2001 Miata M1 HM 10W30 2.6k

[cjv998]

Hi everyone, here's my first oil analysis.

The car sees almost all in-town driving and short trips (< 5 miles). I used Mobil1 High Mileage 10W-30 and an OEM filter. (Previous owner used Shell Rotella 10W-40; not sure which version of the Rotella he used.) Despite having only 2.6k miles on the oil, it was in the engine for 9 months, so I decided it was time for a change. (I don't put many miles on the car, as you can tell.)

The comments for the report noted that "it's wearing a little more in some area than it could be, but certainly not enough to think any sort of mechanical problem is developing". Not sure what that's referring to.

I did notice that the copper, magnesium, and zinc are slightly high compared to the universal average. Also, the boron, calcium, and phosphorus are significantly higher than the universal average. Also, this is my first oil analysis, and I admittedly haven't done my homework on how to interpret the results yet, so any pointers or tips are welcome.

Code:
OIL M1HM 10w30

MILES IN USE 2.6k

MILES 89.2k

SAMPLE TAKEN 10/09/11



ALUMINUM 4

CHROMIUM 1

IRON 8

COPPER 9

LEAD 0

TIN 4

MOLYBDENUM 83

NICKEL 1

MANGANESE 0

SILVER 0

TITANIUM 0

POTASSIUM 1

BORON 153

SILICON 6

SODIUM 8

CALCIUM 2952

MAGNESIUM 146

PHOSPHORUS 939

ZINC 978

BARIUM 0



INSOLUBLES 0.3

WATER 0

FLASHPOINT ºF 385

SUS VIS 210ºF 63.7

cSt @ 212ºF 11.25

 

[chubbs1]

This is very much my style of driving in my Altima, very short trips.

Looks good, That is about all I can say. Additive levels look high but this must be the SM version.

Thumbs up!

 

[cjv998]

Thanks for the reply. I'll have to read up on the SM ratings...I do think I remember reading SM somewhere on the bottle (inside a logo or something maybe?). Got the oil at Walmart if it matters.

 

[Josh48065]

Mobil 1 high mileage is only API SL

 

[Gene K]

Originally Posted By: cjv998
Hi everyone, here's my first oil analysis.

The car sees almost all in-town driving and short trips (< 5 miles). I used Mobil1 High Mileage 10W-30 and an OEM filter. (Previous owner used Shell Rotella 10W-40; not sure which version of the Rotella he used.) Despite having only 2.6k miles on the oil, it was in the engine for 9 months, so I decided it was time for a change. (I don't put many miles on the car, as you can tell.)

The comments for the report noted that "it's wearing a little more in some area than it could be, but certainly not enough to think any sort of mechanical problem is developing". Not sure what that's referring to.

I did notice that the copper, magnesium, and zinc are slightly high compared to the universal average. Also, the boron, calcium, and phosphorus are significantly higher than the universal average. Also, this is my first oil analysis, and I admittedly haven't done my homework on how to interpret the results yet, so any pointers or tips are welcome.

Code:
OIL M1HM 10w30

MILES IN USE 2.6k

MILES 89.2k

SAMPLE TAKEN 10/09/11



ALUMINUM 4

CHROMIUM 1

IRON 8

COPPER 9

LEAD 0

TIN 4

MOLYBDENUM 83

NICKEL 1

MANGANESE 0

SILVER 0

TITANIUM 0

POTASSIUM 1

BORON 153

SILICON 6

SODIUM 8

CALCIUM 2952

MAGNESIUM 146

PHOSPHORUS 939

ZINC 978

BARIUM 0



INSOLUBLES 0.3

WATER 0

FLASHPOINT ºF 385

SUS VIS 210ºF 63.7

cSt @ 212ºF 11.25


I think they were looking at the copper/tin but the number is still very low and I dont see the lead I would expect if that from trimetal bearings. My guess is a little oxidation from the strong additive package in this oil.

Some of the additive package will be higher than average because this is a High Mileage Oil with an aggressive add pack.

 

[synthetic_crazy]

Run the next fill 3k miles and resample. It is hard to base a engine finding on just one sample. The key is trend analysis.

 

[spasm3]

I'm wondering if you really need a 10w 30 oil, m1 hm is available in a 5w 30

 

[gathermewool]

TBN next time. I dare you to take it out to 2 years, especially with those miles.

Also, the comment means nothing, since 1) it's a single data point and 2) the numbers are low.

 

[cjv998]

Thanks for the replies.

10W-30 is what the manual calls for, so that's what I'm comfortable with using. Also, I have some minor ticking when cold for the first 15-30 seconds or so, and I wonder if thinner oil would make that issue worse.

Not willing to go 2 years between changes.

The only reason I didn't get a TBN done is because with how little I drive, I don't think I'd get much meaningful advice from it. Sure, they could tell me the oil would be good for 15k miles, but it would take me 3 years to drive that much at my current rate. (For the first part of the OCI I had two vehicles, which partly accounts for the low mileage.)

Maybe I should step down to the non-High Mileage M1, since there's so much additive left? I just got it since I'd heard good things about it, and it didn't cost any more than regular M1.