SSAAI is working his way through Oil Glup, Part 6
The core of this debate lies in the clash between the fake science of online car forums and the real physical chemistry of motor oils. Communities build a comfortable religion for drivers, using simple metrics like the TBN-TAN crossover and wear metal numbers as absolute truths.
In reality, these tools are weak when applied to modern passenger car oils. The crossover point was made for heavy marine diesels running on high-sulfur fuel, making it useless for clean modern engines. Similarly, tracking tiny shifts in wear metals is pointless due to the high noise and limits of laboratory tests.
Ultimately, these communities do not seek scientific truth but performative expertise. Drivers trade real understanding for a shared faith to ease...