NanoTech Lubricants Oil Additive Review

[apexi]

Those iron levels are a little high for a 3,650 mile oil change interval. I would expect iron to be around 2-5ppm.

 

After studying some nanotechnology stuff I would assume the DNDs just fill in the nanometer-sized surface imperfections which would cause the surface to have a more 'polished' appearance at the microscopic scale.

 

I'm going to get a hold of some to test in my EJ25 (~170K miles).

 

That's pretty much what molybdenum does.

 

"MoS2 LOW FRICTION

MoS2 (molybdenum disulfide) forms a thin layer of high load-bearing lubricant on surfaces exposed to friction and on sliding parts in the engine. The excellent low friction properties of this material lead to lighter engine running, thus inhibiting wear and preventing breakdowns. Results from scientific tests have shown that MoS2 reduces fuel and oil consumption and leads to significantly less wear in the engine. MoS2 Low Friction is available from LIQUI MOLY as an oil additive (added to the motor oil) or as a ready-prepared MoS2 low friction motor oil. In spite of all efforts to polish the surface of the metals mechanically, they still look rough under the microscope (1). This rough ness is made smooth by applying a film of MoS2 lubricant (2) and this ”surface finish” reduces frictional resistance and decreases wear."

 

http://www.liqui-moly.de/liquimoly/web.nsf/id/pa_en_domb8bakrw.html

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/moly-basics/

 

With that said, you should never focus too much on one aspect of a motor oil, and say dump a can of moly into your motor oil. I remember years ago on bitog molybdenum was a hot topic, everyone wanted an oil that had as much moly as possible in it. Yet at the same time, everyone absolutely loved german castrol, that was THE oil. But guess what? German castrol didn't have any moly in it.

 

Finished motor oils have a lot of thought put into them, there are major companies like lubrizol and infineum that spend a lot of time and money developing additive packages for motor oil. There is no need to use additives in your motor oil.

[Perscitus]

Those iron levels are a little high for a 3,650 mile oil change interval. I would expect iron to be around 2-5ppm.

Yes, Blackstone noted the same. However, speaking to both Michael (@ Nanotech) and my tuner, its expected. On this oil change the car has seen two 1K roadtrips, 10 dyno pulls, 1 racetrack day.

 

We will see what the next sample comes back with 5.5K miles from now.

Plus around that time I'll likely swap out the spark plugs and while at it, do a compression test on all cylinders.

 

Right now, the engine is running extra smooth with very good power delivery. No stutter, no low/mid/high RPM issues. Haven't burned a drop of oil in over 8K miles.

[minuccims]

That's pretty much what molybdenum does.

 

"MoS2 LOW FRICTION

MoS2 (molybdenum disulfide) forms a thin layer of high load-bearing lubricant on surfaces exposed to friction and on sliding parts in the engine. The excellent low friction properties of this material lead to lighter engine running, thus inhibiting wear and preventing breakdowns. Results from scientific tests have shown that MoS2 reduces fuel and oil consumption and leads to significantly less wear in the engine. MoS2 Low Friction is available from LIQUI MOLY as an oil additive (added to the motor oil) or as a ready-prepared MoS2 low friction motor oil. In spite of all efforts to polish the surface of the metals mechanically, they still look rough under the microscope (1). This rough ness is made smooth by applying a film of MoS2 lubricant (2) and this ”surface finish” reduces frictional resistance and decreases wear."

 

http://www.liqui-moly.de/liquimoly/web.nsf/id/pa_en_domb8bakrw.html

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/moly-basics/

 

 

From the second link "Moly platelets are attracted to metal surfaces. This attraction and the force of moving engine parts rubbing across one another provide the necessary thermochemical reaction necessary for Moly to form an overlapping protective coating like armor on all of your engine parts."

 

Unless I missed something big, NanoTech does not form a thin layer lubricant on the surfaces. It's a friction modifier. It essentially creates the equivalent of <10 nanometer low friction particles that form a low friction surface. They fill the imperfections in the metal surfaces to lower friction. http://nanotechlubricantsinc.com/How_do_they_work.html

 

Bottom line, NanoTech does not add a coating through a chemical process.

