What is Moly Oil and Why Do You Need It?

What is Moly oil?

Moly has been used in lubricating oils and greases for decades, but unless you're a tribologist, you probably don't know what Moly oil is or even what "Moly" stands for. You can read about the entire history by clicking here.

Consider this to be your crash course in all things Moly …

First things first. "Moly" is short for "Molybdenum".  It looks similar to graphite, but it's not the same thing. Molybdenum all by itself is a tough metal that has many industrial uses.  It's used as an alloying agent to make steel tougher so that it won't bend as easily. You have probably heard of "chrome-moly." With it, manufacturers can use less steel --and, thus, make lighter products -- because it's so much more durable.

In the lubrication world, Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) is a compound used as a dry lubricant.  Molybdenum disulfide is an inorganic compound that is composed of molybdenum and sulfur. Even though it's solid, it's made up of microscopic particles that are great at coating metallic surfaces.  That coating effect reduces the amount of friction between surfaces.  As a result, moving parts can move more easily, without causing nearly as much wear and tear as they would if the Moly wasn't there. 

Because it's so good at reducing friction, Moly has become a common additive to quality oils.  When you hear someone use the term "Moly oil," they're talking about a lubricant that has had Moly added to it.  Over the years, Moly oil has become one of the premium types of oil on the market.

However, premium oil formulations (like Schaeffer's) no longer use MoS2 in their engine oils because it does not stay in suspension. The most common moly type used in today’s moly oil formulations is Molybdenum Dithiocarbamate or (MoDTC). This form of moly is 100% oil-soluble which allows it to remain suspended in the motor oil and provides all the benefits of MoS2. Schaeffer's has even patented their brand as Micron Moly®.

Why?

Because Moly's friction-reducing capabilities are a huge deal!  It's easy to underestimate how harmful friction can be, so let's look at it from your engine's perspective…

In order for you to drive to your jobsite or operate your equipment, all of the metal parts in your engine have to work together.  Even with oil, all of those pistons, rods, cylinders, and valves are rubbing up against each other.  That metal-on-metal contact puts a lot of stress and strain on the parts themselves.  After all, it's harder for them to move around when they've got all of that friction.  Unfortunately, the harder it is for the parts of your engine to move around, the more fuel they're going to eat up!

Even the most basic motor oil will help reduce the friction between all of these moving parts.  But when you add the right amount of Moly into the mix, the friction is reduced dramatically.  Remember, the Moly coats each of the metal parts moving inside your engine.  As a result, you wind up with Moly-on-Moly contact instead of metal-on-metal contact. 

This Moly can even help protect your engine when there is a complete loss of lubricant. We have heard multiple stories of racers losing all of their oil while racing. They are able to finish the race without damaging their expensive racing engines! (We do not recommend running your engine without oil!)

You can probably figure out where we're going with this.

Thanks to the Moly, all of the parts inside your engine will be able to move with less stress and strain. That means they won't require as much fuel.  Just like that, you've given your car's fuel efficiency a serious boost! You can even expect a performance improvement. Another benefit is that when you reduce friction, you also reduce heat. Oil-soluble molybdenum compounds, such as thiocarbamates, also provide engine protection against oxidation and corrosion.

Moly can be added to many different lubricants, including greases, gear lubes, hydraulic fluids, metalworking fluids, and more to achieve similar benefits.

But we're not done just yet.

Having a vehicle that eats up less fuel is great, but Moly oil takes things even further.  In addition to giving you more fuel efficiency, it also cuts down on the wear and tear inside your engine -- meaning you could reduce maintenance and have fewer expensive repair bills.

But Moly oil will give those parts even more protection.  Remember, Moly oil has tiny particles of Molybdenum in it so that it will perform differently than average motor oil.  That added difference will shield the parts of your engine even more, which could make them last considerably longer.  Moly oil will also help eliminate some of those strange sounds that are coming from underneath your hood -- like ticking or knocking -- because many of those noises result from metal-on-metal contact.  They're your engine's way of screaming for help!

Best of all, Moly is tough enough to withstand high temperatures and high-pressure situations.  Whether you're taking a quick trip to the grocery store or clearing a piece of land, your Moly oil will be up to the challenge.

When you look at it that way, the best way to sum everything up is, "Holy Moly!  That's some kind of oil!"

Can a moly oil be improved?

The answer is YES!  And Schaeffer's has done just that by adding Penetro, their secret ingredient.  

What is Penetro, and why is it such a great thing?  Penetro is a marvel and breakthrough in oil additives. Try to think of Moly as a very slick and robust surface protector and Penetro as tiny ball bearings. It is dispersed precisely throughout the oil to reduce friction so much that you can feel it in the pedal.  Yes, you heard me right. You can really feel it.  So now the "cat is out of the bag," and now you know why so many top racers are secretly using Schaeffer's oil.

Now is the time for you to try Schaeffer's Moly-Penetro formulated engine oil and take the "I Feel It" challenge.  You can find the complete line of Schaeffer's oils for sale here at stores.buy1oils.com.

Disclaimer:

This article is written in layman's terms. But if you would like a more scientific approach, you should do your own in-depth study of Moly Oil from that perspective.  Thank you for reading.

rev. 5/1/24