Feeler for Group Buy -- Renewable Lubricants, Inc. (RLI)

[HofmeisterKinky]

Before you read on, let me assure you that I have absolutely NO affiliation with any of the parties mentioned. I haven't even bought anything from any of them yet, nor are they even aware I am posting this. I have nothing whatsoever to gain from this except to see some acceptance for a product that I believe in, from a company I appreciate.

Let me also assure you that every single gripe and quip about this stuff has already been made and answered. If anything you read here - or the fact that the products are not yet widely used or BMW-approved - is a deal-breaker for you, please be respectful and move on.




Some of you may have heard of Renewable Lubricants, Inc. (a.k.a. RLI). If you haven't yet, you will. Long story short, they are a mom-and-pop operation making automotive lubricants from renewable resources on a farm in the middle of Ohio, and the stuff they make just might be the best ever seen.

Their claim to fame nowadays is that they are the only known company with an oil that works properly in US-market Audi RS4s. Those cars are apparently chewing up and spitting out flagship high-dollar street and racing oils from Mobil, Castrol, Red Line, Motul, Fuchs, Elf, and others, including ones that were officially approved by Audi/VW: None of them would run more than 3,000 miles in those engines without needing to be changed at the risk of severe engine wear. In the same cars, RLI's products have run well over 6k miles with no need to be changed. And this isn't someone's butt dyno talking, or some n00b looking at the oil on the end of the dipstick and saying "OMGZ IT'S STILL CLEAR!!!11" These results were validated by numerous oil analyses under the personal direction of Terry Dyson, perhaps the most respected freelance lubrication consultant in the industry.

I'll spare you the gritty details. If you want to read more, click here: http://theoildrop.server101.com/foru...886906&fpart=1

One of RLI's own favorite stories is one of a professional drag racing team (funny cars) that was using Kendall GT-1 Racing oil, one of the most respected and well-established racing oils on the market. Their engine had reached a point at which valvetrain components were actually welding themselves together over the course of each run down the track. They swapped out the Kendall for something from RLI and the problem went away.

The secret is in RLI's unique plant-based esters. Esters in general are great for oil because they stick to metals and form really strong films to prevent metal-to-metal contact, and withstand heat extremely well without losing performance or breaking down. That's a big part of why Red Line and some Motul oils are so great. The plant-based esters that RLI uses are even better in those respects than the synthetic ones used by the more commercial brands. But engine oil has to have a lot of ingredients to keep it working over thousands of miles, and the challenge with plant-based esters is that they don't usually play well with those ingredients. RLI solved that problem by engineering plant breeds such that the esters they produce are easier to work with.

I'm not going to try to tell you the big boys couldn't have figured this out if they wanted to. It's just that bio-based products aren't as profitable as petroleum products for people who don't need synthetic, nor are they easy to market to people who want high-end stuff because they're not "synthetic" (although these oils do contain a lot of synthetic components). But it works, and the results are extremely promising.

So, what does this mean for you?

The thread I linked to earlier gives the details, but the short version is this: RLI's engine oils lubricate and clean better than virtually everything else on the market, they don't leave deposits or coke up in turbos, and they actually PREVENT oil consumption, fuel dilution, and emissions by improving piston ring sealing. And most of all, they deserve your money because they are a small operation with great technology, and they're doing it all with renewable resources right here in the US.

It's pretty self explanatory: You should buy it.

Terry Dyson actually uses RLI oils in his own cars, and he personally oversaw the development of the specially tweaked blends that RLI produced for the RS4. Incidentally, that development process was financed *personally* by an RS4 owner who goes by RI_RS4 on various forums. So, if you come across him, you can drop him a line if you have questions.

RLI's engine oils come in a wide range of viscosities. When I spoke with Terry Dyson, he recommended the 10w-30 for my car and usage pattern (E36 M3, street-driven year-'round in PA). However, as a matter of course, I suspect that a lot of you would opt for the 5w-40, which is one of the blends specially tweaked for the RS4.

If you're interested, PM me or just post here. If there's sufficient interest, I will contact RLI to get something going. Maybe we could also get a deal going with Terry Dyson on discounted oil analyses so that our usage can contribute to the development of the products.

And of course, if anyone feels that people elsewhere on M3Forum should know about this, feel free to spread the word.

[thedood]

impressive & promising little company, for sure... i'm intrigued at the least. however, to put something like that in my car, i'd prefer to see test results on another E36 M3.

[epj3]

Hm interesting...

[Porshapwr]

As the first poster said, it's intriguing. But yes, I'd like to know of other E36 M3s running these oils before I'd give it a go.

Oh, and what are the prices like for a quart?

[HofmeisterKinky]

They only sell by the gallon right now, but IIRC it comes out to around $7-$9 a quart depending on the grade and the quantity -- e.g. 4 gallons of 10w-30 would come out around $7/qt, whereas 1 gallon of 5w-40 would be around $9/qt...

I couldn't say exactly where the price would end up on a group buy, but AFAIK the price would come down significantly if they could brew this stuff in large-ish quantities.

[ThewsM3]

Their website is about the most generic I've ever seen. They would have to have more information posted if I was to even consider buying their product.

[HofmeisterKinky]

Holy crap, I had the wrong URL. Sorry!

Link is fixed now.

[ThewsM3]

That's better, you might be onto something here.

[sterndotstern]

I'd be in for a 7qt order of 5W30 to try in my Tundra, along with a sh1t-ton of engine cleaner... hehe.

Pending results of that, I'll consider putting it in the M.

-- Jon

[CamiloM3]

I like the idea too, but I would also like to see some oil analisys / results on //m's before I go for it