synthetic lubricants

The second try at synthetic oils was not a success. This was not due to a failure in marketing or lack of performance. Union Carbide introduced synthetic oil formulated from alcohol. They put on a remarkable marketing blitz, with full factory support at the races. The main marketing manager was a likable and fun person with a huge handlebar mustache. The oil was nicknamed "rabbit oil" from the slogan- "Run with the Rabbit."

For a while it seemed as though everyone was running in the rabbit pack, but by the following fall the rabbit pack was not exactly running any more. Most of the racers who had used the stuff got a nasty surprise when they tried to start up their engines in the fall. The crank would not turn as all the bearings had rusted solid to the crank. This was an unfortunate side effect of the alcohol, which was used as a base stock.

Complaints were numerous, cranks had to be replaced and the oil was pulled off the market. This left everyone skeptical about synthetic oil, and drivers returned to petroleum- based products. In the meantime the petroleum oils had gone through a period of development where other additives, among them zinc, had been added. The zinc additive improved film strength and allowed higher mix ratios in outboards. Outboard oil was soon the hot set-up for racing any two-stroke.

Developing a good synthetic oil was a costly process. If it was not for the U.S. Air Force, we might still be using petroleum-based oils. The military's new jet engines required lubricants that could operate at a very low temperature in high altitude, yet still tolerate the high temperatures inside the engine. Since this was a high priority for national defense, the government spent whatever it needed to develop the new lubricant. The result was a pure synthetic lubricant, with di-ester as a base stock. The di-ester-based oil was first introduced in two-stoke racing engines back in the seventies.

Al Amatuzio, the founder of AMSOIL, was a retired Air Force pilot. During his time as a fighter pilot, he had been favorably impressed with the synthetic lubricants used in jet engines. Why not use this oil in regular piston engines, he often questioned. Cost was one good reason; the lubricant was expensive to produce. Back in the sixties the U.S. Army also got involved, mainly because it needed a lubricant that would still work in trucks at -60°F. This helped to commercialize the synthetic oil.