Schaeffer Oil—Better Racing Oils and Lubricants for Less

For the past few seasons we have been using and selling Schaeffer oils and lubricants. Our own personal experience combined with feedback from our engine builder and numerous customers indicate that Schaeffer’s products are top notch. However, beyond these accolades and their competitive prices, I’ve never really taken the time to understand what sets Schaeffers apart from the competition. In hopes of doing a better job for our customers, I recently went on a bit of a mission, sorting through numerous articles and websites to better understand what makes a good racing oil. Although what follows will obviously demonstrate my own ineptness, hopefully it will provide a basic understanding of the characteristics and benefits of a good racing oil.

What does oil do?
On the surface, the function of oil is simple—to produce a film between two moving parts that reduces friction and protects the surfaces from wear. While this is true, oil also performs two additional functions. Oil is a coolant, effectively reducing the temperature of the moving surfaces. Oil is also a cleaner that removes contaminates. One popular website compares an engine’s need for oil to a human’s need for blood. The composition of an oil determines how effectively and for how long it is able to perform these functions.

What’s in Oil?
Seems like a stupid question, but in most cases oil consists of more than just oil. At the very core of the oils used in motor and gear oil is mineral oil. However, in order to help provide additional protection, improve its performance and increase its useful life as a lubricant, additives are introduced. The amount of additives varies anywhere from 1%-25% depending on the application. While there are several different types of additives that are used, we’ll only discuss a few that help set Schaeffers apart from the competition.

Antiwear Agents
Antiwear agents are one of the primary additives found in racing oils. Their primary job is to react with the metal surfaces resulting in the creation of a thin film that serves as the final line of defense against metal-to-metal contact. This is important since high performance applications result in greater loads that seek to totally displace the normal flow of oil. The most common types of antiwear agents are Zinc and Sulphur. There are additional agents that are used that increase the oil’s ability to resist shearing and seizing.  While Zinc is a very effective agent, Schaeffer is one of just a few racing oils that still utilize it in their products. One antiwear agent that produces very positive results that is used in Schaeffer Oil is Moly. Moly actually embeds in the pours of the metal creating a smoother, slicker surface. Engine builders have actually told us that it works to polish the surface to a mirror like finish. The final antiwear agent that sets Schaeffers apart is Penetro—a proprietary lubricant developed by Schaeffers.

A racing incident helped us become firm believers in the antiwear agents used in Schaeffers. We lost our oil drain plug during a race, dumping almost all of the oil out of the engine. Unaware we finished the race and drove into the pits. We immediately pulled the engine and took it to our engine builder. After inspecting all of the bearings, he reported that there was not any damage. I recently relayed our experience to a Schaeffer’s representative. He was not surprised, he told me that he had several similar stories from many different forms of motorsports.  It all boils down to the quality of the antiwear agents used in Schaeffers.

Detergents
Detergents are another additive found in racing oils. It is the job of the detergent to keep the surfaces free of deposits. Viscosity Modifiers are additives that prohibit oil thinning as the oil heats up. This is done with polymers which actually expand as heat within the engine rises. The final type of additive we’ll discuss is antifoamant. As the name suggests these additives create surface tension which speeds the collapse of foam. This is important because foam acts as an insulator locking in heat and raising temperatures within the engine or gearbox.

Secret Recipe?
Just like your family’s secret recipe for chili, a good oil is not only the ingredients, but also the quality and quantity of ingredients that go into the recipe. For instance, the antiwear agents used in Schaeffer’s are true lubricants, whereas many of the competitors produce their antiwear agents through chemistry. Test have concluded that the antiwear agents produced by chemistry don't hold up as well as true lubricants. The end result is that they breakdown and loose their effectiveness after only a short period. Schaeffer’s antiwear agents continue working much longer. In fact laboratory tests proved that Schaeffers was effective three times longer than the synthetic racing oil we were previously using.

Time Tested
The Schaeffer Oil Company has been hard at work perfecting their formula since 1839. In fact, Schaeffer’s lubricants were on most of the wagon wheels that carried gold rushers towards California. While the Schaeffer advertising plan doesn’t include sponsorship of racing cars, high dollar advertising campaigns or fancy pyramid schemes, they are certainly making a name for themselves in the world of auto racing. The popularity of Schaeffer oils is growing the old fashioned way through the merit of the product and by word of mouth. Today top teams in every form of motorsport from NASCAR down to Saturday night circle track are singing the praises of Schaeffers.

The best news for racers, is that Schaeffers out performs more expensive racing oils and rear end lubricants for a fraction of the cost. Compare a quart of Synthetic 20W50 Schaeffer’s racing oil at $4.74 to a quart of Redline or Royal Purple at $7.50 to $8.00 per quart and the value becomes obvious. While some of the other oil companies shy away from direct comparisons, Schaeffers does just the opposite--offering a program where for a minimal charge customers can have oil samples laboratory tested.

While Schaeffer’s oils and lubricants don’t have the wide spread distribution of some other racing oils, they can be easily purchased online from www.speedpartz.com. Speed Partz, Larry Fasse commented, “We’ve been shipping Schaeffer’s oils, lubricants and cleaners all over the United States for the last couple of years. Every customer that we’ve had try this stuff has quickly turned into a fan and repeat purchaser. That’s the best endorsement a product can get.”

To order Schaeffer Oil and Lubricants online:

	Schaeffer Oils and Lubricants on www.speedpartz.com
Speed Partz is a one stop shop for all of your racing needs for mini sprints, modified midgets, dwarf cars, modified lites, tq midgets, midgets and sprint cars.  We carry a complete selection of the parts required to keep you on the track and in victory circle.