2010 Subaru Forester 6100 miles/Kendall blend 5w30

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Apr 8, 2013
Messages
3,502
Location
Delaware
This is the first sampling for my 2010 Subaru Forester with the N/A 2.5L engine. The oil was 5w-30 Kendall Synthetic blend GT1 (probably SN but was changed by a local shop), subaru blue oil filter, and Fram air filter. Miles on the oil was 6100 miles and 49911 miles on the Forester total. The Forester is driven by my wife and sees trips daily of 25 miles always getting up to temperature, no short trips. Driving is pretty easy but is 50/50 city/interstate with some rush hour traffic here is Portland, OR. The Forester has been a great SUV. Not a single issue yet in 50k miles.

This UOA was just to do a check up on the oil/engine and make sure I didn't have any leaks, coolant, or other issues. Oil was changed. M1 5w-30 SN went in with Fram Ultra oil filter. No make up oil was added.
The UOA looks good to me. TBN is a little low (2.0 is low by ALS lab method) but not used up and other contaminants look fine. Only thing that caught my eye was some viscostity loss (according to Kendall spec sheet virgin viscosity @ 100C is 11.0).

I will be running the OCI with the M1 out to 10k which is ~1year and resample.

Code:






DATE SAMPLED 20-Dec-13

Miles on OCI 6100

Miles on unit 49911

Make up oil: none

Metals (ppm)

Iron (Fe) 4

Chromium (Cr)
Lead (Pb)
Copper (Cu) 7

Tin (Sn)
Aluminium (Al) 3

Nickel (Ni)
Silver (Ag)
Titanium (Ti) 87

Vanadium (V)


Contaminants (ppm)

Silicon (Si) 8

Sodium (Na)
Potassium (K)
Water (%)
Coolant No



Additives (ppm)

Magnesium (Mg) 14

Calcium (Ca) 2330

Barium (Ba)
Phosphorus (P) 702

Zinc (Zn) 799

Molybdenum (Mo) 35

Boron (B) 54



Physical Tests

Viscosity (cSt 100C) 9.4

Physical / Chemical

Base Number (mgKOH/g) 2.2 (Caution)



Here is what the lab said:



All wear levels appear within acceptable limits for first

sample. Silicon level (dirt/sealant material) satisfactory.

Water content acceptable. TBN below recommended

limit. Viscosity within specified operating range.

Action: Change oil and filter(s) if not already done.

Resample at next recommended interval to monitor

and establish wear trend.


This is ALS labs in Portland, OR. These are the NAPA UOA kits. You don't get as much info as other labs but the analysis is really cheap. The Forester is still under warrarnty until 60k miles so I try to go by the book which is max 7500 mile OCI.
 
Yes, ~$14. I drop them off at the lab here in Portland but they have other labs as well that you can mail them to. It includes the bottle and analysis with all of the above information including TBN.

From Napa site:
Part Number: FIL 4077
Product Line: NAPA Gold Filters
Attributes:
Product Application : Oil Analysis Kit
Contents : Sample Bottles For New & Used Oil, Request Sheet, Mailer Box & Instructions.
 
Last edited:
Nate1979,

I see ALS Labs (like Blackstone) is unaware that Kendall uses titanium as an additive, choosing to list its 87ppm under metals (wear.) Lol

Great additive package in a good Group III base oil that, if I remember correctly is from S-K, a South Korean giant in the industry.

Great UOA results, including decent viscosity retention, considering many 5W-30s drop under 9cst at the end of the drain interval. It kept on performing even with a TBN of 2.2 indicating it was near the end of its useful life.

Gary
 
Hi Nate I have the same year Forester 2.5 NA, all leather, power, roof, winter package. Keep us posted, would like to see if you run into head gasket issue around 60k or later(hope not). Great family vehicle (car seat access, split rear seats etc),, only complaint factory tires in wet snow. No issues here either, although mine is short tripped only 18k so far 3.5 years old...
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top