The motor is brought to the same operating temps before any power pulls are done. True, there is some variation to intake temps and ambient air temps, but we are trying to limit the variables as much as possible.

3. Part II of our dyno oil shootout will show negative horsepower ratings, pulls and information to help you decide what oil has the best viscosity characteristics.

4. For those that claim the test is invalid due to the car varying power levels even without changing the oil. Any car off the street will vary horsepower from one pull to the next. Changes in vehicle speed, ignition timing, air temps, short term fuel trims, etc make the readings vary. And for those who claim that the test is invalid regardless of that fact, well then dont pay attention.

I hope this sheds some light on the situation and we'll be adding more information shortly. Thanks for your patience guys

John@ProStreet · 03-30-2007, 10:10 AM

Again, Here are the basic parameters of our test :

2005 Nissan 350Z Sporttronic
All power pulls done in 3rd gear
Ambient Air Temperature : 71.8 - 78.9 degrees
SAE correction
Smoothing set at 3

Mobil1 - 5W-30 synthetic
Ambient Air Temps : 72.6
Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 91.3
Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 92.0
Pull 3 Intake Air Temps : 93.1
Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg
Pull 2 Peak Timing : 19 Deg
Pull 3 Peak Timing : 19 Deg

Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 232.78 hp and 217.43 ft/lbs with the MOBIL1

Next, we test the Redline Synthetic.

GSRTURBO · 03-30-2007, 01:30 PM

awesome information, keep it coming!

seven_bud · 03-31-2007, 08:52 AM

Thats hella nice information u giving out......I notice some Synthetic Oils make a big diffrence in diffrent cars

DOHCdreamz · 03-31-2007, 02:36 PM

wow good info guys, what about the other oils??

misnblu · 04-01-2007, 08:04 AM

Wow, this is the most pertinent information I've seen on oil testing.
I hope you don't mind if I link this thread on several sites for more people to witness this information.

I've been a Mobil1 user for 15 years and just recently switched to Royal Purple for me Cavalier.
I can't say it improved the performance of the vehicle but claims made by RP would say it has better lubricating properties for my 194,000 hard earned miles on the car.

Some very eye opening results here and I'm going to reread it again for some further evaluation.

Thank you ProStreet for doing this. It's not ofter someone will step up to dispell some of the myths about the oils we use.

GSRTURBO · 04-02-2007, 10:00 AM

pro street in the house!

HiTechOilCo · 04-12-2007, 12:08 PM

Well hello all! This is my first post on here and I hope it will shed some light on a commonly misunderstood topic. I am an 18 year independent AMSOIL synthetic lubricants dealer and run Hi-Tech Oil Co. I also have been in the automotive repair and maintenance field for over 20 years, so I have a tad bit of experience in this field.

I read the, "oil test", and found it to be of little or no value. (Gasp! Did he really say that?). You bet I did! First of all, what information can be gleaned from a controlled dyno test vs real world performance are two different things entirely. The horsepower and torque differences amongst the oils tested was minimal at best. I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone go dumping out their Mobil 1 because another oil delivered 1.7 more horsepower in a dyno test.

Oils are manufactured to a viscosity range. For example, a 5W-30 falls within a range of, "thickness", and can actually vary a bit. If you have an oil that is on the, "thicker", side of this range it generally will protect engine parts better while sacrificing 1.7 horsepower, (or whatever), because it is a, "thicker", 5W-30 and thus creates more drag, reducing power a tad. While on the other hand, we can have a, "thinner", 5W-30 oil that wont protect engine parts as well, but will generate more power in a dyno test. Does this make one oil better or worse than the another? Absolutely not. There are many different factors to an oil and its formulation. Anointing one oil over another as, "superior", because it made 1.7 more horsepower, (or whatever), in a garage dyno test, is not an accurate, or valid way to evaluate an oil. Indeed, for this reason, dyno test results are not used by the S.A.E., (Society of Automotive Engineers), or A.S.T.M., (American Society for Testing and Materials).

