[BiturboS4] Anyone have Abt chip?

[California Fields]

[ Converted text/html to text/plain ]

Is anyone running the Abt chip in their S4?  If so, how do you like it and
have you compared it to the GIAC or MTM?

Thanks, Carter.
------------------------------
Carter Fields, San Francisco
2001.5, GIAC-X, Miltek 3" cat-back, Strat. shifter, Strat. DVs, A-pillar bo=
ost
gauge
------------------------------
>From: "S Stiles"
>To: ian at codrus.com, biturbos4 at audifans.com
>Subject: [BiturboS4] More on "synthetic" & why most are no longer full syn=
th.
>Date: Thu, 09 Jan 2003 12:55:37 -0800
>
>More on "synthetic". Long, but good reading.
>
>=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D
>
>
>Is Your Synthetic Motor Oil Really Synthetic?
>
>There is a disturbing trend in the oil industry that is misleading
>consumers. That trend is the playing of word games with the use of
>the
>word =93synthetic=94 on motor oil labels.
>
>The following article is a reprint from the August 2000 issue of
>=93Lubricants World=94, an oil industry trade magazine. This information
>is
>usually not available to most consumers.
>
>
>Subject: Article in Lubricants World August 2000 by Katherine Bui
>
>Marketers Take Advantage of =93Synthetic=94 Ruling
>
>Last year, Castrol (Swingdon, U.K.) and Mobil (Fairfax, VA) brought
>the
>debate over what is =93synthetic=94 into view, as Mobil challenged
>Castrol=92s
>replacement of polyalphaolephins (PAOs) with hydroisomerized waxes
>in
>their synthetic formulations. Exactly one year after the National
>Advertising Division (NAD) of the Council of Better Business
>Bureaus=92
>ruling in April 1999, upholding Castrol=92s position that wax
>isomerates
>could be called synthetic, Petro-Canada (Toronto) advertised it
>would be
>referring to its very high viscosity index (VHVI) basestocks as a
>synthetic in the North American market. These products fall into the
>same API group (Group III) as wax isomerates, but could vary
>significantly in quality from wax isomerates. This market roar by
>Petro-Canada has carried a quiet undertone of moves from PAO to VHVI
>technology by several engine oil marketers.
>
>The definition of synthetics aside, cost factors and performance
>continue to drive marketers to carefully asses the use of PAOs and
>Group
>III stocks (VHVIs). In the past year, several marketers have made
>the
>jump from PAOs to VHVI-based =93synthetics.=94 VHVIs cost approximately
>half
>what PAOs do and, according to VHVI producers, perform at a level
>comparable to PAOs in formulated oils. Yet, Mobil 1, which has the
>strongest hold on the synthetic market (estimated by one analyst at
>60.4%) and factory-fill contracts with Corvette and Porsche,
>continues
>to dominate the overall synthetic market with its PAO technology. On
>the
>other hand, Castrol, whose market share of Syntec synthetic oil was
>virtually nonexistent 6 years ago, now has more than 20% of the
>market.
>
>Even ExxonMobil could not resist the appeal of competitive pricing.
>It
>released a new synthetic blend that combines PAO technology with a
>=93high-quality conventional oil=94 in February.
>
>If the market projections are any indicator, simply using the word
>=93synthetic=94 in any shape or fashion may guarantee a piece of the
>pie.
>Synthetics and semi-synthetics make up only a niche 3%-6% of the
>automotive oil market (June LW, p.30). ExxonMobil holds the largest
>share in the market, followed by Castrol, Pennzoil-Quaker State, and
>Valvoline.
>
>Demand, however is expected to grow 5.7% per year, to 115 million
>gallons in 2003, because of increased desire for high-performance
>products, longer drain intervals, and lower emission formulations,
>according to estimates from The Freedonia Group (Cleveland).
>However, at
>least on market analysis says the consumer=92s lack of knowledge about
>synthetics and the higher cost of the finished product compared with
>conventional oil are not conductive to growth. The overall
>conventional
>motor oil market is projected to remain flat.
>
>Making the Move from PAO to VHVI
>
>Current market trends, cost, and the =93open-door=94 policy established
>by
>the NAD ruling have attracted a number of marketers this past year
>to
>the VHVI technology and use of the term =93synthetic.=94
>
>Castrol=92s substitution of wax isomerates for PAO after December 1997
>was
>the basis of the contoversal ruling by the NAD regarding the
>marketing
>use of the word =93synthetics.=94 But with its buyout by BP Amoco,
>Castrol
>may have to re-evaluate the components of its formulation relative
>to
>the value of supply chain. BP has been one of the larger refiners
>and
>producers of PAO. LW was unable to obtain comments from Castrol at
>press
>time.
