14 Honda J35 V6 3.5L 122k VCM Enabled - VRP 0W20 - 3500 miles approx - HIGH Chromium

[apollo18]

Hey all finally got time to do a used oil analysis, engine has about 122k miles on it. I just picked this up used about 2000 miles ago so its my first oil change / uoa

Engine: 2014 Honda J35Z2 V6 3.5L with 122k miles - VCM was enabled it's whole life, i just turned it off about 500 miles ago
Oil: Presumed VRP 0W20 according to windshield sticker but will never know

As far as I know and have seen, engine does not burn oil, runs great and doesn't leak

Driving conditions: This sample was probably about 50% city and 50% highway, last owner said he barely drove it for past month so he prob had tons of stop and go. Truth be told for the last 2000 miles ive had it for, i have driven it 'hard' i dont' know the definition of hard but the engine definetly was in the 4500 rpm range daily for a little bit of time as i would merge onto the highway. however other then that i drive it normally.


I did this oil analysis from a small local lab as I was impatient, now I don't know if these labs are an anomoly, lab error, or actual engine issues but in future will run the next sample from a diff larger known lab and see how it goes.


*I also want to say i used Techron complete fuel system cleaner 3 consecutive tanks in a row. I know this is overkill but i wanted to ensure the fuel system was squeeky clean. not sure if this effected the oil analysis but wanted to put it in there incase PEA has something to do with piston ring wear. Also i stored the sample in a plastic thermos mug from the dollarstore so not sure if that leeched into the sample and effected it.

I typed out the results so its easier

Once again, 3400 ish miles on the oil. Probably VRP 0W20 in it. Not sure what type of spectrometer they use or what fancy calculation system it is but here it goes. I know some stuff looks missing but thats all i got, nothing else was checked


Iron 13

Aluminum < 2

Chromium 5

Copper < 2

Lead < 2

Molybdenum 89

Potassium 4

Silicon 11

Sodium 4

Viscosity at 40: 44

Viscosity at 100: 7.9

Fuel < 2

Nitration 5.3

TBN 5.9

Oxidation 4.4



I did some digging and for my usage, iron seems high and chromium seems too high. Maybe Iron could be high due to my 'hard' driving but idk if that would count as hard. I always made sure engine was warm and never tracked it or anything. Regardless chromium is too high, I asked the lab and they said everything is fine and if it was bad would be much worse. Fuel is not worrysome as it is under 2 they said so it probably isn't diluting I assume. Im not the best at commentating on the rest but viscosity seems fine, just TBN seems high but maybe normal for 3400 miles ish


What worries me slightly is the Iron and Chromium. Idk if the techron had much to do with it or maybe VRP is cleaning gunk off which abrased the rings? The engine runs great and now I have VCM disabled so I was just going to run the VRP 5W30 (i just put this in fresh) for however many miles you guys recommend and then run a sample at a different more well known lab and hope the metals go to baseline or lower. I think regardless when I am all done with VRP its prob going to end up being on M1 ESP 0W30 or M1 0W40

Ty for all the help everyone!

 

[Brian123]

Hey all finally got time to do a used oil analysis, engine has about 122k miles on it. I just picked this up used about 2000 miles ago so its my first oil change / uoa

Engine: 2014 Honda J35 V6 3.5L with 122k miles - VCM was enabled it's whole life, i just turned it off about 500 miles ago
Oil: Presumed VRP 0W20 according to windshield sticker but will never know

As far as I know and have seen, engine does not burn oil, runs great and doesn't leak

Driving conditions: This sample was probably about 50% city and 50% highway, last owner said he barely drove it for past month so he prob had tons of stop and go. Truth be told for the last 2000 miles ive had it for, i have driven it 'hard' i dont' know the definition of hard but the engine definetly was in the 4500 rpm range daily for a little bit of time as i would merge onto the highway. however other then that i drive it normally.


I did this oil analysis from a small local lab as I was impatient, now I don't know if these labs are an anomoly, lab error, or actual engine issues but in future will run the next sample from a diff larger known lab and see how it goes.


*I also want to say i used Techron complete fuel system cleaner 3 consecutive tanks in a row. I know this is overkill but i wanted to ensure the fuel system was squeeky clean. not sure if this effected the oil analysis but wanted to put it in there incase PEA has something to do with piston ring wear. Also i stored the sample in a plastic thermos mug from the dollarstore so not sure if that leeched into the sample and effected it.

I typed out the results so its easier

Once again, 3400 ish miles on the oil. Probably VRP 0W20 in it. Not sure what type of spectrometer they use or what fancy calculation system it is but here it goes. I know some stuff looks missing but thats all i got, nothing else was checked


Iron 13

Aluminum < 2

Chromium 5

Copper < 2

Lead < 2

Molybdenum 89

Potassium 4

Silicon 11

Sodium 4

Viscosity at 40: 44

Viscosity at 100: 7.9

Fuel < 2

Nitration 5.3

TBN 5.9

Oxidation 4.4



I did some digging and for my usage, iron seems high and chromium seems too high. Maybe Iron could be high due to my 'hard' driving but idk if that would count as hard. I always made sure engine was warm and never tracked it or anything. Regardless chromium is too high, I asked the lab and they said everything is fine and if it was bad would be much worse. Fuel is not worrysome as it is under 2 they said so it probably isn't diluting I assume. Im not the best at commentating on the rest but viscosity seems fine, just TBN seems high but maybe normal for 3400 miles ish


What worries me slightly is the Iron and Chromium. Idk if the techron had much to do with it or maybe VRP is cleaning gunk off which abrased the rings? The engine runs great and now I have VCM disabled so I was just going to run the VRP 5W30 (i just put this in fresh) for however many miles you guys recommend and then run a sample at a different more well known lab and hope the metals go to baseline or lower. I think regardless when I am all done with VRP its prob going to end up being on M1 ESP 0W30 or M1 0W40

Ty for all the help everyone!

