JR529, Thanks for you insight on this subject. Did your team ever do break in testing on conventional vs synthetic oils? To your analysis is there any advantage or disadvantage to starting a new engine on conventional oils?
Sorry, I don't have any data on that. I do know that the same oil was used all the time and that it was synthetic. A great deal of attention was paid to the cylinder wall surface and the ring face, with new liners used in every rebuild. We didn't do any boring or honing on site, we always removed the used liner and put in a brand new one, along with new rings and pistons any time the engine was opened up. Used liners & piston combos were always scrapped, never rebuilt. We did a lot of testing on liner wear and different coatings but I was not involved in that, just aware that it was going on.
We monitored crankcase pressure versus engine RPM and boost to be able to get a real time indication of the ring sealing health. I seem to remember it always being fine. I don't remember ever taking an engine out of service once it was already in the field due to excessive blow by.
I use the term "we" a lot in my earlier posts, I want to clarify that I am referring to the company itself and the many people who were working there, not necessarily myself. We had dedicated dyno operators, engine assemblers, engine builders and engineering at our location. I was but a wee-cog in the machine.