>
>However, BP Amoco Chemicals=92 Joe Svoboda, PAO market manager, says,
>=93Castrol has basically been set up as a stand alone business unit
>within
>BP. Its position on Group III vs. Group IV will be based on what is
>best
>for its business.=94 He notes that =93Castrol is a leading global
>marketer
>of high-performance lubricants. Its position on PAO likely differs
>from
>region to region =96 particularly in Europe, where stringent lubricant
>performance requirements often mandate the use of PAO.=94
>
>Brent Lok, production manager for base oils at Chevron Products Co.
>(San
>Ramon, CA), says, =93We struggle with a similar situation in that we
>produce both PAOs and VHVIs. However, I think that the marketplace
>often
>dictates the operations, and the companies often have very little
>choice
>in the matter.=94
>
>Valvoline (Lexington, KY), which declines to detail the type of base
>oil
>technology it uses, continues to advertise its VR1 Racing Synthetic
>Motor Oil as a =93blend of thermally stable base oils.=94
>
>VHVI refiners such as Chevron Products, which holds the licensing
>rights
>to the hydroisomerization technology (Isodewaxing), says they have
>seen
>an increase in sales of Group IIIs based on =93cost/performance
>balances.=94
>=93We have seen a huge upswing in the sales activity of our Group III
>base
>oils that could be measured in folds,=94 says Lok. =93Even with
>increased
>sales activity, many in the industry are still in a gestation
>period,
>where additive companies along with researchers are tinkering with
>the
>packages and formulations to address this switch.=94 He says the big
>driver for change is the cost/value tradeoff in all synthetic
>lubricant
>segments. Specifically in the passenger car motor oil (PCMO)
>segment,
>GF-3 offers a window of opportunity for formulators to reevaluate
>their
>basestock choices because reformulation will be necessary to meet
>the
>new performance specifications, he says.
>
>Pennzoil-Quaker State (Houston) Product Manager James Newson told LW
>during an interview 2 months ago that the company is currently using
>PAOs to formulate its full synthetic. =93Since the beginning of this
>issue, we have looked at every option at a very detailed level.=94 He
>says. =93And we have found some of the nonconventional synthetics very
>intriguing.=94
>
>76 Lubricants (Costa Mesa, CA), a marketer of synthetics both in the
>PCMO and industrial oil segments of the industry, currently produces
>a
>=93limited slate of synthetics=94 formulated with PAOs. However the
>company
>admits, research into the use of VHVI in ongoing. =93We will likely be
>offering such products in the near future,=94 says Steve Tarbox, 76
>Lubricants=92 product manager for engine oils and automatic
>transmission
>fluids (ATFs). =93Moving some existing product formulations from PAO
>to
>Group III basestocks always requires additional testing to both
>comply
>with any product licensing requirements (engine oils and ATFs for
>example) and also to provide existing customers the assurance and
>documentation that familiar products still provide the full range of
>performance benefits they have come to know and expect from their
>synthetic lubricant.=94 Tarbox says adherence to American Petroleum
>Institute (API; Washington) and ATF licensing practices also
>precludes
>76 Lubricants from making changes in certain product families
>without
>assuming significant test costs.
>
>Petro-Canada, which initiated the recent public marketing of VHVI
>synthetics, announced on June 8 that it had completed the testing
>for
>its specialty base fluid in a 5W-40 grade engine oil. The test was
>conducted on a formulation designed to meet the VW 502/505
>specification, with 30% VHVI in place of PAO basestock.
>
>=93With this new certification, we offer blenders an alternative
>specialty
>base fluid that provides increased performance at a less expensive
>price,=94 says Henry Fuchs, marketing manager for specialty base
>fluids
>and automotive lubricants at Petro-Canada. Fuchs says the company
>will
>continue to develop products that will meet specifications in
>Europe.
>
>As part of its claims, Petro-Canada says the company uses =93the
>unique
>patented HT Severe Hydrocracking, Hydroisomerization and
>Hydro-Finishing
>process to produce the clear, colorless base fluid that is 99.9%
>pure
>and highly isoparaffinic.=94 The company also says the =93high-quality=94
>base
>oil minimizes the effects of aromatics, sulfur, and nitrogen
>impurities
>removed, and balances a high viscosity index with low temperature
>fluidity and oxidative and thermal stability. At press time, LW had
>been
>unable to obtain a comment from Petro-Canada about marketing
>strategies
>for its new product.
