02 Accord V6, Pennz 5W-20 dino+, 4,650 mi

[STSinNYC]

Hi friends. First UOA on our 02 Accord V6 sedan. Purchased at 30 K miles, no maintenance or driving history, but previous owner (in Chicago) had put on 30 K miles in 16 months. Drove it back to NYC. Been on a steady diet of Pennzoil 5W-20 dino. Air filter replaced at 36 K miles with Napa Gold. Auto-Rx done at 37 K miles.

This is the first change after the Auto-Rx rinse. Oil mix: 4.4 quarts Pennzoil 5W-20 dino; approx. 10 oz. Pennz 5W-20 synthetic; 6 ounces Schaeffers 132; 3 ounces Lube Control. At each 1,000 miles interval +/-, 1 oz. LC added. Also one ounce 132 added at 2,400 miles. Honda OEM POH-305 oil filter. No makeup oil added.

46,000 miles on the car; 4,650 miles on the oil. 75% highway driving. Used standard dose of FP in gas for most of this period.

Aluminum 4
Chromium 1
Iron 4
Copper 3 (!)
Lead 1
Tin 6
Molybdenum 253
Potassium 1
Boron 19
Silicon 8
Sodium 2
Calcium 1683
Magnesium 4
Phosphorus 607
Zinc 759
All other readings 0

SUS Viscosity 210F: 53.8 (51-58)
TBN: 3.2
Fuel: No antifreeze or water reported
Insolubles 0.4

We live in an apartment in the city, no way to do work on the car at home, so I have to plan oil changes and other service when out of town. Went with modified MolaBrew to try to keep the oil at the mid-upper end of the 20W range, and to allow an OCI of 4,000 miles +. Looks like the plan worked. What do you all think? For those of you with Honda V6s, this is the one with the funky ECM or something which causes it to run lean/rich inconsistently. Regards, Steve

 

[427Z06]

Hey STSinNYC, looks like a great report!! However with 24 plus ozs of all that junk you put in there, I think it was because you broke the UOA machine!!

Just kidding of course, but I believe I can achieve the same thing with just a careful selection of oil by the time I reach the same miles you have on your vehicle.

Best of luck to ya'.

 

[Whimsey]

Looks real good! Sounds like it was a lot of work though. I'm especially impressed with your copper level in this engine. I'd keep doing what your doing. It sure works real well!

Whimsey

Is Joyce Honda in Denville too far for you to go for service? That's the only North Jersey dealer I've had positive feedback of. I know another one in Old Bridge, more Central Jersey. If you want I'll get the info for you.

 

[Schmoe]

Copper at 3

on a V6 Honda????? WOW. I WISH I could get mine down that low. Looks really good. You can easily run this oil out to 6 or 7K without any worries whatsoever. Look at that moly level....maybe that is the key to keeping copper down in these Honda engines, just moly the be-jesus out of it.

 

[427Z06]

Interesting observation Schmoe, as that's how they come from the factory, loaded with Moly.

 

[Schmoe]

You thinking what I'm thinking??? Maybe the previous owner didn't even change the oil at all? Nah.....couldn't be.....or could it????

 

[427Z06]

Close your eyes STSinNYC. Schmoe, hmmmm.... 30K miles in 16 months, and these things don't use much oil between changes. Maybe he just topped it off?

 

[Ray H]

Do a search with "Honda" and "5W-20" in the key line. It seems the latest 5W-20s (probably in anticipation of lowering the phosphate levels for the new "SM" motor oils) are LOADED with molybdenum, now. And they're delivering commensurately great UOAs, too! One recent UOA on a Honda Si with Exxon Superflow 5W-20 also listed a moly level in excess of 220 and low copper.

[ August 03, 2004, 07:39 PM: Message edited by: Ray H ]

 

[427Z06]

RayH, that's very likely the case here, however with just a few UOAs, I think the jury is still out.

In another light, wasn't it BITOG himself that said Moly over 30 ppm was overkill?

 

[Schmoe]

Yes, it was Bob that said that. However, it's really hard to explain these UOA's with high moly and their super low wear rates. Wonder if there is any direct coorelation.

 

[427Z06]

quote:

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Originally posted by Schmoe:
Wonder if there is any direct coorelation.

---

Better yet, I wonder if there's a direct cause and effect relationship.

 

[STSinNYC]

Fun speculation about the original owner and the factory fill, but no, it appeared that a number of oil changes had been done.

Didn't we see a fairly high moly number on the VOA for Pennzoil 5W-20? Thought we did.

MolaKule and others have seen very low wear numbers when adding the MolaBrew to their oil. Seems to be a correlation there as well. Looks like a very strong combination: well-built 5W-20 such as Motorcraft or Pennzoil; Schaeffers 132; LC.

 

[427Z06]

Yes but we have seen equivalent wear numbers without the "witches brew".

If you like buying all that stuff and playing chemist, have at it. To each his own I guess.

 

[Santo Fontana]

quote:

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Originally posted by 427Z06:
Yes but we have seen equivalent wear numbers without the "witches brew".

If you like buying all that stuff and playing chemist, have at it. To each his own I guess.

---

Jealous?

 

[427Z06]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Santo Fontana:
Jealous?

---

Not really. At the wear levels we're talking about, I'll sell or trade in this car well before it's worn out. Even if I decide to keep it ten years it'll still run well and perform as it does now. Of the five cars I've owned in the past 20 years, I still have three of them that run like stink, and the lucky souls who bought the ones I got rid of got great running cars with plenty of life in them.

Check out some of the better UOAs where people found the right oil for their vehicle (Patman comes immediately to mind), and ask them if they're jealous.

 

[MolaKule]

Good readings. The mix seems to be working for you.

However, it is difficult to determine which component is helping the most, but I suspect the 132 and LC would also do fine even without the addition of the GroupIII oil.

Just one recommendation: I would not add #132 after the initial dosage.

Also, I recommend sending in your brew, and before installing in engine, to Dyson so add and viscosity baselines can be determined. Then the UOA is more meaningful.