Synionic, the UK based lubricants manufacturer has unveiled its 2011 range of Surface Modifying Motorsport lubricants. The new oils have been developed from their previous ultra-high performance range, but have now been blended with even greater environmental credentials, to make them less harmful upon disposal.
The new range is the most advanced form of lubricant on the market and comes in all grades and weights. Naturally, Synionic can also offer custom blends and bespoke formulations to suit individual teams or engineer’s requirements and this can be done on a very sensible minimum order quantity. The firm can also offer a full post-race lab analysis to help identify any possible enhancements or improvements to be made. This has proven invaluable in the past by allowing teams to drop the ‘weight’ of the oil, therefore reducing drag, without increasing wear. In the case of one client, ADR Engineering, technicians saw significant power gains purely from the gearbox oil alone. This was achieved by reducing in stages from 75w90 right down to 10w40 and analyzing the product after each test run to assess wear – or more importantly, the lack of!
Synionic can be subjected to these extreme tests because it differs significantly in its formulation from normal lubricants. Put simply, normal oil is designed to prevent juxtaposed metal parts from touching each other. Under microscopic examination, tiny peaks which are formed as the result of metal finishing (known as ‘asperities’) can be seen, which rely on the film strength of the oil used to keep them apart. ’Film strength’ basically refers to the pressure that can be exerted on a lubricant before it is forced out of where it is required. As heat and/or pressure increases, the tiny peaks cut through the oil film, resulting in scoring, heat and additional friction. Synionic differs in the fact that it actually treats and modifies the surface of the metal components that it comes into contact with, rather than modifying the oil carrier itself.
As the name suggests, Synionic actually bonds at an ionic level to the surface of the moving parts, and in doing so begins a molecular and chemical process that uses the heat from the engine or gearbox to impregnate the metal with the lubricant. This, allied with Synionic’s measurably higher film strength (typically 220,000 PSI vs. 5,000 PSI for a quality synthetic) means that as heat and pressure increase, asperities are actually smoothed and folded under internal yield to create a surface with a lower friction coefficient. Usually, lubricants tend to migrate away from any source of heat, making it the enemy of engines. Here, heat acts as the catalyst that begins the chemical process to protect them.
Synionic already has a few high-profile race wins under its belt in the form of both Roger Clark Motorsport and Scoobyclinic whom have both used it to take them to victory in the UK Time Attack series. Next season, Subaru UK will also be running an entire complement of Synionic engine and gearbox lubricants in its own officially backed Time Attack machine.
RRP for the 5 litre pack is £49.99 or £685.00 for a 200 litre drum. Synionic Motorsport Lubricants are also suitable for all high performance, historic or classic road cars and bikes.
For more information on this, or any Synionic product, please call them Synionic UK on 01628 828473 or click on www.synionic.com