Recent content by twX

I ended up using a style of socket with that uses leaf springs that latch onto the plug, and it worked well enough. I don't think I'll use a socket with the rubber again.

Yeah, doesn't seem like a fun DIY job. I'm hoping it won't be necessary.

Back in the day, engine wear was a major limitation for how long an engine would last. Bearings, cylinder liners, piston rings, etc, could be expected wear out by 100k miles just due to normal wear, even if they were well maintained. For the past 30 years or so, engine wear has largely been a...

It still says API Service SP. I'm not sure what the distinction is between "API Service SP" and "API SP". Often if a euro oil only meets only meets API SJ or SL, it's because it has more than 800 ppm phosphorus. Euro oils that meet ACEA Cx are allowed up to 900 ppm P. So if an oil has...

I changed one of the spark plugs on my 2015 Subaru WRX at 95,000 km. Subaru recommends changing the NGK Iridium plugs at 100,000 km. Other auto manufacturers seem to usually recommend 160,000 km for these plugs. I only changed the one because I managed to get a rubber grommet from a spark...

Which oil filters were used for those tests? I'm keeping a database of particle counts. Not that I expect these particle counts to be very useful. 4 samples all coming it with the exact same ISO code is a bit suspect. The particle counts are also a lot lower than what Blackstone would...

I've done some calculations for the pressure drop caused by the end cap-canister gap in an oil filter. A 2 mm gap should be plenty large enough to limit the pressure drop to under 1 psi at high flow rates. A gap of less than 1 mm can start to become pretty restrictive. It's hard to say if the...

Okay, it does seem like the high tin is associated with high moly oils. I don't understand the specific explanation about 5 vs 10 micron measurement limit though. 5 to 10 micron particles are plenty large enough to get filtered by an oil filter, so there really shouldn't be 10's of ppm of any...

SpeedDiagnostix reports usually show high tin. There's something wrong with their equipment.

There is often no rhyme or reason for why some filters have much larger inlet holes than others. Each filter model is used for dozens of different applications. You would think the holes would be well-sized for the recommended applications with the highest flow rates, but that isn't always the...

Blackstone or Oil Analyzers (OAI). OAI is better if you want fuel dilution to be accurate.

Silicon and copper are always very high on these engines during break in. The silicon is from engine sealant and the copper is from the oil cooler. Both are harmless. The 12 ppm tin would be concerning if not for the fact that SpeedDiagnostix reports very often have erroneous high tin...

Could you post the test results for the Endurance if you have it?

If that's the case, the PCs for >14um particles could read higher by up to one ISO code with the new method. It isn't obvious from the data if this is the case. One thing to consider is that Andrew only tested a single Ultra. There's going to be some variance in ISO test results, even for the...

"Interpolation is acceptable. Extrapolation is not permissible." Well that answers that question. I'm more convinced now that Blackstone just wasn't testing properly prior to ~2017 since they were clearly using extrapolation.