Do You Do Oil Testing?

[mburnickas]

Well since there is some debate lately on synthetic oils and if they perform better or not then dino. I thought before this gets into a heated “non-going forward” debate why not do this. Use this thread for posting oil tests from your car; simple and easy and let all of the forum people view your results. Do NOT TAKE this thread to personally attack people. Post data on oil or keep moving.

There can NOT be any saying I think, going by Toyota/Lexus, pictures of oil, cars etc. These are not providing oil evidence of it being better or not.

Example: I can show you an old 286 pc that works online but will not do all the things I need. I can show you a pix on my wifes old Toyota with over 250K miles but you do not what the past was either.

This is to let all the users see the tests and get an idea of how the oil performs.

Again I am doing this since it seems that many people have opinions of why they think the oil is better. So instead of doing that, let the numbers talk for themselves, period.

Here is my Amsoil (ASL) 5w-30 with 12,200 mile interval on my 98 ES300. Changed the filters twice and added about 8 to 10 oz of oil due to filter installation

Fe- 11

Cr- 0

Ni- 10

Al- 3

Pb- 10

Cu- 11

Sn- 1

Ag- 0

Ti - 0

Si - 17

B - 27

Na- 12

Mo- 1

P- 1161

Zn- 1175

Ca- 2643

Barium- 0

Mg- 797

Visc @ 100: 13.56 cst

OXD - 24

NIT – 21

TBN- 3.3

Vigin Amsoil ASL:

VI, 174

Noack, 5.1%

HT/HS, 3.5 Cp @ 150C

CCS @ -30C, 4990 Cp

PP, -60F

Four Ball Wear Test: 0.40 mm

Flash: 442 F

TBN, 12.4

Zn approx: 1,300 ppm

P approx:1,200

For testing info Click here!

[steviej]

Mike,

I will go you one better to improve this survey.

Provide me with three companies (address, web address or phone number) that perform this service.

On my next oil change I will do a clean catch of the 5000 mile-old oil and send an aliquot to each facility as well as an aliquot of virgin Mobil 1 from the same case(since that is what I used).

This will provide some numbers that you are looking for but it will also give an idea of the variation in results between different test sites given the same sample.

steviej

[Bigrick]

Mike,

I just got my test results from Blackstone Labs. The vehicle is a 97 ES300 with 85K miles, oil change interval of 5K done by Lexus with, I assume, Toyota 5W-30 oil. No oil needed between changes. The reason I got the test was to see if it could shed any info on possible gelling, but I don't know if this test can check for gelling. Their summary said:

They found a trace of water, a minor amount of fuel and a little silicon. Silicon is the only real concern since it often shows dirt getting past the air filtration system. The fuel and moisture are probably related to cold winter driving and should disappear the next time. The moisture wasn't from anti-freeze. All wear looks great. Other than the silicon, everything looks good.

My results are below (parts per million):

Fe- 2

Cr- 1

Ni- 0

Al- 2

Pb- 1

Cu- 3

Sn- 0

Ag-

Ti - 0

Si - 19

B - 3

Na- 4

Mo- 28

P- 726

Zn- 775

Ca- 1788

Barium- 1

Mg- 10

Mo- 28

Mn- 1

K- 1

Ag- 0

Sus Viscosity @ 210 degrees F - 54

Flashpoint - 360 degrees F

Fuel >0.5

Antifreeze - 0

Water - Trace

Insolubles - 0.

As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't look too bad. I don't know if I should be concerned about the silicon. Do any of you have any opinions on these results?

Rick

[mburnickas]

Rick,

You are fine in Si levels. Based on the ES’s, anywhere from 13 to 23 ppm is fine. You want to keep them as low as you can, but your levels are nothing high. I have seen some as low as approx 10 & as high as 44ppm. The oil glazed will be higher.

Based on Toyota oil (mobil) the Mo (moly) is low and so is there Zn, P and Ca. The ZDDP levels are the usual for the oil and the Ca has depleted down about/around 600ppm.

What I DISLIKE about Blackstone is that you have to pay like an extra $12 for the TBN. Also they do not test for Nox and OXD I believe. So a $20 tests comes into $32 Also they do not run both oxidation or nitration examinations as they indicate the cumulative degradation of the oil itself.

Without knowing these 4-things (TBN, viscosity, Nox and OXD) you can not tell if you have a gelling/sludge issue or not. Sorry. Fuel % below 1.5 are fine with 1.5% being the warning mark. You again want to keep to as low as you can. Unless it is higher then 0.5% to .8%, I would not worry. At 1% I would start to see what is up.

Blackstone does the viscosity at 210 (Saybolt) for some reason. Most labs use the Kinematic viscosities @ 100. But whatever, the 54 means you oil is into the 20-weight stage. So your oil was a 5w-30 when new and now down to a 5w-20. This could be from the fuel in the oil (doubt it) or maybe the oil thins with use. Some oils go down then go back up. They are made to do this to pass certain API spec’s.

Since you only ran 5K miles I do not know if I would go do the full 7.5K miles since the degradation of oil in not linear. The numbers look okay for 5K miles but if I were you I would see if I can get a TBN NOX and OXD tested.

[Bigrick]

Mike,

Boy you really know your stuff. Thanks a lot! My next analysis will be through Oil Analyzers, Inc. BTW, I am only semi concerned about the gelling. I got the car at 36K and have religiously changed the oil every 5K since then.

Rick

[mburnickas]

Mike,

Boy you really know your stuff.  Thanks a lot!  My next analysis will be through Oil Analyzers, Inc.  BTW, I am only semi concerned about the gelling.  I got the car at 36K and have religiously changed the oil every 5K since then.

Rick

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No problem. I am still learning the stuff.

When you get the OAI test that will show the things you need. Also CAT diesel dealer will test oils.

I would say you should be fine since you viscosity is not going up based only on that. Again, I would have to see the other areas though.

[bartkat]

Since I pay $29 for an oil change with Castrol Synthetic Blend & Toyota filter every 5000 miles, it would seem conterproductive to buy more expensive oil and pay $32 for testing, just to get to 7500 miles between changes. It seems an interesting hobby, but for the average driver it doesn't make sense.

[mburnickas]

Since I pay $29 for an oil change with Castrol Synthetic Blend & Toyota filter every 5000 miles, it would seem conterproductive to buy more expensive oil and  pay $32 for testing, just to get to 7500 miles between changes.  It seems an interesting hobby, but for the average driver it doesn't make sense.

←

You do oil testing for more then “to see how the oil is”. It is done mostly for preventive maintance. If you never do it, you will NEVER see any problem before they happen. You can see injector issues before your car is in the shop. You can spot piston, ring, cam etc (endless) issues way before they happen.

Also I go a lot longer then 7500 miles here. Again it is more then a hobby. My tests are less then $29 too. I spend out $70 a year on 6 qts amsoil (1-year fill) 2-oil filters and 1 oil test.