What is LSPI? And What it Means for Your Engine.

LSPI is a hot topic in the lubricant industry because it can destroy pistons and connecting rods.  Auto manufacturers need to extract every bit of fuel economy from the vehicles they produce in order to meet increasingly stringent government regulations. Manufacturers can make fuel-economy gains in today’s vehicles by adjusting vehicles’ programming, but those changes would also almost guarantee LSPI would occur. LSPI’s often disastrous effects are one of the driving forces in the scramble to create the new motor oil specifications, API SP/ILSAC GF-6 and GM dexos1 Gen 2. To gain about 10 percent more fuel economy, auto manufacturers will eventually reprogram their vehicles to maximize mpg, inviting LSPI and relying on motor oil to prevent catastrophic results. While we expect this switch will be a couple of years out yet, we have dedicated considerable resources to confront the problem. The testing has concluded and the results are in: all AMSOIL synthetic motor oils provided 100 percent protection against LSPI in the engine test required for the GM dexos1 Gen 2 specification. This specific test records an oil’s ability to prevent LSPI. Five LSPI events can occur before the motor oil fails. Signature Series, XL and OE Synthetic Motor Oil all passed with zero pre-ignition events, proving they provide outstanding protection for turbocharged direct-injected engines.