interesting topic that has been discussed in various local car forums. won't mind testing on my car if it's about to be scrapped or overhauled!

1st thing on my mind: isn't minyak (kelapa) sawit = palm oil, and not coconut oil?

what i've read about vege oil is that, local vege oil like coconut & palm oil are more saturated compared to others like corn, soya, canola, sunflower etc. oil. but being saturated makes them more stable during hi temperature, therefore it's more suitable for frying. mono- or polyunsaturated fats are more prone to break down into other compounds, and therefore less suitable for frying food.

so... being saturated oil could mean it withstands an engine's combustion heat better!

Intereting, keep us posted, especially on the sludge build-up concern. Try checking yr dipstick often, as this is yr 1st time using it, to see whether there's any sludge build-up.

So, which brand of cooking oil did u use, Cap Buruh, Pisau, Giant, etc.? Or did u get those brandless pasar malam oil in 1kg packing transparent plastic bags?

Bocor caused by the palm oil...?

Since the engine will be stripped, ask yr mech to check the oil pan and see whether there's any sludge there, or at other parts of the engine internals.

Wow, some are even risking their Alfa Romeos to test palm oil! sri Murni & Saji seem popular, probably due to their lower prices among the 5kg pack cooking oils. Wonder which one smells better?

p.s. CG = which car club?

I did some brief googling, not sure whether this is correct, but palm oil's viscosity seems similar to that of 20 weight oil when hot. Maybe that's where the FC improvement comes from, i.e. lower drag from thinner oil.

Actually, the protection level doesn't increase with the oil's viscosity. More viscous oil may withstand higher heat than thinner ones, but the use of thicker oils actually increases wear!

This can happen when u use, say, a 20W-50 on a new engine instead of a more suitable 5W-30, which the new engine can use w/o any probs due to its tight tolerances. The 5W-30 will be thinner during both cold-start and when the engine has reached at its operating temperature. When an oil is thinner during cold-starts, it's easier to pump around the engine internals, therefore reaching metal-to-metal wear areas faster compared to the 20W-50 grade oil, effectively starting protection faster by minimising time for metal-to-metal contact.

Furthermore, engines which use 20W-50 oil- which has a thicker oil film compared to thinner oils- from the start will also force the gaps between moving parts to be bigger sooner, to accommodate the thicker oil film. So, ideally, when the engine is still new, we should start using the thinnest possible oil that doesn't cause noticeable oil consumption, and only "upgrade" to higher viscosities when oil is consumed noticeably. This way, we get the best FC, response & lifespan from an engine.

I guess our technicians are not that updated in lubrication technology... they still have the "thick = more protection, thin = less protection" mindset strongly reinforced by their sifu.

Campro engines still have 20W-50 as the recommended oil viscosity, while the CPS version is recommended to use 10W-30, according to a CPS owner. Another guy with the latest Lexus LX470 (Cygnus?) SUV told me the owner manual recommends 5W-20 grade oil. Maybe this applies more to temperate countries, we're probably more suited to W-30 grade. Some ppl hv used W-20 grade in our weather with no probs, while others experienced gradual oil reduction, even on a relatively new car.

When monitoring the FC with the installation of new things or tuning, one should drive the same way and same routes as before for a few tanks so that we know the FC is caused by the new thing or tuning, and not the diff travelling speed.

Eagerly anticipating your feedback

By the way, how much did the Waja's top set cost?

Palm oil definitely has lubricity, but what's lacking could be properties like anti-oxidation, anti-foaming, acid-neutralising, sludge-removal & suspension, etc.

ibmlenovo,

sounds like yr mechanic has quite a number of customers who hv tried the palm engine oil?

Maybe palm oil can be mixed in with regular motor oil to get the various properties I've mentioned.

rcracer,

if you're near a hypermarket, then there's easily 10x more palm oil than motor oil available!

So far, do u notice any decrease in the palm oil level after a while? Concerned that it may evaporate or burn off due to it being thinner than engine oil.

Oh, good to hear that. Palm oil's flash point is quite hi, higher than some fully-syn oil, in fact! Maybe that's why it can resist burn off well.

Interesting... that means the engine temp is more stable and fluctuates less. The radiator fan motor gets to work less, last longer and drain less energy from the batt!

I'm thinking that if u wanna try palm oil, use it as a mixture with engine oil and not pure palm oil, as palm oil doesnt have any additives for anti-oxidation, acid-neutrlisation, sludge-removal & suspension. It does beat fully-syn oil in having a higher flash point though, from my brief googling, probably the reason it can withstand evaporation better.

If it does break down, it probably becomes sludge, the oil level drops and the oil/engine internal darkens.

bro fatani,

What brand of oil & viscosity were u using before using palm oil? Any oil consumption when using normal engine oil?

But sometimes lighter engine revs will encourage u to rev higher and stay there longer, resulting in higher FC!

Any updates on the palm motor oil from TS & others?