10W30 TriSyn vs SS

[Al]

3.4 L Pontiac GrandAm 20K miles on vehicle when first sampled. K&N Oil Filter both times.
Oil Analysts Inc
First column: TriSyn, 6165 miles on oil

Second Column: SuperSyn, 5750 miles on oil

Fe 41, 31
Cr 3, LT 1
Ni 1, LT 1
Al 9, 7
Pb 9, 9
Cu 97, 83
Sn 3, LT 1
Ag LT.1 LT.1
Si 59 (gasket material), 51 (dirt

)
B 40, 150 ???
Na 11, 14
K 63, 15
Mo 7, 98!!!!
P 781, 1104
Zn 974, 1119
Ca 863, 3059
Mg 1890, 251
Fuel LT 1%, 1%
T/S .2 Soot (Wt.)LT .01
H2O LT .1 LT .1
Vis cSt 10.8, 10.3
TBN 6.06, 3.65

Couple of points. Air filter was checked after the second oil analysis and was extremely dirty. Oil Analysts said the first Silicon reading of silicon was from the gasket material and in the second they said it was dirt???

Viscosity seemed to hold up OK. Note the Low TBN in the SS column

Magnesium very low with the SS?? Is that related to TBN??? Iron and Cu are going down. I'm thinking that Lower Iron is due to the SS?? All and all though not much difference in wear. Oh check the Moly in the SS

Comments appreciated.

[ December 27, 2002, 09:55 PM: Message edited by: Al ]

 

[TooSlick]

Al,

I think that Ca should be zinc and Ba should be calcium??? That would make more sense given the additive chemistry of the SS formulation ....

Chrome wear is low, so I think this is silicone gasket material and not dirt....

Everything else looks fine except for the low TBN, which I cannot explain ....

 

[GeorgeCLS]

I like to see single digit silicon (dirt). (that is a 1 to 10) I am awfully suspicious of this being real, honest to goodness engine damaging dirt... Not only is it the high silicon but my old friend Keep out Bricks and Birds K&N air filter. 90% of the analysis I review using a K&N result in elevated silicon (dirt) and associated high wear metals.
I would suggest replacing the K&N for a bit with an OEM/paper element, check your induction system closely for leaks and re-sample at 2000 to 3000 miles..
George Morrison, STLE CLS

 

[Patman]

The amount of moly sure is nice! I wonder if they started putting even more moly in SuperSyn now? As far as magnesium goes, they stopped using it in the SuperSyn, so what you have in there is residual from the TriSynthetic, which used a lot of magnesium.

The TBN is a bit scary, however it might stablize on the second interval with SuperSyn.

George, I don't believe he's running a K&N air filter, just the K&N oil filter.

These new GM engines sure show a lot of copper on their oil analysis!

 

[dragboat]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TooSlick:
Al,

I think that Ca should be zinc and Ba should be calcium??? That would make more sense given the additive chemistry of the SS formulation ....

Chrome wear is low, so I think this is silicone gasket material and not dirt....

Everything else looks fine except for the low TBN, which I cannot explain ....

---

I agree about the additives and wonder if the TBN is mixed up as well ?

[ October 28, 2002, 09:30 PM: Message edited by: dragboat ]

 

[Al]

quote:

---

Originally posted by dragboat:

quote:

---

Originally posted by TooSlick:
Al,

I think that Ca should be zinc and Ba should be calcium??? That would make more sense given the additive chemistry of the SS formulation ....

Chrome wear is low, so I think this is silicone gasket material and not dirt....

Everything else looks fine except for the low TBN, which I cannot explain ....

---

I agree about the additives and wonder if the TBN is mixed up as well ?

---

TBN is correct.

You're right: Calcium should be "zinc"
Ba should be "Calcium"

Very high calcium in the SS-is that correct??

I do have a paper element and a K&N oil filter. I tried to edit-can't do--Help!!!

Thanks for the replies!!

 

[bill99gxe]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Al:

Originally posted by dragboat:
[qb]

Originally posted by TooSlick:
[qb]Very high calcium in the SS-is that correct??

---

Al,

Yeah, that's right.

Based on the analysis results I've seen between both formulations, the phosphorous and zinc levels remain the same, while the SuperSyn formulation looks to use more calcium, some moly, and very little magnesium.

Unfortunately, my baseline sample for SuperSyn taken back in May might as well not even be in my spreadsheet, as the analysis results I'm getting back are showing more calcium and moly compared to the Tri-Synthetic formulation.