There are standard and accepted A.S.E. and A.S.T.M. test results that are used by engineers to determine an oils performance vs other oils and this test data can be found on a given oils Product Data Sheet, that can be had from any oil manufacturer. This is one industry accepted method of comparing various oils.

Also, keep in mind, what is good for a race car doesn't automatically mean it is good for a street car. An oil that performs well on the race track may very well not be ideally suited for the entirely different world of a street car that has to deal with an entirely different set of demands and needs than a race car does.

If any of you have any questions, please feel free send them my way.
__________________
Steve
http://www.lubedealer.com./hitechoilco

03-28-2007, 04:32 PM	#1
John@ProStreet Super Moderator John@ProStreet is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: FIT Posts: 804	The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Pro Street will be performing a battery of dyno tests to accurately test and gather information regarding synthetic oils. This thread is meant for informational purposes only. Although we are Greddy and Royal Purple Dealers, this test is NOT sponsored. You WILL see the truth, and real world environments and principles applied to the oils and the vehicle in question. Test Vehicle : 2006 Nissan 350Z Synthetic Oils to be tested : Redline Royal Purple Greddy Valvoline Mobil 1 Lucas Negative horsepower pulls and normal horsepower pulls will be posted here, with a ton of information. Check back shortly for more and more results. Thanks guys __________________ Pro Street Motorsports www.prostreetonline.com Ultimate Street Car??? Pro Street goes to SEMA

03-28-2007, 07:22 PM	#2
trtrex Moderator trtrex is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mt Akina Posts: 1,621 Blog Entries: 1	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Great Idea. How miles will you be keeping the oil in before dynoing the car? __________________ Chris '03 WRX S4+ TEAM

03-29-2007, 09:26 AM	#3
John@ProStreet Super Moderator John@ProStreet is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: FIT Posts: 804	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout We wont really be keeping anything, it will be a battery of tests on the car, drain the oil, allow for 2 rollon pulls to help the transition from one oil to another, and then testing the car again. We are hoping for some very informative results and something tangible that people can read / use / understand. __________________ Pro Street Motorsports www.prostreetonline.com Ultimate Street Car??? Pro Street goes to SEMA

03-29-2007, 09:32 AM	#4
GSRTURBO Im bringing sexay back GSRTURBO is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,895	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout props for the idea guys im subscribing __________________ -Brandon DD '92 Civic VX - B18C1 swap - 8spi t04r

03-29-2007, 10:13 AM	#5
DOHCdreamz VTECH is teh best DOHCdreamz is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 68	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout subscribed

03-29-2007, 05:41 PM	#6
John@ProStreet Super Moderator John@ProStreet is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: FIT Posts: 804	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Here are the basic parameters of our test : 2005 Nissan 350Z Sporttronic All power pulls done in 3rd gear Ambient Air Temperature : 71.8 - 78.9 degrees SAE correction Smoothing set at 3 After checking the base timing, and changing the spark plugs, we decided to determine our starting point. We will be conducting synthetic oil tests to determine which oil provides : Results : increases in horsepower or torque Viscosity : Negative Horsepower testing shows the oils viscosity rating. We will be rating based on a median of the best 3 pulls for horsepower testing : The oil that was in the car when we began the test, here are the parameters for the pull. Using our OBDII datalogger, we present all pertinent data for consistency. OE Oil - Reportedly Pennzoil - non synthetic Ambient Air Temps : 71.8 Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 91.2 Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 92.7 Pull 3 Intake Air Temps : 92.9 Pull 1 Peak Timing : 18 Deg Pull 2 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Pull 3 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 224.59 hp and 220.46 ft/lbs. Now, the fun part : We start the testing with Greddys new 5w-30 Synthetic oil. Down the hatch! Greddy Oil - 5W-30 Ambient Air Temps : 71.8 Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 92.9 Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 94.6 Pull 3 Intake Air Temps : 93.8 Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Pull 2 Peak Timing : 18 Deg Pull 3 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 231.52 hp and 224.35 ft/lbs. Next we test AMSOIL, Royal Purple and Mobil 1 __________________ Pro Street Motorsports www.prostreetonline.com Ultimate Street Car??? Pro Street goes to SEMA

