So some of you know I do oil analysis for a living. I've been doing a little experiment on Walmart Synthetic 5W20. In the Forte I went right at 9k miles. Heres's what it looked like:
This one is the wife's Rio. It's a 2008 with 112k miles on the DOHC Alpha. I've had plenty experience with this little motor in her old Accent with 250k and they are just about indestructible.
So was this too long? we'll know by the weekend!
Interested to see this because I use the same oil. I try to stick to 5k oil changes but have been known to push it to 10k.
waiting on hte base number, but the initial info looks pretty decent. Minor increase in wear from previous sample, but there is an additional 3k mile on it so likely accumulation. Viscosity is still in range and hte oxidation is a little higher, also from the extended interval. Should have the report this afternoon. I'll share as soon as I finish it.
Results are in... final report hasn't been sent but I've already analyzed it. 10,595 miles is perfectly acceptable on this car with this oil. The report will be a severity 3 because the base number (formerly referred to as total base number, or TBN) was almost depleted. But "almost" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
So.... apparently it's not too far. Image of report coming soon.
Bobzilla wrote: But "almost" only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades.
You forgot nuclear winter!
Seriously though, that's an impressive interval.
In reply to Javelin:
Considering this oil costs $17 for a 5qt jug, I'm perfectly happy with it.
Bob - are you willing to share your opinions on specific 'leading brand' oils?
nderwater wrote: Bob - are you willing to share your opinions on specific 'leading brand' oils?
Don't have one to be honest. After testing all these major brands, as long as the oil meets current api standards, and meets manuifacturers recommendation, they're all good. Honestly, unless you're buying 15 year old oil from the dollar store half off, they will all do what they are supposed to do.
The bigger thing is to determine what you WANT it to do. do you want stupid long OCI's? better capacity to handle large amounts of fuel and contaminents? you want low cost? There are oils designed to excel at each of those but none do it all IMO.
And additives..... don't get me started on all these "miracles in a friggin bottle" that are apparently magic and do wonderous things to all the components AROUND the engine as well. No lie, had a guy swear that some banana peel thingy made his injectors quiet (on a gas engine), the power steering pump stop whining and the transmission shifted smoother after he added it to the engine oil. 
EDIT: also, we;re not allowed to share those opinions on oils even if we had them. We are partnered with a LOT of the major brands so we stay tight lipped. 
But I can honestly say I have no general opinion on any brand.
Bobzilla wrote: And additives..... don't get me started on all these "miracles in a friggin bottle" that are apparently magic and do wonderous things to all the components AROUND the engine as well. No lie, had a guy swear that some banana peel thingy made his injectors quiet (on a gas engine), the power steering pump stop whining and the transmission shifted smoother after he added it to the engine oil.
My wife and I have a favorite saying: "The placebo effect is real." If you uncritically expect improvement you'll find some, every time, whether it's there or not.
I use the WalMart sythetic 10w30 in the wife's 195k car because it takes 7 quarts to refill and burns 3 quarts between changes. The manufacturer's recommendation is 15k but everyone knows that's BS. I do ~7k changes, as that's how long it takes to use up the left over 3 quarts. The car still runs great and she doesn't want to trade it off so it works for me...,
I think the thing that shocked me most was that it burned a little under a half quart in ove 10k miles. Tough little engine.
The wife and I did almost all highway driving with our Malibu and I was stretching out oil changes to about 15,000 miles on whichever synthetic was cheapest at the time. I never had it analyzed but when we junked it due to an accident the 3.1L had 413,000 miles and was losing less than a quart between changes to leaks and burning.
You guys make me feel like a pansy for doing 7,500 OCI's on Mobil 1 0W20 full synthetic with a Wix XP filter.
With the TBN down to just about 1, I'd keep the changes to 10k, maybe cut it back to 8 - 9k in the winter (the longer warmups and such are a bit rougher on the oil).
I should really send in a sample next time I change the oil in the Jeep... I haven't in a long time, so I'm curious if I can stretch the 6k intervals I've been doing (with Rotella T6) a bit further. 7500 is the practical limit though, as that's the longest I can set the built-in oil change reminder for 
In reply to Javelin: You are, full synthetic is good for 10K.
Close sometimes counts with skunks, too.
Interesting oil intel, Bob. Thanks
I should send in an oil sample from the RX-7 after 1500 miles 
I bet the "fuel dilution" figure would be over 20 percent.
No PCV system and an engine that literally misfires half the time under most driving conditions is hell on the oil.
Javelin wrote: You guys make me feel like a pansy for doing 7,500 OCI's on Mobil 1 0W20 full synthetic with a Wix XP filter.
I do 2500mi OCIs on my Volvo with MANN filters and either Mobil 0W40 or Agip synthetic 5W30 depending on what I have on hand at the time.
I'm at 3k right now and I feel kinda bad about it. It's a small all-aluminum engine in a heavy car (1.9l, 3200lb) that runs under boost most of the time, it is a thermal nightmare. Oil is cheap. In 2500mi it will burn maybe $300 in fuel, what's another $20-30 in oil?
The engine was full of nasty, awful crusty sludge when I bought it, because the PO believed Volvo when they said you could run non-synthetic oil out to 7500mi. On the other hand, that maintenance apathy is how I was able to buy the car, and the car has been a great experimentation lab for de-sludging methods, so it hasn't been entirely a bad thing.
Bobzilla wrote: Honestly, unless you're buying 15 year old oil from the dollar store half off, they will all do what they are supposed to do.
I am running QS 10w40 from 1973 in my 1973 240Z to test it afterwards (Maybe you can do it for me!). I planned to change it in April when I went to visit but I'll have to postpone it to next year making it a 3k mile, 4 year interval.
My theory: Even super duper old oil is fine if it is stored in a cool dark place and used in the vehicles it was made for. IE: I wouldn't have put that in my Pruis's sump.
/threadjack
My wagon averages an oil change every 1200 miles with 15w40 rotella but i use penzoil platinum in the wifes saturn. 7500 mile oci. Its an ecotech that doesnt even have a timing chain rattle at 140k.
In reply to crankwalk:
That is even cooler than the A/C repair I did the other day on a 1993 Miata with actual R-12 from a container with a 1991 date code. Well, cooler figuratively, not literally.
That is older than the employee we just had leave us after he graduated tech school and is moving back home
(Also? 1.6 Miata is Best Miata)
In reply to rslifkin:
I hadn't planned on running this one out as long as it did. I just don't drive it much and hadn't paid any attention. at least now I know that I'm safe the next time I forget. lol
Knurled wrote: In reply to crankwalk: That is even cooler than the A/C repair I did the other day on a 1993 Miata with actual R-12 from a container with a 1991 date code. Well, cooler figuratively, not literally. That is older than the employee we just had leave us after he graduated tech school and is moving back home
I too have refilled R-12 in every old car I have had that used it. When I lived in Georgia and had frost forming on the gauge cluster of a 63 Continental in August I knew it was worth it.
Back to the OP: Now you know 10k is perfect and its a nice round number to remember.
You'll need to log in to post.