>
>=93I don=92t expect we will see the lubricant marketers advertising
>components of the synthetic as we see here,=94 says Lok. =93Marketers
>are
>more interested in marketing the performance and their brand.=94
>
>Mobil 1, whose PAO technology was one of the many trade secrets that
>changed hands during the merger between Exxon and Mobil, remains
>loyal
>to PAOs. However, even ExxonMobil could not resist the appeal of
>competitive pricing. It released a new synthetic blend that combines
>the
>PAO technology with a =93high-quality conventional oil=94 in February of
>this year.
>
>=93Since Mobil has the most experience with the PAO technology, their
>ability to manufacture a blended, semi-synthetic product would
>probably
>offer them some advantage in the automotive market,=94 says Jerry
>Shelby,
>president of Lubrication Consultant and Lubrecon (Houston). LW was
>unable to obtain comment from ExxonMobil about its PAO technology by
>press time.
>
>Mark Pernik, global business manager for Chevron Chemical Company
>LLC,
>says his company has not seen PAOs displaced out of PCMO
>applications,
>though he admits Chevron Chemical is not a big player in the PCMO
>market. =93Still, the VWT4 standard in Europe has demonstrated that
>PAO
>sales have not skewed and have in fact increased in position,=94 says
>Pernik.
>
>In addition, BP Amoco Chemicals=92 Svoboda says, =93We have seen some
>tempering of growth for PAO in North America. We attribute this to
>the
>increasing availability of Group IIIs. However, on an international
>level, PAO demand continues to grow at a rapid pace. PAO in Europe
>is
>more than double that of North America. Europe continues to be a
>strong
>growth engine for PAO. This is based on the European OEM (original
>equipment manufacturer) drive for higher performance and by
>environmental considerations, such as emission reduction and
>extended
>drain intervals.=94 He agrees with Pernik that the PAO market remains
>strong in Europe and that eventually the rest of the world will
>follow
>the higher performance requirements established there.
>
>The primary downside to the NAD ruling and any resulting replacement
>of
>PAOs with VHVIs, says Svoboda, =93is that North American PCMO
>consumers
>will not be getting the higher quality performance level offered by
>the
>PAO. Despite claims of equivalent performance, PAO continues to
>maintain
>its superior performance over Group IIIs under extreme operating
>conditions, particularly with regard to low-temperature performance
>and
>high-temperature oxidative stability.=94
>
>Yet, when LW asked several industry experts about the NAD ruling,
>their
>feelings regarding market effects were mixed (LW, Oct. 1999, p. 30;
>Nov.
>1999, p. 35). A Castrol representative then stated the VHVIs would
>be
>competitive with PAOs and that the consumer would benefit from that
>competition.
>
>A PAO expert disagreed, saying the NAD decision would have minimal
>impact on the formulation of synthetics. =93The quality of Group III
>products in inconsistent, and their physical properties are
>different
>from one manufacturer to the next,=94 he says. If the industry heads
>in
>the direction of replacing PAO with VHVI, he says, =93consumers will
>be
>misled and the high margin niche that has been developed by
>present-day
>synthetics will erode.=94
>
>Barrett Cupples, a consulting scientist who worked with PAOs at
>Chevron
>Chemical for 20 years, cautions marketers against directly switching
>from PAOs to VHVIs without adequate testing. =93According to API base
>oil
>guide lines, Group III stocks may not simply be substituted for PAOs
>in
>motor oil formulation,=94 he says. =93Any switch will require extensive
>testing to ensure that the final product fully meets the
>requirements of
>that lubricant.=94
>
>Further downstream, the players in the synthetic PCMO market =96
>Castrol,
>Pannzoil-Quaker State, and Valvoline =96 have each released
>reformulations
>and new blends in the past several months. The reason for this
>interest,
>according to one industry market analysis, is the competitive nature
>of
>the market, the projection for market growth, and the re-awakening
>of
>cost savings in blends.
>
>=93Though synthetics will exhibit strong growth through the end of the
>20th century,=94 says The Freedonia Group, =93higher prices in
>comparison to
>traditional petroleum-based products, as well as competition from
>lubricants formed from hydrocracking processing, will limit their
>gains;
>however, the introduction of synthetic blends will help offset the
>price
>disadvantage of synthetics as blends offer higher performance than
>conventional lubricants at a lower cost than full synthetics.=94
>
>Retail shelf prices have remained constant despite changes in
>formulation. Mass merchandise shelf prices for synthetic PCMOs
>average
>between $3 and $4 per quart. In the first quarter, the price for a
>quart
>of Mobil 1 synthetic was approximately $4.09. The cost of Valvoline
>SynPower was slightly higher, at $4.22.