03-29-2007, 06:04 PM	#7
John@ProStreet Super Moderator John@ProStreet is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: FIT Posts: 804	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Again, Here are the basic parameters of our test : 2005 Nissan 350Z Sporttronic All power pulls done in 3rd gear Ambient Air Temperature : 71.8 - 78.9 degrees SAE correction Smoothing set at 3 AMSOIL - 5W-30 synthetic Ambient Air Temps : 72.4 Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 92.3 Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 92.4 Pull 3 Intake Air Temps : 93.1 Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Pull 2 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Pull 3 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 237.49 hp and 223.81 ft/lbs with the AMSOIL AMSOIL - 5W-30 synthetic Ambient Air Temps : 72.6 Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 91.6 Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 92.1 Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Pull 2 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 242 hp and 226.53 ft/lbs with Royal Purple. Why isnt there a 3rd graph you ask? Well after much debate, we decided to let the car cool almost completely at this juncture as the intake manifold temps were rising at a much higher rate than before after a pull. Once cooled, we put down a surprising pull : Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 88.7 Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg We left this plot out due to it being the coolest the intake manifold had been after pull after pull. ( after 60 or so pulls, the intake manifold did not like us ) and thus this dyno plot has not been averaged out with the other 2. This last pull was done after an hour and a half of inactivity and the car was only brought to operating temps before commencing on the pull. We plan on revisiting our Royal Purple testing in part II of our synthetic Oil shootout. __________________ Pro Street Motorsports www.prostreetonline.com Ultimate Street Car??? Pro Street goes to SEMA

03-30-2007, 09:59 AM	#8
John@ProStreet Super Moderator John@ProStreet is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: FIT Posts: 804	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Thanks for being patient guys, we were here late and I didnt have a chance to upload pics, update thread etc. Having received a ton of messages from people here, other forums and general internet trolls, I would like to point out a few things to help clarify the issue. 1. As stated before, although we are direct with a few of these oil companies, none of them have sponsored this test. These results are for informational purposes only. None of these companies have donated oil, none of these companies have any input to the matter, and none of them have a hand at the results. 2. The car is allowed 2-3 normal pulls to help allow the oil into the motor. The motor is brought to the same operating temps before any power pulls are done. True, there is some variation to intake temps and ambient air temps, but we are trying to limit the variables as much as possible. 3. Part II of our dyno oil shootout will show negative horsepower ratings, pulls and information to help you decide what oil has the best viscosity characteristics. 4. For those that claim the test is invalid due to the car varying power levels even without changing the oil. Any car off the street will vary horsepower from one pull to the next. Changes in vehicle speed, ignition timing, air temps, short term fuel trims, etc make the readings vary. And for those who claim that the test is invalid regardless of that fact, well then dont pay attention. I hope this sheds some light on the situation and we'll be adding more information shortly. Thanks for your patience guys __________________ Pro Street Motorsports www.prostreetonline.com Ultimate Street Car??? Pro Street goes to SEMA

03-30-2007, 10:10 AM	#9
John@ProStreet Super Moderator John@ProStreet is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: FIT Posts: 804	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Again, Here are the basic parameters of our test : 2005 Nissan 350Z Sporttronic All power pulls done in 3rd gear Ambient Air Temperature : 71.8 - 78.9 degrees SAE correction Smoothing set at 3 Mobil1 - 5W-30 synthetic Ambient Air Temps : 72.6 Pull 1 Intake Air Temps : 91.3 Pull 2 Intake Air Temps : 92.0 Pull 3 Intake Air Temps : 93.1 Pull 1 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Pull 2 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Pull 3 Peak Timing : 19 Deg Following our average calculations, the 350Z put down 232.78 hp and 217.43 ft/lbs with the MOBIL1 Next, we test the Redline Synthetic. __________________ Pro Street Motorsports www.prostreetonline.com Ultimate Street Car??? Pro Street goes to SEMA

