2013 Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0T AWD 94k; Amsoil SS 5w-30 3.8k

[H. Swanson]

Just got my first oil analysis. Fluid time was 3,800 miles. Car has 94,000 miles. Oil is Amsoil SS 5w30, but I’m trying the Euro version next time.

I'm not entirely surprised about the severe fuel dilution given this engine, but something I need to worry about?

I have a second 2013 Santa Fe Turbo with 117k miles on it, and I'm about to submit an analysis for it to compare. It'll only have about 2,800 miles of fluid time on it.

 

[MParr]

Castrol Euro Car 5W40 is readily available at Walmart. You will also find Mobil 1 FS 5W40 and Quaker State Full Synthetic Euro 5W40. Those would be excellent choices.

 

[Jetronic]

That's a lot of fuel in there, but so far it hasn't hurt anything. I don't think I'd change anything, maybe edge towards 5k miles as it's so much easier to do oil changes at rounded milestones. Seems like the TBN is still up for it. I'm guessing short tripped, especially in the time before the sample was taken?

 

[H. Swanson]

That's a lot of fuel in there, but so far it hasn't hurt anything. I don't think I'd change anything, maybe edge towards 5k miles as it's so much easier to do oil changes at rounded milestones. Seems like the TBN is still up for it. I'm guessing short tripped, especially in the time before the sample was taken?

Yes, this car is mostly short tripped with longer weekly drives. Should I try to keep the OCI at 3k miles? The Severe schedule is 3mo or 3k miles.

 

[bullwinkle]

GDI Theta II 2.0? Not sure 5W40 is thick enough! Brother's GF has a Tucson from that era, already on it's 2nd Theta at under 100K-offered him some ACEA C3 Total LL or Mobil Delvac 1 ESP for it!

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Yes, this car is mostly short tripped with longer weekly drives. Should I try to keep the OCI at 3k miles? The Severe schedule is 3mo or 3k miles.

Wow so the fuel pulled the oil down to a 20 grade. Does Hyundai allow 20 grades for this model year? If not due to the amount of fuel and your operating environment I would run an API SP 5w40 in order to maintain viscosity at the severe schedule of 3k-5k miles. Since you can only go 3k-5k miles I would not spend the money on expensive Amsoil lube because you're paying for the long drain interval.

Another thing is to make sure your fuel injectors are running clean. I don't know what gas you're running but maybe running a tank of Berrymans B12 followed by a tank of Redline Si-1 or Techron might be worth it.

What oil were you running in the past? Is this engine known for ring sticking?

 

[H. Swanson]

GDI Theta II 2.0? Not sure 5W40 is thick enough! Brother's GF has a Tucson from that era, already on it's 2nd Theta at under 100K-offered him some ACEA C3 Total LL or Mobil Delvac 1 ESP for it!

Yes, GDI Theta II 2.0T

 

[H. Swanson]

Wow so the fuel pulled the oil down to a 20 grade. Does Hyundai allow 20 grades for this model year? If not due to the amount of fuel and your operating environment I would run an API SP 5w40 in order to maintain viscosity at the severe schedule of 3k-5k miles. Since you can only go 3k-5k miles I would not spend the money on expensive Amsoil lube because you're paying for the long drain interval.

Another thing is to make sure your fuel injectors are running clean. I don't know what gas you're running but maybe running a tank of Berrymans B12 followed by a tank of Redline Si-1 or Techron might be worth it.

What oil were you running in the past? Is this engine known for ring sticking?

It does allow for 5w20 in the manual. I’m running Shell 93 exclusively for the past year. Before 1.5 years ago, I was on M1 5w30

 

[buster]

That amount of fuel is going to drop any oil down a grade. What I would look for is an oil that controls wear under these conditions and also has sufficient solvency and detergents to keep rings clean. SS can do that. On the other hand, I think for 3-5k mile intervals most oils would fair pretty well. I personally like using overbuilt oils so I would stick with SS.

 

[Pablo]

Castrol Euro Car 5W40 is readily available at Walmart. You will also find Mobil 1 FS 5W40 and Quaker State Full Synthetic Euro 5W40. Those would be excellent choices.

Did he ask to change brands? I missed that part. The metals in solution are amazingly LOW.

I don't know the direct cause of the fuel dilution - I mean other than engine design. I would try premium fuel for awhile, just to see.