[apexi]

I was referring to the quote below from Adam when I said that. Moly does do the same exact thing, except yes, minus a microscopic coating. I don't see why this coating is seen as a bad thing? The coating helps protects the surface from wear. The other thing to keep in mind is that we're not talking about large amounts of moly in oil, it isn't going to cover your all your engine internals with some thick film here.

 

After studying some nanotechnology stuff I would assume the DNDs just fill in the nanometer-sized surface imperfections which would cause the surface to have a more 'polished' appearance at the microscopic scale.

[minuccims]

Additional reading material...

 

http://www.adamasnano.com/technologies/nano-lubricants

[fredrik94087]

A little late to the game....

 

I am contemplating using this in the motor. The fact that it doesnt create a coating is attractive. I didnt want to reduce the flow of oil.

 

Now, the above link minuccims posted shows that there is an additive for the transmission.

 

Is anyone using the motor and transmission applications? And, may we use the transmissiin applicatiin in the differential and power steering?

[Perscitus]

A little late to the game.... I am contemplating using this in the motor. The fact that it doesnt create a coating is attractive. I didnt want to reduce the flow of oil. Now, the above link minuccims posted shows that there is an additive for the transmission. Is anyone using the motor and transmission applications? And, may we use the transmissiin applicatiin in the differential and power steering?

I think you'll like this stuff Fredrik. I'm using it in the engine oil and added about a tablespoon worth to the power steering fluid. Pump runs quieter for sure.

 

Michael from Nanotech said to hold off adding the oil blend to the diffs/ATF. He is working on a different blend for that. Meanwhile I've seen other nano-diamond additives and/or oils with DNDs in them for most automotive applications. Don't want to experiment with the ATF or diff fluids though so I'll wait until Michael has something to offer for them.

[fredrik94087]

Thanks Perscitus.

 

Is it possible that the "free roaming" nano particles that couldnt find a crevice in which to attach end up getiing pushed around and against the block causing the higher iron levels you saw?

 

Edit: I suppose we shall see in another 5000 miles when you send it in again.

[Perscitus]

Its possible but more than likely they are a function of the 'micro-polishing' that happens on the other internals away from the cylinder walls and pistons. The particles that don't find crevices stay in the oil and eventually either line the rest of the internals or remain in suspension to improve the viscosity and lubrication characteristics of the oil itself.

 

Here is a quote from Michael @ Nanotech:

 

"The oil will and should last longer because of the graphite shell on the nano diamonds. Graphite is the second best heat transfer nano element and is followed by nano diamonds at number 3. Since you have 2 of the 3 best nano molecular heat transfer elements the oil should last longer, because the additives won't burn out as fast.Very often oil will run 30 or 40 degrees cooler than before. After that, you have the engine efficiency benefit (or improved fuel efficiency) and the anti-wear benefits (engines will last longer and reduced maintenance)."

[nstg8r]

Good news... USPS found my Blackstone kit and delivered it today; hope to have the results shortly (unless the package was damaged and/or tampered with).

 

Bad news... I just got back from a ~2400 mile round trip to Florida averaging about 70mph the whole way, and I burned a quart of oil even after adding the Nanotech at my last oil change. That was only 2800 miles since I had the oil change done, so I had even more oil consumption than I normally do.

[Perscitus]

Welcome back! and s... sorry to hear this Rob. Seems like (at least in the case of your car/engine), it doesn't help with oil burn issues at all. In which case, I can't explain why my engine just stopped burning oil all together.

 

Yes, Blackstone turns the results around super quick. I actually got them back the same day they got the sample!

So if they're working today, I wouldn't be surprised if you see a PDF in your mailbox (did you give them an email address?) today.

 

Otherwise, you will also get a paper copy in the mail (and another sample container or two) in a few days. I just got them.

Its their standard practice for the first sample to send a hardcopy, after that its just the PDF (save them trees!)

