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Zinc Vs. Detergent

While the reduction of Zinc in today’s motor oils is significant, there is more to the story.

ALL "ZINC" IS NOT THE SAME

Zinc (ZDDP) is not a lubricant until heat and load are applied. Zinc must react with heat and load to create the sacrificial film that allows Zinc to protect flat-tappet camshafts and other highly loaded engine parts. Not all Zinc additives react under the same level of heat and load.

Some Zinc additives require more heat and more load to activate than other Zinc additives. As a result, not all “High Zinc” oils have the same activation rate. The Joe Gibbs Driven BR Break-In oil uses a “Fast Burn” ZDDP that activates quickly.

THE CRITICAL BALANCE OF DETERGENTS TO ZINC

Detergents are additives that clean the engine, but detergents don’t distinguish between sludge, varnish and Zinc - it cleans all three away. The right balance between Zinc and detergents is necessary to provide
the protection your racing engine needs.

The “old school” theory on engine break-in was to run non-detergent oils. This allowed for greater activation of the Zinc additive in the oil. Joe Gibbs Driven BR Break-In oil features a low detergent formula to allow the Zinc additive package to activate faster and to its full extent. Mixing a supplemental Zinc additive in with high detergent passenger car oil or diesel oil may not provide the protection you need because the detergents compete against the Zinc additive.

THE RIGHT BALANCE

Joe Gibbs Driven oils are formulated with the right balance of anti-wear additives and detergent to provide maximum performance during break-in and racing conditions. We do not sell or recommend oil additives because it is the complete package of additives in balance with each other that ultimately protect the engine.

Information and charts are property of Joe Gibbs Driven and cannot be duplicated without permission.