LUBRICATING OIL

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 105, 6 May 1933, Page 17

LUBRICATING OIL

WHAT EXPERTS DECLARE

A symposium on motor lubricants was held in connection with a meeting' of the American Society for Testing Materials recently in New York. It brought to light a number of interesting points regarding oil consumption, carbon formation, and other questions which motor vehicle users often inquire about. Mr. E. W. Upham, chief metallurgist of the Chrj-Bler Corporation, in his paper referred to the tendency of motorists to use, especially in warm weather, heavier lubricants than those recommended, in an attempt to "control oil consumption, except when forced to use lighter oils to get started." He said that improvements in motor design and in the oil itself would do much to correct this practice. Mr. W. A. Gnise, of the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research, reviewed the long fight for reducing carbon formation in engines and declared that further betterment may como from dust-frco air, a hot-running engine : with lean mixture and oils of low carbon residue value. He said that changes in cylinder-head design and improvements in motor spirit made it possible for motors "to tolerate a moderate amount of carbon without knocking." Mr. A. L. Clayden, Tcsearch engineer of the Sun Oil Company, said that while air cleaners and oil filters were supplied on many cars today, few motorists took care to ronew them at proper intervals. Asserting that the use of lubricants of low viscosity "is in no way dangerous," Mr. Clayden added that "engines can run apparently indefinitely with a highly diluted lubricant." Tho most inrportant factor in oil consumption, according to Mr. W. H. Graves, chief metallurgist of the Packard Motor1 Car Company, is eiigine speed. An increase from thirty to flfty-milcs an hour may raise the consumption in one car by 130 per cent, and in another "over eighteen times as much," according to engine design, he said. Discussing the changing of oil in the motor, Mr. M. A. Dietrich, a graduate student of Ohio State University, said that oil deterioration could be modified considerably by\ the uso of air cleansers, oil rectifiers, niters, and purifiers. Ho added that in tests some cars had run from GOOO to 10,000 miles without oil changes, and trucks had been driven up to 30,000 miles with no oil renewal and "no apparent bad effects."

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Ltd., London will have under organisation at Olympia during 1933, the International Motor Exhibition and the International Commercial Motor Transport Exhibition, the former opening on October 12 aud closing nine days later, and tho latter opening on November 2 and closing on November 11. Traders or people engaged in operating transport services in New Zealand who are likely to be in England at these periods may obtain facilities for visiting those exhibitions by communicating with, tho Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The New Zealand representative is Mr. A. W. Hawley, of Wellington.