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Shell used a specially designed transparent gearbox to directly see the impact of different
lubricants on gearbox performance.
To demonstrate the effects of low temperatures on oil performance we have blended one gear
oil to have the viscosity of a synthetic Spirax S6 lubricant and the other to have the viscosity
of a typical mineral based oil.
Slow motion video shows that the synthetic based oil evenly lubricates all the critical
parts of the gearbox in less than 1 second
Using the same slow motion video technology clearly shows that the mineral based oil lubricates
the gearbox much less evenly.
Even after 2 and a half seconds there are still parts of the gear-tooth which are not
covered by an oil film. These parts will be subject to higher friction and wear compared
to a well-lubricated gearbox.
Here we see how a Spirax synthetic oil performs at ambient temperature.
Under these conditions, both in slow motion and in real-time motion video we clearly see
the very rapid lubrication of the complete gearbox and a relatively constant oil level.
This film clearly demonstrates that for best performance, for both cold starts and fully
warmed up conditions, choose Shell Spirax synthetic lubricants.