03-30-2007, 01:30 PM	#10
GSRTURBO Im bringing sexay back GSRTURBO is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,895	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout awesome information, keep it coming! __________________ -Brandon DD '92 Civic VX - B18C1 swap - 8spi t04r

03-31-2007, 08:52 AM	#11
seven_bud Jr Pro Street Member seven_bud is offline Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Bell Gardens Posts: 12	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Thats hella nice information u giving out......I notice some Synthetic Oils make a big diffrence in diffrent cars

03-31-2007, 02:36 PM	#12
DOHCdreamz VTECH is teh best DOHCdreamz is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 68	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout wow good info guys, what about the other oils??

04-01-2007, 08:04 AM	#13
misnblu Down for Life misnblu is offline Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Mississippi Posts: 65	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Wow, this is the most pertinent information I've seen on oil testing. I hope you don't mind if I link this thread on several sites for more people to witness this information. I've been a Mobil1 user for 15 years and just recently switched to Royal Purple for me Cavalier. I can't say it improved the performance of the vehicle but claims made by RP would say it has better lubricating properties for my 194,000 hard earned miles on the car. Some very eye opening results here and I'm going to reread it again for some further evaluation. Thank you ProStreet for doing this. It's not ofter someone will step up to dispell some of the myths about the oils we use. __________________ My Mods My Space

04-02-2007, 10:00 AM	#14
GSRTURBO Im bringing sexay back GSRTURBO is offline Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 1,895	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout pro street in the house! __________________ -Brandon DD '92 Civic VX - B18C1 swap - 8spi t04r

04-12-2007, 12:08 PM	#15
HiTechOilCo Jr Pro Street Member HiTechOilCo is offline Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 1	Re: The 2007 Synthetic Oil Shootout Well hello all! This is my first post on here and I hope it will shed some light on a commonly misunderstood topic. I am an 18 year independent AMSOIL synthetic lubricants dealer and run Hi-Tech Oil Co. I also have been in the automotive repair and maintenance field for over 20 years, so I have a tad bit of experience in this field. I read the, "oil test", and found it to be of little or no value. (Gasp! Did he really say that?). You bet I did! First of all, what information can be gleaned from a controlled dyno test vs real world performance are two different things entirely. The horsepower and torque differences amongst the oils tested was minimal at best. I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone go dumping out their Mobil 1 because another oil delivered 1.7 more horsepower in a dyno test. Oils are manufactured to a viscosity range. For example, a 5W-30 falls within a range of, "thickness", and can actually vary a bit. If you have an oil that is on the, "thicker", side of this range it generally will protect engine parts better while sacrificing 1.7 horsepower, (or whatever), because it is a, "thicker", 5W-30 and thus creates more drag, reducing power a tad. While on the other hand, we can have a, "thinner", 5W-30 oil that wont protect engine parts as well, but will generate more power in a dyno test. Does this make one oil better or worse than the another? Absolutely not. There are many different factors to an oil and its formulation. Anointing one oil over another as, "superior", because it made 1.7 more horsepower, (or whatever), in a garage dyno test, is not an accurate, or valid way to evaluate an oil. Indeed, for this reason, dyno test results are not used by the S.A.E., (Society of Automotive Engineers), or A.S.T.M., (American Society for Testing and Materials). There are standard and accepted A.S.E. and A.S.T.M. test results that are used by engineers to determine an oils performance vs other oils and this test data can be found on a given oils Product Data Sheet, that can be had from any oil manufacturer. This is one industry accepted method of comparing various oils. Also, keep in mind, what is good for a race car doesn't automatically mean it is good for a street car. An oil that performs well on the race track may very well not be ideally suited for the entirely different world of a street car that has to deal with an entirely different set of demands and needs than a race car does. If any of you have any questions, please feel free send them my way. __________________ Steve http://www.lubedealer.com./hitechoilco

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