Maybe you could go 40 and it will dilute to SAE 30 range.

 

[MParr]

Did he ask to change brands? I missed that part. The metals in solution are amazingly LOW.

I don't know the direct cause of the fuel dilution - I mean other than engine design. I would try premium fuel for awhile, just to see.

Maybe you could go 40 and it will dilute to SAE 30 range.

It really doesn’t matter if he changes brands or not. A 5W40 Euro or 10W40 is going to be a better pick in that era Theta II turbocharged engines. SAE 40 grade oils are acceptable. It’s in the original owners manuals. Running premium gas is a good idea. The Theta II engines had high compression ratios. The 2.4 had a compression ratio of 13:1. We had a 2013 Optima with the 2.4 engine. I ran 93 octane and kept the Eco Mode off. I changed at every 5,000 miles and used 5W30 oils that had a Kv100 around 11. We don’t see many 5W30 oils with a Kv100 of 11 nowadays. The used oil always smelled of gasoline and had a sooty appearance similar to used diesel oil.

 

[H. Swanson]

Did he ask to change brands? I missed that part. The metals in solution are amazingly LOW.

I don't know the direct cause of the fuel dilution - I mean other than engine design. I would try premium fuel for awhile, just to see.

Maybe you could go 40 and it will dilute to SAE 30 range.

Thanks. I've been using Shell 93 for about a year now. Before that, it was always Regular.

 

[H. Swanson]

Maybe you could go 40 and it will dilute to SAE 30 range.

@Pablo - would you recommend the EFM or AFL 5w40? I don't mind paying more for a superior product.

 

[Pablo]

@Pablo - would you recommend the EFM or AFL 5w40? I don't mind paying more for a superior product.

View attachment 235823

I would try the AFL to start, but probably not a huge difference

 

[Mewbs]

Yes, this car is mostly short tripped with longer weekly drives. Should I try to keep the OCI at 3k miles? The Severe schedule is 3mo or 3k miles.

Given the vehicle age, and reported fuel dilution. I would try running a short interval with some fuel system cleaning additives for several tank fills with some long road trips weekly to see if that helps. GDI engines in general will suffer injector spray coking overtime when too often short tripped over a portion of its service life. How I know? I do service a few KIA & Hondas from friends that visit my garage for needed oil changes.

I'd get a few bottles of Redline Si-1 and run it per tank fill and drain the temporary oil early then go with the main oil fill and see if it improves while trying to circumvent fuel dilution by a few long highway trips sessions per week. Might sound counter productive for your gas wallet but your vehicle may be happy later in the next oil analysis.

 

[addyguy]

What about Amsoil SS 0W-40?

 

[Triple_Se7en]

What about Amsoil SS 0W-40?

This^^^^. Change the oil at 4k. It'll drop into the 30s visc, but that's fine.
The 5w30 SS did it's job. You just need to fight-off the fuel dilution (avoid the 20s with this engine) and maintain as much wear protection as possible.

I'm putting in the Amsoil Euro EOT 0w30 in the Hyundai 2.4 tomorrow. I believe it will pair well with this GDI. The same oil was not a good pairing with our 2.0 MPI Kia. That engine is strange. It seems to like Grp 3 thick 30s / light 40s best.

Next month the Kia will get a HPL Premium Plus 5w30 / No VII 10w30 blend. We'll listen how it chatters with that Ester / PAO frankenblend. I'm expecting it's quietest run to-date. It hasn't been quiet since Valvoline / Castrol and Mobil-1 EPs. Now I'm trying a few different boutiques, hoping to eventually move to a once per year OCI. We only drive 5-6k per year each, both myself and the wife.

 

[H. Swanson]

This^^^^. Change the oil at 4k. It'll drop into the 30s visc, but that's fine.
The 5w30 SS did it's job. You just need to fight-off the fuel dilution (avoid the 20s with this engine) and maintain as much wear protection as possible.

When looking at the stats of 0w40 SS vs 5w40 AFL (Euro), the former does have a higher TBN, lower NOACK and higher KV100, so perhaps you're right.

 

[buster]

I'd opt for the SS 0w40 or even 10w30.

 

[Reloader59]

I'd say 0w-40 or 5w40. Ran 5w-40 in my 2014 Optima 2.0T, and it did very well. It did shear down to a 30 weight after 5k miles. But then it's still a 30 weight. I believe I used the EFM.