The Petroleum Quality Institute of America

The Petroleum Quality Institute of America (PQIA) issues Consumer Alerts on Super XXX 10W30 and Liberty Gold Plus SMO 10W-40 Motor Oil. Test results show these brands of motor oil can cause damage to car engines.

The Petroleum Quality Institute of America (PQIA) has been sampling motor oils in the USA for several years, having them analyzed and publishing the results on their website (www.pqiamerica.org). The organization recently tested Super XXX 10W30 and Liberty Gold Plus SMO 10W-40 Motor Oil it purchased at convenience stores in the Chicago market, and PQIA says the results were “shocking.”

The Super XXX 10W30, and Liberty Gold Plus SMO 10W-40 samples tested have very serious deficiencies and it starts with the viscosity, or thickness of the oil. The viscosity of these products is close to 75% below where they should be to meet specifications. This means they are much too thin to adequately prevent metal-to-metal contact of moving parts and that results in excessive wear and premature engine failure. And for those unfamiliar with what viscosity means, if you shake a bottle of these products the sound you hear will speak volumes. That because the product in the bottle will sound more like water than they do oil. See video.

Whereas the PQIA feels the extraordinarily low viscosities of these brands alone is enough to warrant consumer alerts, other test data also indicate use of these products can cause damage to car engines. The silicon levels in each of these brands are also very high. Silicon is typically associated with abrasive contamination when found in engine oil. Further, both brands lack any meaningful level of additives required by car manufacturers to protect engines from wear, sludge, and rust.

In addition to what’s in the bottles, PQIA says the labels on the bottles of these brands also provide evidence of their harmful nature. The label on the back of the SuperXXX for example says, "It is designed for use in older model automobiles requiring SB specifications and where economy is a major consideration." But what it fails to say is that the API Service Classification SB was designed for vehicles manufactured between 1930 and 1963. Further, SB oils are deemed by the API to be "obsolete" and the API says they "can cause equipment harm." Whereas the sample of Liberty Gold shows it too lacks any meaning level of additives to protect engines, its label provides no reference to any performance specifications. Consumers are buying blind with this one.

PQIA cautions that it has observed these brands in convenience stores in the Chicago market and in other mid-west cities and states.

ABOUT PQIA

PQIA is an independent resource for information and insights on the quality of lubricants in the marketplace. The company serves the consumer of lubricants by testing and reporting on the quality and integrity of lubricants in the marketplace and then reporting and making this information readily available to all interested parties.  PQIA’s Advisory Board comprises leading professionals with prominence in a broad range of fields related to the lubricants business. The AB provides guidance, advice, and recommendations to PQIA’s management to ensure a fair, equitable, rigorous, transparent, and unbiased approach in the manner in which PQIA carries out its mission. Biographies of all members of PQIA’s Advisory Board are available at PQIA Advisory Board 

Contact:

Thomas F. Glenn

Petroleum Quality Institute of America

Phone: 732-910-0017

E-mail: tglenn@pqia.org