Originally Posted by ClevelandCWRU

False, this isn't about commercialization or a competitor's product. The reason for base oil comparison is the purpose of the testing is to isolate the specific additive that improves the frictional behavior.

It's not to say that "our oil is better than competitor X." It's to gain scientific understanding. You must keep that in mind when reading a scientific journal entry.

Nissan's commercial ester oil they sell very well be outperfromed (depending on metrics) over a given oil change interval by a premium synthetic, a higher quality base oil, especially if it also contains the specific compound that makes this friction magic happen. No arguments there. But without that compound, you don't get that breakthrough in friction reduction.