2006 Cobalt w/143,000 miles, PYB 5W30

[MinamiKotaro]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Still. Even 3000 pounds is a lot of metal to move with an engine that doesn't really make torque. Aren't they more for spinning,making up,not torque.


Ecotecs make plenty of torque from idle to redline, and they are not high RPM engines. The 2.4 has no trouble all moving a Malibu or an Aura, much less a Cobalt.

The only thing about this UOA of note is the TBN. That's crazily low for the miles. I might ask Blackstone to run it again to verify. 4ppm more iron is of no concern.

 

[PF52]

Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
The only thing about this UOA of note is the TBN. That's crazily low for the miles.


I was surprised too. With the Castrol, I'd had TBNs of 1.6 and 1.7, which I thought was low also but perhaps characteristic to the Castrol for some reason. I did not expect the Pennzoil to be even lower.

On our Impala, however, I've gotten TBNs of 1.0 and 0.9, although that car sees much more short trips than this one, by a wide margin. Its almost exclusively a short-trip commuter. Haven't tried Pennzoil in it.

 

[kam327]

Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
The only thing about this UOA of note is the TBN. That's crazily low for the miles. I might ask Blackstone to run it again to verify. 4ppm more iron is of no concern.


Yeah I ran PYB 5k miles in my Focus 2.0L and the TBN was 3.9. What's the deal with that TBN?

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Still. Even 3000 pounds is a lot of metal to move with an engine that doesn't really make torque. Aren't they more for spinning,making up,not torque.


Ecotecs make plenty of torque from idle to redline, and they are not high RPM engines. The 2.4 has no trouble all moving a Malibu or an Aura, much less a Cobalt.

The only thing about this UOA of note is the TBN. That's crazily low for the miles. I might ask Blackstone to run it again to verify. 4ppm more iron is of no concern.


Alright. Thanks for the lesson. I have no experience with the 2.4 so I was making an assumption. I should have punctuated that last sentence with a question mark.
Thanks again. I'm always all ears when it comes to info.

 

[MinamiKotaro]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Alright. Thanks for the lesson. I have no experience with the 2.4 so I was making an assumption. I should have punctuated that last sentence with a question mark.
Thanks again. I'm always all ears when it comes to info.


Hope I didn't sound more arrogant than I meant to. Shoulda put a

after my first sentence in that post to demonstrate my good-naturedness.

 

[NateDN10]

Dogpile, I know, but weight for the Cobalt is around 2850 lbs. Not a heavy car by any stretch. The 2.2L is more than adequate to move it; the 2.4L should have no problem at all.

It's weird that the TBN is so low. My OLM typically takes me to about 8000 or 9000 miles on an oil change. Most other UOAs I've seen (of the L61 at least) show that the OLM is accurate.

 

[tiger862]

Originally Posted By: MinamiKotaro
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Still. Even 3000 pounds is a lot of metal to move with an engine that doesn't really make torque. Aren't they more for spinning,making up,not torque.


Ecotecs make plenty of torque from idle to redline, and they are not high RPM engines. The 2.4 has no trouble all moving a Malibu or an Aura, much less a Cobalt.

The only thing about this UOA of note is the TBN. That's crazily low for the miles. I might ask Blackstone to run it again to verify. 4ppm more iron is of no concern.


I agree Ecotecs make torque but mine is high revving. I have a 2006 Saturn Vue with 2.2L and it is HARD on oil. How do I know this. I listen to engine. When I put conventional oil in it is little more noisy than Synthetics and by 3000 miles valve noise gets pretty loud and cold start noise is longer and with Synthetic it is quiet on cold starts and engine revs better and quieter also I can change synthetic at 5k as noises start to come back. In town it runs all day at 2k and shifts at 3k up to 6700 rpms depends on if I am in a hurry. At 70 it is at 2700 rpm and upwards of 3k at 75-80 mph so it turns up all the time. I only put 6k a year and 90% is short drives daily.

 

[SLCraig]

I think if it were me, I would just go back to using GTX. Not that your engine just about died on the PYB but the TBN retention is higher while using GTX and you might as well stick with it.

Just my .02

 

[Lillikai]

Im curious to know how well synthetic oil does in the 2.4L. I have the engine in my Aura. Im running PU 5w30 and I have about 5k miles on the oil currently. Im wondering if I should change it now? I looked at it today and it smells gassy and is getting darker (I know color doesnt mean anything).

 

[cp3]

It should do better than either the PYB or the GTX, likely good for the whole OLM.

 

[Lillikai]

Ok Ill give it a shot, im at 50% and 5k miles. Ill let you all know how it does. I will be getting a uoa on it.

 

[cp3]

Look forward to seeing it!

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: Lillikai
Im curious to know how well synthetic oil does in the 2.4L. I have the engine in my Aura. Im running PU 5w30 and I have about 5k miles on the oil currently. Im wondering if I should change it now? I looked at it today and it smells gassy and is getting darker (I know color doesnt mean anything).




Sorry, I don't buy into that color doesn't mean anything stuff.

 

[steve20]

agree ^^^^^^

depending on what you are seeing, color can tell you a lot of things-----especially if you are familiar with the 'normal' color of your vehicle's dipstick

 

[skyship]

You will find that for a conventional oil Castrol GTX is tough to beat, even though it does not contain any Moly, GTX 5w30 can even produce better results than some full synthetics over moderate OCI's.

 

[Lillikai]

Update on my Saturn Aura. Im going to do an oil change today and will be getting a UOA done this week. I looked at the oil level 2 days ago and its down a 1/2 a quart, which makes me kinda nervous. This is the longest I've run oil for in this car and Ive never seen it drop oil level from the full mark. OLM is saying 33% left and the oil has been run for 6k miles. Seems like the OLM thinks the oil is degrading faster than before (earlier post). But I'll get the oil tested and let you guys know. Better to be safe than the alternative.