CHEMICAL LABORATORY
Complex formulas and accurate measurements:the standards that each oil is required to meet are defined and checked through precise analysis in the chemistry laboratory.The equipment used is of the most advanced technology, often used in the medical research field.
Liquid Chromatography
This is a procedure which is carried out at low temperatures by injecting oil in a transportation liquid. Dilution allows the components to be separated and their quality and concentration to be determined with great precision.
Gas Chromatography
This technique is carried out at high temperatures in order to break down the product on a molecular level. The lubricant being tested is heated and then injected into a current of gas that pulls and separates all its different components. This allows you to determine the quantity and quality of these components and to measure any contmination or product anomalies
RESEARCH LABORATORY
The research and development of new products is an ongoing process. Engine manufacturers continuously seek new solutions to their requirements and this in the end allows raw materials with innovative characteristics to enter the market on a regular basis.
Infrared Spectrophotometer
Each component of a lubricant performs differently when subjected to infrared radiation because this is affected by their capacity to absorb it. To identify the composition of a product it is sufficient to expose a few drops of this to rays with variable wave lengths and record their "response". This allows for a precise path of the composition of the lubricant to be obtained, much like a fingerprint.
Plasma
The product is sprayed onto a magnetic field containing a "flame" (plasma) at 10,000 C, this is able to reduce the oil into its elementary components by releasing them from their organic matrix through a destructive process. In that particular moment each element (alluminium, zinc, calcium, magnesium, etc) emits a ray that permits its identification. By recording it, it is possible to identify substances within a lubricant that couldn't be possibly be identified by other methods.
THERMAL ANALYSIS LABORATORY
This is the initial testing stage: physical tests are carried out on products in order to observe their performance and operating capacity in different analytical and extreme stress situations.
Calorimetry
A good lubricant must be both chemically and physically stable and be able to retain this stability even at high temperatures. A DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimeter) is a device capable of observing an oil's resistance to oxidation in terms of temperature variations which might occur within an engine.
Thermo Gravimetry
With the TGA (Thermo Gravimetric Analyzer) it is possible to predict the rate of consumption of different types of lubricant in operation. An oil's resistance to evaporation is measured by exposing a drop to gradually increasing temperatures. By placing a sample on highly sensitive scales (accurate down to ten thousandth of a gram) and recording its progressive diminishing weight, allows you to create an evaporation curve which can then be compared to similar curves obtained from other products.
Noack
This is an international oil consumption test that simulates an oil sump, from a thermal stress point of view. An oil is then taken to around 150 C in a hot air current which drags away any vapours from it, allowing you to observe a the lubricant's evaporation rate.
TRIBOLOGICAL LABORATORY
Friction and wear: a duo to be fought with newer strategies. Physical tests allow the verification of an oil's lubricating capacity and to highlight any short-comings. Oils that look similar can sometimes hide very different properties.
Load Resistance
A traditional test that clearly highlights a lubricant's efficiency at counteracting friction: by making four stainless steel balls rotate quickly one against the other. Just like the metal parts of an engine are subjected to rubbing, the balls reproduce and generate a certain level of friction untill they reach an extreme limit where the wear measured on the balls would correspond to the seizing up of an engine.The amount of wear over a specified time is measured quantitatively by lubricating the balls with different types of oil.
ENGINE TESTING ROOM
To assess a lubricant's functional performance within the engine the latter needs to be running. In the testing booths the engine itself is only the tip of the iceberg: all service instruments are situated either above the booth or beneath its floor eg. supply services (such as air, electricity, fuel etc.) and discharge (exhaust gases: dispersion of kinetic energy and generated heat).
Automatism
 The different tests that are carried out in these booths are continuous (day
and night) and last between 100 to 1000 hours. Each running engine is managed
by computers that minitor its performance, recording all information which
is later processed into statistical data. Test cycles are repeated automatically
after being set up by the operator in accordance with standard requirements
(international specifications) or according to specific customer needs (Fiat,
Volkswagen, Ford, BMW, Renault, etc.).
Simulation
 Within
the testing booths, the absence of the energy absorbed by a specific vehicle
is also compensated for by using sensors positioned on the engine, data
such as temperature, engine r.p.m power output and combustion properties is
transferred to the computers for analysis.
Rolling Road
To assess lubricant's performance under all driving conditions, a car is subjected to simulated road tests. The car is made to travel on the rolling road, which reproduces theoretical driving cycles as well as those sampled from existing routes. This allows for different route types (motorway, city, mountain) to be simulated in all respects (eg. powerful fans reproducing high motorway speeds). Tests of this nature range from a minimum of 500 kilometers to a maximum of 30,000 kilometers.
Automatic Driver
 On
the rolling road, the car is driven by a robot that carries out command operations,
such as changing gears, accelerating, braking and so on. At the beginning
of each test period the automatic driver takes approximately 15 minutes to
adjust
its driving set up to the vehicle being tested (gearbox operation, brake
positions, clutch etc.). After this period, the automatic driver is able
to carry out
the test cycle according to computer input data, whilst simultaniously performing
the rolling road tests and documenting the results.
ENGINE OVERHAUL WORKSHOP
Any engine used for oil testing is a valuable measuring instrument, for
this reason it must be perfect in all its parts so as not to alter test
results. A careful check of any engine includes it being stripped right
down to the last nut and bolt.
Engine Rating
 At the end of testing a lubricant, the engine is examined and rated, measuring
the performance of the oil quantitatively. The cleanliness and the degree of
wear of the main components are measured using standard scales of reference.
The final result of these procedures is constituted by a photographic report
which summarises the process of the test and provides a detailed assessment
of the quality of the product tested.
USED OIL ANALYSIS LABORATORY
To assess the lubricating power of an oil, techniques that examine the
used product are also applied.
Technical Assistance to the Client
 Through the examination of used oil, it is possible to determine and engine's
entire life story. By observing worn metal particles under the microscope (iron,
copper, etc.) we are able to establish what mechanical parts they came from
and identify any problems that might have arisen inside the engine during testing.
This type of analysis is required when special vehicles are placed in conditions
of risk in order to determine the deterioration of engines.being tested.
Ferrography
 A sample of oil used in engine testing booths is made to flow inside a magnetic
field in such a way that once drained it leaves metallic deposits on a plate.
Examination under the microscope shows their nature and size, thus determining
their origin (iron from the engine block and pistons, copper from bearings
and aluminium from the engine head). The analysis of these results show how
efficient the anti-wear additives contained in the lubricant are.
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