Exxon Elite FAQ
During our visit to Philadelphia for AOPA Expo, we were able to interview Steve Sunseri, ExxonMobil's General Aviation Manager. We asked him many of the questions that you ask us. We hope you find the answers as helpful as we do.EliteEtc.com: Some of our customers have seen a white, milky substance (sometimes described as foam) in the area of the oil filler neck or dip stick. What is this stuff?
ExxonMobil: This white, milky substance is an emulsion formed on the surface of the fluid or an oil-wetted part and indicates the presence of minute amounts of water mixed with oil. It is probably harmless. To be sure, you need to make sure you do not have water in your oil. You can do this by asking your oil analysis lab to test a sample of your oil for water (If you are not analyzing your oil, we can send you a test kit). If the lab indicates you have water in your oil, replace the oil with fresh oil.
If the lab indicates that you oil does NOT contain water, then the emulsion you are seeing is harmless and is the result of condensate in at least this part of the engine.
This kind of phenomenon has been observed in engine oils that contain potent dispersants and rust inhibitors, as present in Aviation Oil Elite 20W-50.
Aviation Oil Elite 20W-50 will do its job in protecting against rust from this type of moisture. Nevertheless, there are several things you can additionally do to ensure you are protected against rust, as discussed in our circular "Rust Prevention, When You Aren't Flying as Much as You'd like".
EliteEtc.com: Why does Exxon Elite turn dark very early in the drain interval? (This may be especially pronounced right after converting to Aviation Oil Elite 20W-50)
ExxonMobil: Because of the wide variety of additives used in a modern engine oil like Aviation Oil Elite 20W-50 and the manner in which these additives behave in your engine, oil color is not a very reliable way to determine oil quality.
As you may already know, impurities are created in your engine as a by-product of combustion. Aviation Oil Elite 20W-50 is formulated with a very robust dispersant to uniformly suspend these impurities throughout the oil so that they are removed from the engine when the old oil is drained.
Sometimes these suspended impurities cause the used oil to appear darker than other oils. This is a sign that Elite is doing its job to keep your engine clean.
EliteEtc.com: We've had a few reports that the wear metals in oil analysis increase immediately after converting to Elite. Is this due to the same phenomonon?
ExxonMobil: That's right, Lisa. This is usually a
The process takes only 2-3 drain intervals after which your wear metals will return to a more normal level, or even a bit lower due to Elite's superior anti-wear additive package.
However, please ask your customers to fax a copy of their oil analysis report so that ExxonMobil Technical Support can review each situation individually.
EliteEtc.com: Most of our customers report decreased oil consumption after converting to Exxon Elite. A few, however, report an increase. What's going on with oil consumption?
ExxonMobil: Let's look at lower oil consumption first. Elite is more viscous at ring zone temperatures than other oils, especially monograde oils (SAE 50 and lower). Because it is thicker, not as much of it slides by the rings during combustion. And this, of course is often seen as a measureable decrease of 10-15% in oil consumption.
As for those fewer cases where oil consumption moves the other direction, impurities are created in your engine as a by-product of combustion. These impurities can sometimes form sludge and deposits in the ring zone area of the pistons in your engine. Because Elite is formulated with a very robust dispersant, it may begin to suspend some of the sludge and deposits resulting in a TEMPORARY increase in oil consumption as oil slides by the backside of the rings.
In these cases, oil consumption usually returns to normal after 2-3 drain intervals.
EliteEtc.com: Why does oil pressure sometimes change right after converting to Elite?
ExxonMobil: Lisa, oil pressure is directly proportional to oil viscosity. Accordingly, your oil pressure using Exxon Elite will change to the extent that its viscosity is different from the viscosity of the oil you were previously using. For example, if you were previously using an SAE 50 weight monograde like Aeroshell W 100, your oil pressure on start up will decrease because Elite is a 20W-50 multigrade and is thinner at ambient temperature.
At operating temperature, your oil pressure with Elite may be slightly higher than your oil pressure was with Aeroshell W 100 because Elite is slightly thicker at operating temperature.
EliteEtc.com: Steve, what is the recommended oil temperature for Elite? What is the maximum oil temperature?
ExxonMobil: Oil temperatures are set by the manufacturer of your engine and can usually be found in the Pilot Operating Handbook. Typically, you should operate you oil at 180-185 F. Maximum Oil temperature is usually 245 F.
Please check with your engine manufacturer for the recommendations for your specific engine.
EliteEtc.com: What is the shelf life for Exxon aviation piston engine oils?
ExxonMobil: The shelf life for most of the oils is 5 years under normal storage conditions. The date of manufacture can be determined using the batch and fill codes printed on each bottle. The shelf life of Exxon Elite 20W-50 is 4 years.
EliteEtc.com: Steve, we've had many complaints about your change in packaging in 2002. Why did you change the bottle?
ExxonMobil: Though not our most popular move, as I am sure you've determined, we rationalized all of our automotive products around the world to a common bottle - and we picked as a standard the bottle opening used in Europe.
Because we are not able to make changes to the packaging line during packaging runs of aviation piston oil, we must use the same bottle as all other product lines. Although we are prohibited from offering our preferred smaller opening, we are commited to finding other ways to keep our customers happy. That's why we've been offering free spouts and funnels...and we're willing to listen to other suggestions as well.
EliteEtc.com: Thanks, Steve, we appreciate your time. I'm sure this information will be helpful to our customers.
Please feel free to contact Steve directly, if you have other questions:
Steve Sunseri
General Aviation Manager
Tel: 804-378-0002
Fax: 804-378-1493
stephen.m.sunseri@exxonmobil.com
