After a two-year, 150,000-mile field test in extreme weather and grueling service conditions faced by Las Vegas taxi cab engines, Universal Lubricants Eco Ultra Synthetic Blend Motor Oil, made from re-refined EcoClear base oil, matched the protection and performance of the leading premium virgin-based oil on the market.
The engine teardown, performed last summer by a major third-party global additive company, evaluated the 2009 Chevrolet Impalas that began the test with new 3.5-liter V-6 GM engines and operated nearly 24 hours a day in the extreme heat of desert days and the extreme cold of its winter nights.
“You always want to go up against the best and this was proof positive that our re-refined base oil meets the highest performance levels of the best virgin crude base oil out there,” said Sonny Mays, Universal Lubricants’ director of technical sales who was on-site during the engine teardown and inspection.
“No one has magic in a can. But this study backed up everything we knew from lab tests about our product.
“Eco Ultra stands with the best in performance, and our closed loop process goes several steps further in protecting the environment and reducing our nation’s dependency on foreign oil.”
Universal Lubricants is a recognized leader in environmental services and the manufacturing and distribution of quality proprietary lubricants. Its closed loop process is an infinitely repeatable, sustainable, self-contained system for collecting used oil, then re-refining, blending, servicing and distributing it as clean, purified, high performance lubricants.
Component parts
Results of the teardown, in which the parts were inspected and rated according to Coordinating Research Council (CRC) guidelines, showed outstanding sludge and varnish ratings and indicated exceptional wear protection and superior oxidation control for Eco Ultra versus the premium competitive brand made with virgin base stock.
“After 150,000 miles of round-the-clock taxi service with oil change intervals extended to 10,000 miles, comparison pictures of parts and components taken during the engine teardown were virtually identical,” Mays said. “In fact, the average sludge ratings of 9.7 for the covers, rockers and head were extremely close to the 10.0 control rating for a new engine.”
Mike Wyant, technical services manager for Universal Lubricants with more than 20 years in the business, called the two-year project the most structured, impressive field test he’s ever seen.
“The severe driving conditions for a Las Vegas taxi cab is the ultimate viscosity test, since heat oxidizes oils and stop-and-go driving at slow speeds puts a severe strain on an engine,” he said. Ultimately, it’s the base oil that’s being attacked in oxidation.
“An inferior base oil will oxidize rapidly, lose its lubrication and flow properties, and thicken exponentially. If oil doesn’t flow and lubricate your engine, it will seize and fail to operate.”
Sophisticated process
The company’s state-of-the-art re-refinery in Wichita, Kansas, collects more than 40 million gallons of used oil from customers each year. Using a sophisticated hydrotreating process, Universal Lubricants’ operators remove the old additives and impurities in the used oil to produce clean, API compliant Group II EcoClear base oil, which is then blended with high performance additives to produce the company’s Eco Ultra line of high-quality lubricants.
“We can repeat the process of re-refining used oil over and over again,” said Wyant. “It’s good for consumers, helps our nation’s economy and is the right thing to do to protect the environment.”
About 1.3 billion gallons of oil are used in the U.S. each year, but only about 10-15 percent of that oil is repurposed, said Universal Lubricants officials. Re-refining used lubricants requires up to 89 percent less energy and releases up to 65 percent fewer harmful emissions than refining from crude.
Putting used lubricants into the re-refining cycle and treating oily wastewater also eliminates the danger that comes from improper disposal, they added. One gallon of improperly disposed motor oil can contaminate one million gallons of ground water.
For more information about Universal Lubricants’ closed loop quality standards and Eco Ultra products, visit www.ecoultraoil.com.