>
>=93At an average price point of $3.89 per quart for full-synthetic
>oil,
>these products attract a small segment of users,=94 says Larry Solomon
>of
>Valvoline. =93Past trends indicate that the full-synthetic market is a
>small segment. There is no reason to believe that this will change
>in
>the future.=94
>
>Lok points out the synthetic lubricant market is relatively price
>insensitive. =93The customers in this market are more willing to pay
>for
>the value of the product, despite the cost,=94 he says. =93In contrast,
>the
>PCMO suppliers are continually looking for cost efficiencies in
>their
>production, as long as it comes with no sacrifice to product
>performance.=94
>
>Industrial Synthetics Seek Extreme Operating Conditions
>
>Trends in demand in the industrial sector for synthetics differ from
>those in the automotive oil market because of increasing requests
>for
>higher performance and specialty products. According to The
>Freedonia
>Group, the bulk of the synthetic market is composed of industrial
>lubricants and demand for synthetic industrial lubricants is
>forecast to
>increase 4.8% annually, to 72 million gallons in 2003.
>
>This growth has Equilon (Houston) focusing its synthetic marketing
>on
>the industrial market. Earl Blanchette told LW 2 months ago the
>company
>saw a bigger growth in the industrial market for synthetics. The
>company, as reported, introduced several new products within the
>past
>year, including a new compressor oil.
>
>Because of the drive for energy efficiency, extended drains, and
>environmental factors in this sector, marketers of industrial
>synthetics
>will have to pay closer attention to the performance factors in
>formulation, perhaps with more emphasis than in the automotive
>segment.
>
>Industrial synthetic oils currently us a variety of base oils, such
>as
>PAOs, diesters, polyalkylene glycols (PAGs), and phosphate esters,
>among
>others. In hydraulic applications, circulating oils, and turbine
>oils.
>some industrial oil producers are looking at VHVI as a replacement
>for PAO.
>
>Lok says, however, that increased activity in this market also shows
>that the switch from PAOs and VHVIs is happening. =93Over the last
>year,
>sales of Group III basestocks at Chevron Products have increased,
>particularly into a wide variety of industrial oil applications.=94
>
>Much, if any, move from PAOs to VHVIs in industrial synthetics may
>depend on the oxidation stability factor. =93If the high-VI stocks can
>obtain the oxidation stability of a PAO with a comparable
>performance, I
>think the industrial segment would really consider that type of base
>oil
>as a replacement for conventional synthetics, especially when you
>add
>the lower cost factor,=94 says Shelby. =93However, I just don=92t see
>[VHVIs]
>making as big a splash in the industrial segment as synthetics. They
>will evolve into the market but will not be marketed in the same way
>as
>synthetics are in the automotive sector=94 He suggests consumers in
>colder
>climates will be more willing to accept the VHVI formulation if they
>have viscometrics similar to those of true synthetics.
>
>But industrial synthetics in general have not had the type of
>success
>that automotive synthetics have had, according to Shelby. =93The
>synthetics would only be a factor for those applications where
>longer
>life, high temperature, and reduced downtime are big factors,=94 he
>says.
>=93They don=92t have as much of a foothold in the industrial market as
>in
>automotive.=94
>
>Mobil, which formulates with PAOs, diesters, and PAGs, does have the
>larger foothold in the market, with its full line of gear oils,
>circulating oils, and hydraulic oils. Houghton International (Valley
>Forge, PA) also produces a glycol-based synthetic hydraulic fluid
>(Houghsaf) that competes with the Mobil poduct.
>
>Fire safety is a big issue in the hydraulic market, emphasizing
>higher
>flash point and fire point.
>
>Another area of focus is the environment, which Equilon is
>emphasizing
>in its marketing of vegetable-based synthetics. Likewise, reported
>Chemical Engineering in July, American Synthol (Roswell, GA) is
>marketing its New Technology Synthetic Base (NTSB) stock by boasting
>that it is more biodegradable and thermally stable than PAO.
>According
>to Joe Green, president of American Synthol. NTSB can be formulated
>to
>be comparable to PAO by using improved stabilizers.
>
>Conclusion
>
>The synthetic market in general has seen an active year of new
>blends,
>new product releases, and formulation changes. It remains a market
>stricken by discrepancies in market share, cost, and growth, but the
>word =93synthetic=94 retains the image of higher performance and product
>development. Just as divided as the debate, market analysts are torn
>by
>projections for growth and whether a big push for growth is
>worthwhile
>given the size of the segment. There is little doubt that a trend is
>appearing in the synthetic market, but where that trend will go
>remains
>to be seen.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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