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Allthumbs - Depends on who you talk to. Thought you might be interested in something from the Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia, Eleventh Edition, 1929: "The use of flake motor graphite mixed with cylinder lubrication oil when properly used will improve compression, decrease the amount of oil required, fill up scores in the cylinder walls, prevent valves and rings sticking and thereby cure smoky exhaust. A great deal of prejudice has existed against graphite lubrication due to ignorance. When automobiles first came on the market, chauffeurs would go to a hardware store to buy graphite to mix with their grease and would get Dixon's Flake Graphite No. 1 which is intended for lubrication of steam cylinders and other heavy work. Then they would use about five times too much of it and trouble would result. Of course, graphite was blamed. However, anyone who has ever taken the trouble to investigate Dixon graphite automobile lubricants has seen the sense of their claims and would use no other kind of lubrication. It stands to reason that when bearings and tear teeth are polished with fine flake graphite that there are actually no metallic surfaces in contact and hence there can be no wear, no heating and practically no friction. However, assuming that graphite is an ideal lubricant certain requirements are necessary, for instance: For splash oiling system, the Dixon Co. recommend adding a scant teaspoonful of motor graphite to each quart of oil in the crank case and then add another teasmpoonful at the end of each one thousand miles. Th graphite may be mixed with a little oil and poured down the breather. you will notice that this is a very small amount of graphite but it is all that is required. For force feed system is is not advisable to mix the graphite with the oil on account of the possibility of clogging some of the small passages. A small amount of dry graphite may be placed on the hand and permitted to be inhaled through the air intake of the carburetor directly to the cylinders. This should be done about once a week when your car is in ordinary service. More graphite can be used when it is introduced in the dry form because part of it is immediately blown out through the exhaust. On account of the location of the magneto on Ford cars and the possibility of short circuiting it we do not recommend the use of graphite in the crank case or transmission case of these cars. This is merely a precaution that we take, although we know of many Ford owners who use graphite in their engines with entire satisfaction." This really doesn't answer your question at all, but hopefully you will find it interesting going back in time to 1929! Greg
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