FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The “Big Oil Companies” are not interested in making the absolute best oil with the highest quality (most expensive) additives available. They are in the business of making the highest Volume of oil at the most economical price for them. This equates to a great difference in terms of performance and protection.

The “W” in 10W-30 motor oil stands for “winter” and indicates that the oil meets or exceeds certain criteria for good low-temperature performance. Oil with SAE viscosity grade 10W-30 will behave like an SAE 30 oil at high temperatures and like a SAE 10W oil at low temperatures. The W portion of the viscosity of the oil provides the necessary fluidity for cold starts and proper engine operation at colder temperatures. An oil with a 5W-30 would be even better in colder climates than a 10W-30.

Yes, Alpha Lubricants is fully compatible with other oils, however the superior performance of our product will be diluted.

Please follow an environmentally sound procedure when disposing used oil. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) guidelines for disposal include:

• Do not pour it on the ground or down the sewer or storm drain.
• Do not dump used motor oil in the trash.
• Place the used motor oil in a sealable container.
• Take it to a service station or a collection location that recycles used motor oil.
• Do not burn the used motor oil in a space heater.
• To make it easier to recycle, do not mix motor oil with other substances, such as gasoline or antifreeze.

Locate proper disposal locations in your area. Service stations and automobile parts companies will take used motor oil from do-it-yourselfers and will follow EPA-approved recycling guidelines.

No. We do not perform used oil analysis ourselves, we use a third party company called Wear Check. Customers can buy the oil analysis kit from Alpha Lubricants which is an easy prepaid package, draw out their used oil and ship it to Wear Check.

A used oil analysis is like going to the doctors and getting your blood tested. It tells you what is going on in that system.

Yes, it is perfectly safe to use a synthetic oil in new engines.

A common myth for new engines is that they must “break-in” their engine first before putting a high grade oil into it. This is false. It is false because cars today are machined at much tighter tolerance and in cleaner conditions than in the past. Current engine manufacturing does not require a petroleum as a “break-in” oil.

Alpha Lubricants ensures the highest quality base oils and additives are used for all products. It is not uncommon for our automobile customers to get at minimum of 250,000 miles out of their vehicles when using Alpha Motor Oil. In many longtime customers feedback they have reported that their engine and transmission long outlasted their radio, window mechanics, electrical system, etc.

No, not in particular. However, we do recommend using our Alpha Flushing Solvent first. This will make sure contaminents which have accumulated in the engine are cleaned out properly. This also ensures better engine life and performance.

Anti-wear Agents: these additives prevent metal-to-metal contact. A chemical reaction happens in the presence of heat and “activates” these additives to produce a barrier between the parts coming in contact. Commonly used anti-wear additive is zinc dithiophosphate. The abbreviation of AW is used in products of a lighter load such as bushings, where as the abbreviation of EP is used in products with heavier loads such as gear boxes.

Anti-Foam Additives: prevents the production of air bubbles and foam in the oil which can cause a loss of lubrication, causing pitting and corrosion.

Antioxidants: these additives help to prevent oxidation of the oil. Once oxidation occurs in oil, the life and protection factors decrease dramatically. An increase in oxidation means an increase in sludge.

Dispersants: suspends and disperses contaminants preventing engine surfaces coming in contact with sludge and other deposits. Are most efficient at preventing low-temperature deposits.

Detergents: cleanses and neutralizes contaminants, preventing engine surfaces becoming loaded with deposits of sludge. Are most efficient at preventing high-temperature deposits

Extreme-Pressure Additives: these additives are activated by high temperatures and high stress loads commonly seen in gear boxes and EP additives coat metal surfaces producing a very hard “pre-surface” helping to prevent close-contact components from locking up under extreme pressure.

Friction Modifiers: are additives that cause wet clutches to lock up and hold efficiently. Powershift Transmissions, hydraulic operated transmissions, are the only compartments that require Friction Modifiers and they will not work well, if at all, without them. Friction modifiers are vital to proper powershift transmissions.

Lubricity: is the measure of slipperiness. Our Alpha Performance Booster is a lubricity additive. Alpha Performance Booster forms an electrostatic bond with metals. The bond is so strong, you cannot wipe it off, scrape it off, clean it off, or even wear it off. It virtually eliminates metal to metal contact, which in turn greatly reduces friction, wear, noise, vibration, operating temperature and energy consumption.

A base oil alone cannot standup to the heat, contaminates, and other forces that eventually break down all oils and lubrications. Additives are chemicals that are added to the base oil that greatly enhance the performance of any lubricant. Additives help lubricants stand up to extreme operating environments such as high moisture, high heat, shearing, chemical dilution, corrosion, wear particles and damaging contaminants.

Crude oil is the basic raw material for many things such as plastic, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, fuels and lubrications. Crude oil is a thick and highly flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of carbon based molecules. The oil refining process, which includes “cracking”, separates the various types of molecules in oil by weight. This results in more specialized products such as propane, butane, kerosene, gasoline, diesel fuel, and lubricants. The oil used in your vehicle or equipment contains highly specialized “additives” which help further protect all the moving parts in an engine, hydraulic system, gears, etc. Most engine oils consist of about 70%-90% of a base oil and 10%-30% of additives. The quality of the base oils can vary greatly (Group 1-Group 4) as well as the quality of the additives that are added.