Quote:
Originally Posted by E90convert
I've actually seen some non-public data in powertrain where a thin FE oil out performed a thicker non-FE oil in a on-highway fleet wear test. This test was conducted to show the benefits of the new FE lubricant, and wear was actually better than the current non-FE lubricant. This lubricant may be used in one of the highest volume vehicle manufacturers on the planet 
Just because it's labeled FE doesn't mean it's sacrificing wear protection. |
Depends on what FE was compared against what non FE oil. If you compare motul's top of the line FE oil vs. the worst non FE oil, I'd wager the motul will beat it since motul managed to somehow bump the hths to non fe levels.
However if you compare the best LL01 oil out there to the best fe oil, then I'm willing to say the non fe LL01 oil wins. If you compared the best LL01 oil out there to the genuine bmw LL01 fe oil, there's no chance the bmw LL01FE genuine oil comes close to offering the same protection.
At the end of the day hths determines protection under strenuous track conditions with extremely hot oil temps, that's simple fact. And the LL01 FE oils don't offer the same shear protection as the LL01 oils I mentioned above, hence there's just simply no way it offers the same protection. Even additive wise where zinc offers wear protection, you won't find the additive packages to the same concentrations as in LL01 oils.
So exactly how does an FE oil provide the same protection? Likely in a oe's street use or highway use test where the oil isn't pushed to the limits, then you'll see no protection issues with FE oils. but there's a reason why OE's don't put the extremely strenuous tests on FE oils and it's likely because they simply can't pass them.