Get a few UOA's on this oil you are now using, as a Mobil 1 ESP user, I wish a few years ago this VRP oil was around, I would have jumped on it.

Others will look at your UOA and give their opinion.

There is a section on this Board that explains everything about UOA's, I do not agree with it, but they are right.

 

[bulwnkl]

What vehicle? Z-series versions of the J35 have iron cylinder liners. The rest mostly don't, at least prior to the Y(?) series.

My J35 is a Z5 (iron liners) without VCM. I've never had more than 1ppm of chromium, ever-- from any lab, at any vehicle mileage from new-break-in to 150k, any UOA distance or duration up to 10k, any usage (high speed, towing in the mountains, or flat land at a leisurely pace), or any fluid or filters (oil or air). Never.

Mine also shows WELL under 10ppm of iron at comparable vehicle miles, too. Engines with either aluminum or no liners should be expected to generate even less iron than mine.

 

[I<3oil]

Hmmmmmmm

Chromium in a used oil analysis can indicate wear and tear on chrome-coated parts, such as piston rings and bearings. It can also indicate a coolant leak or dirt contamination.

What chromium in used oil can indicate

• Wear and tear
  High levels of chromium can indicate that chrome-coated parts are wearing down. This could be due to abrasion from dirt or other contaminants.
  
  
• Coolant leak
  Chromium can be a sign of a coolant leak, especially in diesel engines. Coolant conditioners can contain sodium chromate, which can leave chromium behind in the oil after the water evaporates.
  
  
• Dirt contamination
  Chromium can be a sign of dirt contamination, especially if it's found with other wear metals like iron and silicon. Dirt can enter the engine through the air intake system.
  

 

[JavierH19]

did you go to a valvoline oil change place?

 

[fantastic]

Any more metals information on your results like Calcium etc?

 

[apollo18]

What vehicle? Z-series versions of the J35 have iron cylinder liners. The rest mostly don't, at least prior to the Y(?) series.

My J35 is a Z5 (iron liners) without VCM. I've never had more than 1ppm of chromium, ever-- from any lab, at any vehicle mileage from new-break-in to 150k, any UOA distance or duration up to 10k, any usage (high speed, towing in the mountains, or flat land at a leisurely pace), or any fluid or filters (oil or air). Never.

Mine also shows WELL under 10ppm of iron at comparable vehicle miles, too. Engines with either aluminum or no liners should be expected to generate even less iron than mine.

I think google says it’s a J35Z2 I checked a few diff sites, 14 RDX

 

[apollo18]

Any more metals information on your results like Calcium etc?

Sadly none

 

[apollo18]

did you go to a valvoline oil change place?

No sorry I don’t get the correlation

When I bought the vehicle the last owner did the oil change from Walmart where they put in the presumes VRP 0w20 according to sticker

I did the oil change when I took this sample and put in fresh 5W30 VRP with new filter. I was already planning to go thicker before I even did the analysis!

 

[bulwnkl]

I think google says it’s a J35Z2 I checked a few diff sites, 14 RDX

If you only shut off VCM ~500 miles ago, that would be my first thought as to why higher wear, since silicone doesn't seem high (so probably not an intake leak).

 

[apollo18]

If you only shut off VCM ~500 miles ago, that would be my first thought as to why higher wear, since silicone doesn't seem high (so probably not an intake leak).

Yeah even tho I don’t know why I think that could also be the culprit

Maybe first time in a while it’s been feeling v6 continuously

 

[kschachn]

Sadly none

Please post ann image of the analysis. Where was this done?

 

[fantastic]

No sorry I don’t get the correlation

When I bought the vehicle the last owner did the oil change from Walmart where they put in the presumes VRP 0w20 according to sticker

I did the oil change when I took this sample and put in fresh 5W30 VRP with new filter. I was already planning to go thicker before I even did the analysis!

Lab's results somewhat vary as you know & I'm only pointing out the very limited information but the 0w-20 R&P shows double the Moly as you show here on your results. Not saying it's not R&P just something I noticed. Thanks for sharing.
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/valvoline-restore-and-protect-5w20.381818/#post-6861794

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

5 ppm chromium, on a single UOA so far, isn't even noise, let alone an anomaly worthy of ALL CAPS in the title. Could be lab error, could be hard usage, could just be stuff left over from before. You simply can't make an intelligent guess off of one oil analysis.

There's a reason you shouldn't jump to any conclusions with less than 3 consecutive UOAs on the same oil. Relax, run two more OCIs on what you think is the same oil, and then come back with all 3 reports to let an experienced hand like dnewton3 give you some advice.

 

[Astro14]

Post a redacted photo of this, please. Otherwise, I think you’re posting fabricated results, and this post will be taken down.

 

[apollo18]

Post a redacted photo of this, please. Otherwise, I think you’re posting fabricated results, and this post will be taken down.

sorry for delay, have limited internet access these days. i really appreciate this forum but have no reason to fabricate or post wrong results. i don't know why anyone would do such a thing.

here there are

 

[dnewton3]

Sir, if I were you, I'd no longer use that service; they are giving you incomplete info. There is no reason the ICP analysis can't give values for many of the additives such as anything with an "X" in the column. (I can only assume that "X" either means they don't report those elements, or they didn't get a conclusive result; either way, this is a very incomplete report).

It's hard to take a UOA seriously when it clearly is so devoid of facts.

I highly recommend you get another UOA from a reputable service (Wix, WearCheck, Blackstone, Polaris, etc).

Until you come back with a trustworthy UOA, this is locked. You may PM a Moderator and we'll unlock this when credible evidence is afoot.