[nstg8r]

Welcome back! and s... sorry to hear this Rob. Seems like (at least in the case of your car/engine), it doesn't help with oil burn issues at all. In which case, I can't explain why my engine just stopped burning oil all together.

 

Yeah, and there's not even a drop in my OCC, so it must be going somewhere else. When I get the Blackstone report, that may shed some light on this.

[Perscitus]

It will be interesting to contrast the results between our cars too since we both used the same oil (Motul 8100 series fill @ AZP), additive (nanotech), filter (Subaru OEM black), same engine, somewhat similar mileage (I'm @ 49K).

[nstg8r]

somewhat similar mileage (I'm @ 49K).

 

I just passed 47K

[700watts]

scribed

[SBT]

It will be interesting to contrast the results between our cars too since we both used the same oil (Motul 8100 series fill @ AZP), additive (nanotech), filter (Subaru OEM black), same engine, somewhat similar mileage (I'm @ 49K).

 

Well, there goes my initial thinking that it might have been an oil viscosity/oil mfgr attribution.

[nstg8r]

My pre-additive analysis is in. My engine wear appears to be above average, especially for copper which is way too high.

 

NSTG8R_033114.pdf

[fredrik94087]

My pre-additive analysis is in. My engine wear appears to be above average, especially for copper which is way too high.

 

[ATTACH]180329[/ATTACH]

 

By, "Does the engine run hard?", are they asking if you drive it hard or are they asking if it is rough?

[apexi]

I wouldn't be too worried about the copper, even though it is definitely elevated.

 

Even though you and Perscitus used motul 8100, it looks like the x-clean and x-cess formulas both use two completely different additive packages.

 

I'm thinking there's something in the x-clean additive package that reacted with the copper in your engine oil cooler, which caused mild copper oxidation and elevated the copper levels in your oil.

[nstg8r]

By, "Does the engine run hard?", are they asking if you drive it hard or are they asking if it is rough?

 

No clue, but the answer to both is neither, unless cruising at 80mph, 2-3 hours at a time for 1200 miles is running it hard. I've made three trips to Florida in it, usually stopping every 200 miles. The most recent trip was after the sample was taken, though.

 

If my bearings are wearing, would that explain why I have moderate oil consumption? I'm going to shorten my OCI to ~5000 miles and see how it did with the additive.

[apexi]

Lead and Tin are both 0, your bearings are fine.

[Perscitus]

Would an oil filter make much if any difference here?

I'm thinking if we used an oil filter with a too-low bypass pressure spec or smaller than OEM capacity, could it cause more of the metals to remain in suspension (effectively not be filtered out by the filter)? Or maybe conversely if we used Subaru Black or Blue OEM filters at each oil change, with the right (high) bypass pressure spec for the H6, could that at all cause more of the metal particles to be trapped by the filter and skew the readings down?

 

My engine has been running great, and shows good wear (except for the marginally higher iron) and the last two oil changes done at AZP we did use the OEM black oil filter, but in the past I did use some WIX/NAPA filters that looked about 1/2 the size of the stock filter.

 

I'm thinking of maybe adding a magnetic oil plug and/or a strong magnet to the oil pan, by the drain hole and see if that helps keep some of the metal particles from flowing around the system.

 

I'll be doing my next oil sample in 5K miles. Likely in the early Fall (Sep/Oct) so I'll update everyone here.

 

Rob - just by sound alone at idle and when cruising, your engine runs great! I'm fairly certain AZP used the same oil for both our cars (8100 X-clean) so we have a good apple to apple comparison. If anything your car sees more highway miles than mine.

I'm maybe 80/20 (20% city, bumper to bumper miles).

[nstg8r]

I'm wondering if the brass Fumoto oil drain valve I had put in at the oil change previous to this one has anything to do with it? I had filed out notches like GTEASER did(here) and perhaps there was some microscopic debris that contaminated the oil.

[700watts]

I put that Sh1t in everything

[JT_36R]

I'm on to my second of three bottles. So far I've been happy with the product. The main reason for me purchasing was to see if it help with engine not burning excessive oil. I've done a round trip from Toronto to Chicago and the oil level was constant throughout the whole trip.