July/August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019 AFTERMARKET 37 Above: Liqui Moly production www.aftermarketonline.net ensuring the operational efficiency of diesel and petrol units. Euro 6 engine compliance has seen the addition of Adblue to diesel passenger car and light commercial vehicle engines alongside particulate filters. Both systems require engine oils with carefully balanced chemistry to ensure they fulfil their life expectancy. “There is no shortcut to formulating oils with these properties and the use of cheaper ‘too good to be true’ products will lead to early failure and a costly replacement bill. In order to achieve this, new chemistry has evolved over the last 20 years alongside base oil technology.” Oil content has massively changed says Adrian: “In a five-litre container of the latest engine oil, there isn’t any straight mineral oil content. These old base oils don’t function well at low temperatures or, more importantly, at high temperatures. At the higher temperatures, the older base oils will form performance-stealing varnishes and lacquers. They will also try and disappear down the exhaust pipe. New technology base fluids referred to as Group II, Group III and Group IV are required.” This is not just helping engines says Adrian: “This new generation of base fluids are also needed for the next push in the war against emissions. Teaming up with performance polymers, the working oil film is now thinner than previous generations. This applies to journals/bearings, rings/liners, etc. Why? The thinner the oil, the less viscous drag on moving components. This leads to better fuel efficiency and ultimately reduced CO2 output. This new generation of oils will be composed of 0W-30s, 0W-20s, OW-16s and potentially even thinner. “These oil films are so thin that the base oils need enhancing and this is done with the introduction of synthesised materials referred to as ‘performance polymers’. These polymers re-enforce the oil film and stop it from rupturing which would