2003 Golf TDI 11.2K miles - RLI Biosyn 10w40 UOA

[CleverUserName]

I got this car last year to replace my '09 Jetta TDI which VW bought back. I got if from the second owner who had all maintenance records. 2003 Golf TDI 5MT 178.5K miles Malone Stage II tune w/ Bosio PP520 Nozzles Car also has SMF conversion and SB stage II clutch. Sport suspension w/ Koni struts, not lowered though. Driven spiritedly when warmed up. Car makes light smoke @ 3,000+ RPM EGR is intact and functional, however turned down to minimum setting by adaptation in VCDS. Avg. lifetime MPG is 44.6 hand calculated on Fuelly app. Fuel additive is Amalgamated TDR-FL dosed @ 10 ml/Gallon of fuel https://www.amalgamatedinc.com/tdr-fl.aspx -Oil was in the sump for a year and 11.2K miles -Bosch Premium 3977 (Made in China) Filter -Oil was RLI Biosyn HD Low Ash 10w40 (10w30 and 15w40 blend) -Analysis includes VOA baseline -Sample was pulled with sample pump while car was hot and running. Even though the TBN is still there it appears to have thickened up. Early signs of oxidation? Wear is low except for LEAD. Not sure why... Also ran this 10w40 oil in my 2.8 Duramax and it did great @ 8k miles. Maybe 11K is too much for Biosysn. 4.8 qt sump, one qt oil added Manganese and LOW SOOT @ 0.2%. This is from the TDR-FL additive which I believe contains MMT. This stuff works great at increasing combustion efficiency, it has reduced measurable soot in my last two UOAs by almost 75%. It takes about 5K miles before the oil will begin to get dark when using TDR-FL. Can't say enough good things about this stuff because it actually works!

 

[jayg]

I may have missed it but did you put this oil in the car or did the previous owner before you bought it? The Restore compression restore additives have lead in them and I've seen people add it to the oil and skew their lead numbers. I used leaded race fuel in my Datsun exclusively and when my carburetors needed a rebuild, the lead was showing up in UOAs. I'd change it and run it another year at that annual mileage and then see how it looks.