An increasing number of modern engines require the use of advanced and at first glance - unusual oils. Using the Ford 1.0 EcoBoost engine as an example, TotalEnergies presents the oil circuit, explains why oil requirements are so exorbitant, and dispels common myths about “watery oils that destroy engines.”
Automotive downsizing continues to stir up controversy. However, it's not only about the engines themselves, but also about the requirements placed on oils. Not only drivers, but even mechanics sometimes cannot believe that, for example, recommended viscosity grades like 0W-20 or 5W-20 are an absolute necessity. Some even look for some conspiracy theories in this, as if manufacturers care about premature wear of pan or rings. Attempts to substitute recommended oils with other oils chosen at will often end in overhaul or replacement of the engine.
TotalEnergies, as part of the Quartz Academy, conducts training courses to explain the oil requirements of today's engines. The latest teaching aid is a moving model of a Ford 1.0 EcoBoost engine that has inspection windows made in oil-sensitive areas.
The Ford 1.0 EcoBoost engine is one of the most popular downsizing designs on the market, and at the same time it is equipped with almost all modern solutions typical of our times. As you can easily guess, these very solutions raise the bar of oil requirements quite significantly. These include a high horsepower-per-liter ratio, crankshaft loading, loading of valve “glasses” and cams, timing belt running in oil, advanced oil pump, oil spray on the piston bottom, variable valve timing, direct fuel injection, GPF filter, exhaust manifold in the head, oil-coolant heat exchanger, start-stop system and, of course, heat loads of individual engine zones including pistons and rings.
As you can see - the sensitive areas are many, and there is no room for experimental “factory tweaking” with an oil selected on the basis of one's own thoughts. TotalEnergies oils with approvals for this type of unit have undergone laboratory and dynamometer tests by manufacturers, which have shown their excellent quality and confirmed that they meet manufacturers' requirements. Using oils with other specifications can only worsen lubrication and any other parameters for which the oil is responsible.
The biggest controversy is usually over viscosity grades like 0W-20 or even more unusual ones like 0W-8 (some call such oils watery). However, it should be remembered that how the oil looks at room temperature is one thing, and what properties it has at the temperature of the most heated areas of the engine is another. Oils of such viscosity classes guarantee quick access to the farthest areas of the engine, while at the same time ensuring the maintenance of a proper oil film even when the unit is fully loaded. Oils of other viscosity classes are unable to provide this - at best they will only fulfill one of the required tasks.
It is worth noting at this point that EcoBoost engines - like most downsizing engines can work not only “solo” but also in micro-hybrid and hybrid systems. While in the case of a gasoline unit alone, the engine is cycled off only by the start/stop system, which can be deactivated as a last resort, in hybrid systems (micro and full), the engine turns on and off much more frequently. What's more, it turns on not only when starting from under the lights, but also when driving at not inconsiderable speeds. For the lubrication system, therefore, every fraction of a second counts.
But there is still more to it. Modern oil pumps used in dowsing engines have been specially designed to work with oils of such viscosity grades. Using others can damage the pump or reduce its performance.
Very often in the Internet space there are accounts of disassembly of damaged downsizing engines, where mechanics indicate worn, baked rings and scratches on the piston shell. In most cases, ill-fitting or too infrequent oil changes are responsible for these defects. Baked rings are most often the result of strong oxidation of the oil, the accumulation of sludge from fuel combustion and oil particles sucked in through the air purge. Properly selected oils not only reduce the formation of such deposits, but also clean them on an ongoing basis.
At high engine load and high power demand with direct injection, the fuel and air are not perfectly mixed, and zones of excess fuel are formed. This is when soot is formed in the combustion process. Its presence forces the use of GPF (gasoline particle filter) systems. Soot from the combustion chamber also enters the oil and contaminates it. This, in turn, necessitates an increase in the oil's ability to disperse soot to reduce soot buildup and deposition in the engine. This can cause increased wear on engine components.
Scratches on the piston shell, by contrast, are usually a trace of knocking combustion - an LSPI phenomenon typical of direct-injection gasoline engines. LSPI (Low Speed Pre-Ignition) is premature ignition at low speed. It appears in the rev range (1500-2000 rpm), when the engine is heavily loaded and air is heavily charged. This is when the fuel-air mixture is ignited during the compression stroke, which occurs before the actual ignition initiated by the spark from the spark plug. What does oil have to do with it?
Well, premature ignition is caused by underfired, glowing oil particles present in the combustion chamber or still burning excess fuel. LSPI results in the impact of the piston shell against the cylinder liner, and this leads to the aforementioned scratches. The right oil reduces the number of glowing oil particles and thus reduces the LSPI phenomenon.
Oils for engines equipped with a timing belt contain suitable additives that preserve the belt. Of course, belts running in oil are different from traditional ones, but usually the issue of oil selection is not indifferent to them. It is worth noting at this point that even if the downsizing engine is equipped with a chain, the right oil is also very important for it. Large amounts of soot that penetrate the combustion chamber and settle on the chain destroy its links. Soot has an abrasive effect on the pins, causing its elongation. The right oil prevents soot deposition and thus protects it. We are talking about the oil's ability to disperse soot.
The model engine used during TotalEnergies' training at Quartz Academy is equipped with illuminated inspection windows that allow you to see for yourself that there are no oil conspiracy theories involved. These are precisely the requirements of today's downsizing engines. If, for example, a 5-liter Ford Mustang engine were built with this technology, it would have almost 700 horsepower, and then no one would question the factory oil recommendations. The reality, however, is that it is not the Mustang, but popular cars that have received such state-of-the-art solutions, and they must be respected by using the appropriate oils with engine manufacturers' approvals.