Additive package
Pre-blended mix of performance chemicals that a blender adds to base oil to make a finished lubricant.
The combination of antioxidants, antiwear and extreme pressure agents, rust inhibitors, detergents, dispersants, defoamants and pour point or viscosity modifiers that turns a base stock into a finished oil. Additives make up well under 1 percent of a turbine oil but roughly 15 to 25 percent of a heavy-duty engine oil. Oil analysis tracks the package through elements such as zinc, phosphorus, calcium and molybdenum, and a sudden shift usually means the wrong oil went in.
Zinc and phos dropped to nothing on this sample, that's not the additive package we've been buying.
A wrong top-up shows in the additive elements first: if calcium appears in an oil that never had it, someone poured in engine oil.
Also heard as
- additive pack
- adpack
- DI package
Related terms
AW
Antiwear: additives or oils that build protective films to cut wear under moderate boundary contact.
EP
Extreme pressure: additives or oils that react with metal under heavy load to prevent welding and scuffing.
Antioxidant
Additive that slows the chemical aging of oil by intercepting the radicals and peroxides that drive oxidation.
Detergent
Metal-based additive that keeps hot engine parts clean and neutralizes acids from combustion.
Elemental analysis
Spectrometric measurement of wear metals, contaminants and additive elements in oil, in parts per million.