Thanks for the comments. I’ll take another sample in another year (~3k miles) which will be the 3rd consecutive time I’ve used Redline. If the iron and lead are still appreciably higher than the levels of the Mobil 1 sample, I’ll probably switch back and see what happens.
2005 Lotus Elise M1 0w-40 ~3k
- Thread starter kapps
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Which Redline 5w30?
www.redlineoil.com
www.redlineoil.com
www.redlineoil.com
Professional-Series 5W30 Motor Oil
Red Line has a reputation with racers and enthusiasts alike for creating products that perform and protect better than any on the market. No compromises.
Professional-Series 5W30TD EURO Motor Oil
You asked for it: OEM-approved Red Line products, for small diesel cars.
5W30 Motor Oil
Most popular oil for modern road cars and light trucks, as specified for most late-model BMW, General Motors, and Nissan vehicles
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The UOA doesn't look like it. Did you install this oil? Or, did you hand over the bottles to the shop? Purchase location?
@kapps — I hate that stupid seal they do. If it would at least be easy to remove and come off cleanly, I wouldn’t mind the extra protection but half the time the tab rips off before it’s open and then you gotta finger the bottle to remove the seal. 
Nice engine though. This thread is motivating me to go fix my 2001 Celica GT-S (same 2zz engine) that’s been sitting in the garage for the last 4 years and start enjoying that “Lift” from the high cam.
Nice engine though. This thread is motivating me to go fix my 2001 Celica GT-S (same 2zz engine) that’s been sitting in the garage for the last 4 years and start enjoying that “Lift” from the high cam.
Certainly a good question that needs more digging for answers, but either way, the numbers that you can interpret from a single UOA (viscosity, TBN) don’t look like anything amazing enough to pay Redline $ for IMO.
OP, I’d try the M1 EP in whatever weight you want, or the ESP if you’re feeling spendy.
I definitely agree with that. I have the last of the Redline in the car now and don’t plan on buying more. I’ll do the UOA just to get another datapoint with Redline but the Mobil 1 0w-40 did have a very good UOA in terms of wear metals.
Any idea about the valve noise with the M1 that I mentioned earlier in the thread? It would only occur on a hot engine in the 3k rpm range. I had assumed the M1 had sheared down and was thinner than the Redline but the analysis shows the M1 was still more viscous than Redline at 100c.
Any idea about the valve noise with the M1 that I mentioned earlier in the thread? It would only occur on a hot engine in the 3k rpm range. I had assumed the M1 had sheared down and was thinner than the Redline but the analysis shows the M1 was still more viscous than Redline at 100c.
The wear metals don't look good at all with the 5W-30. I have the same 2ZZ-GE engine in my two Pontiac Vibe GTs. If you stick with modern 5W-30 you will almost certainly end up with wiped high lobes on the intake camshaft and wiped slipper pads as I did. See my post for all the details, photos, my research and conclusions. The anti-wear pack in modern 5W-30 oils (SM, SN, SP) is just too weak for this engine.
Ever since the repair (new intake camshaft and slipper pads) I have been running Shell Rotella T6 5W-40 in one car and Amazon Basics 0W-40 in the other car. Both oils have very robust anti wear packages with some of the highest levels of ZDDP in any motor oil currently on the market. IMHO, the M1 0W-40 is also a much better choice for this engine compared to any 5W-30 out there.
That was an interesting read and I know it’s somewhat common for these engines. I’ve seen the threads on Lotustalk about using diesel oil, etc to reduce cam wiping. Mobil 1 0w-40 has ~1000ppm zinc and phosphorus according to Mobil. I’ve seen VOA’s on 5w-30 Redline that show anywhere from 800ppm to 1200 for both additives. They say Redline is suitable for SN but it’s not actually rated by API. I had assumed Redline would actually have a more robust additive pack.
With the questionable accuracy of my first UOA, I’m not ignoring the possibility that some values are wrong for the Redline sample. I will probably only get another 2k miles in this year since I have some suspension work to do when I run out of tread on my rear tires (which will happen very soon) so I can get new tires and an alignment. I’ll get another UOA with the current fill of Redline in Dec/Jan and probably pull the valve cover to inspect the cams. I can compare pictures from when I had it off in 2019.
With the questionable accuracy of my first UOA, I’m not ignoring the possibility that some values are wrong for the Redline sample. I will probably only get another 2k miles in this year since I have some suspension work to do when I run out of tread on my rear tires (which will happen very soon) so I can get new tires and an alignment. I’ll get another UOA with the current fill of Redline in Dec/Jan and probably pull the valve cover to inspect the cams. I can compare pictures from when I had it off in 2019.
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What do you think of the new 0w-40 mobil 1 European car formula variation. I got a 2zz too, was figuring out what oil to run been seeing a few of your posts.
Redline used to have a much more robust add pack with much higher ZDDP, a huge shot of moly, and 3.8 HTHS, better than the M1 0w40. This last UOA he posted doesn't look like the Redline we used to know. The old 5w30 Redline was definitely capable of outperforming M1 0w40. This new formulation, IDK.
I remember when a few years ago RedLine was all the rage, and consensus (based on UOAs) was that it has to be used consistently to see the benefits in UOA. Reason for that is that esters in RedLine clean stuff up slowly, and whatever it cleans off stays suspended in the oil until an oil change. As result all that extra stuff in the oil screws up the UOA results for the first 2-4 OCIs. Working off memory here, so there could be more details I'm forgetting...
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