2018 CRV 28.4k; M1 EP 0W20 4.3k

Joined
Dec 23, 2020
Messages
1,564
Location
Midwest
Looks like our CRV is not immune to the fuel dilution bug. The oil was in use from 8/22/21 to 3/19/22. An unseasonably cold winter was in there and lots of short tripping. We live in a small town, so most trips are 3 miles or less. What's in there now is Castrol EDGE 0W20 black bottle with a tiny bit (~ .5qt) of Castrol Euro 0W40. We're going on a road trip soon that will encompass over 2000 miles, so I anticipate a better UOA the next go around. What's interesting is I measured about 3.8qt when I drained this, which is just slightly more than the sump capacity, so I wasn't expecting the fuel dilution to be as high as as it was. And I know it's likely higher than BS's derived measurement. Poor M1 EP took a beating, with viscosity dropping from 8.45 to 5.84 and only 2.9 TBN after only 4300 miles. The sample was taken immediately after a 30 mile drive, so this is legit fuel dilution. Previous UOA was much better, but it also had a lot more long trips on it. Going forward, I'll probably do a blend of M1 AFE 0W20 and 0w30 to get the starting viscosity closer to 10.0.

18 CRV 031922.png
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks like our CRV is not immune to the fuel dilution bug. The oil was in use from 8/22/21 to 3/19/22. An unseasonably cold winter was in there and lots of short tripping. We live in a small town, so most trips are 3 miles or less. What's in there now is Castrol EDGE 0W20 black bottle with a tiny bit (~ .5qt) of Castrol Euro 0W40. We're going on a road trip soon that will encompass over 2000 miles, so I anticipate a better UOA the next go around. What's interesting is I measured about 3.8qt when I drained this, which is just slightly more than the sump capacity, so I wasn't expecting the fuel dilution to be as high as as it was. And I know it's likely higher than BS's derived measurement. Poor M1 EP took a beating, with viscosity dropping from 8.45 to 5.84 and only 2.9 TBN after only 4300 miles. The sample was taken immediately after a 30 mile drive, so this is legit fuel dilution. Previous UOA was much better, but it also had a lot more long trips on it. Going forward, I'll probably do a blend of M1 AFE 0W20 and 0w30 to get the starting viscosity closer to 10.0.

View attachment 94832
Like the 0w-25 blend idea. Short trips in cold weather with DI, seem to really kill the viscosity.
 
I see no reason not to go straight to a 0w30 for more cushion, especially if the fuel coming thru is considered “normal” for this engine moving forward.

The 0w25 blend sounds like fun though. Anything is better then THIS! 😟😳😬
Yep, that 5.84 vis is surprisingly low for 4k miles.
 
I see no reason not to go straight to a 0w30 for more cushion, especially if the fuel coming thru is considered “normal” for this engine moving forward.

The 0w25 blend sounds like fun though. Anything is better then THIS! 😟😳😬
Here's my reasoning: 5.84 is about 2.8 points below virgin value. So let's take the 20 grade minimum (6.9) and add 2.8 points to it. That gives us a starting viscosity of 9.7 that should be enough for the oil not to dip below 20 grade. M1 AFE 0W30 starts somewhere between 11 and 11.5 (I've seen a VOA of 11.03 but M1 specs 11.5), that to me seems a bit too thick, but someone else might be fine with that. That's why I'd prefer to blend some 0W20. Plus we get the benefit of keeping a true 0W if you live where that might actually come in handy. Otherwise, there are some 5W30s out there that hover around 10.0 cSt, like Pennzoil Platinum and Ultra Platinum and Castrol EDGE.
 
Here's my reasoning: 5.84 is about 2.8 points below virgin value. So let's take the 20 grade minimum (6.9) and add 2.8 points to it. That gives us a starting viscosity of 9.7 that should be enough for the oil not to dip below 20 grade. M1 AFE 0W30 starts somewhere between 11 and 11.5 (I've seen a VOA of 11.03 but M1 specs 11.5), that to me seems a bit too thick, but someone else might be fine with that. That's why I'd prefer to blend some 0W20. Plus we get the benefit of keeping a true 0W if you live where that might actually come in handy. Otherwise, there are some 5W30s out there that hover around 10.0 cSt, like Pennzoil Platinum and Ultra Platinum and Castrol EDGE.

Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 has a KV100 of 9.8cSt, that would be my choice according to your criteria and it is a solid oil.
 
I'm liking the specs (on paper) of Valvoline EP 5w30 in this situation for off the shelf brands. Low VI, HT/HS of 3.2. I think this would be a nice choice to try.

A lower spread, less VII's should result in a less viscosity drop %wise.
 
My '16 Civic Coupe Touring 1.5T in white, beautiful car Son has it now, we've run Edge 0/40 last six yrs. then when it pops up over the full mark we draw down a qt. and bring it back up with fresh..had a 8k UOA with this method BS recommended bumping to 10k OCI. 81k odo, simple.
 
Looks like our CRV is not immune to the fuel dilution bug. The oil was in use from 8/22/21 to 3/19/22. An unseasonably cold winter was in there and lots of short tripping. We live in a small town, so most trips are 3 miles or less. What's in there now is Castrol EDGE 0W20 black bottle with a tiny bit (~ .5qt) of Castrol Euro 0W40. We're going on a road trip soon that will encompass over 2000 miles, so I anticipate a better UOA the next go around. What's interesting is I measured about 3.8qt when I drained this, which is just slightly more than the sump capacity, so I wasn't expecting the fuel dilution to be as high as as it was. And I know it's likely higher than BS's derived measurement. Poor M1 EP took a beating, with viscosity dropping from 8.45 to 5.84 and only 2.9 TBN after only 4300 miles. The sample was taken immediately after a 30 mile drive, so this is legit fuel dilution. Previous UOA was much better, but it also had a lot more long trips on it. Going forward, I'll probably do a blend of M1 AFE 0W20 and 0w30 to get the starting viscosity closer to 10.0.

View attachment 94832
Yikes that viscosity is lower than LV ATF.
 
My '16 Civic Coupe Touring 1.5T in white, beautiful car Son has it now, we've run Edge 0/40 last six yrs. then when it pops up over the full mark we draw down a qt. and bring it back up with fresh..had a 8k UOA with this method BS recommended bumping to 10k OCI. 81k odo, simple.
😳🤔🤨 I am so confused right now…

So you start out after an oil change in the middle of the dipstick, to leave room for the oil level to increase???
 
This is the example for spring oil changes over fall changes if only doing one a year. Getting ready to change the oil in my 2016 civic 1.5
This could also be an example of twice a year oil changes. I now am intrigued by the idea of isolating winter oil in this car and minimize the amount of time that oil is in the sump. So maybe put my winter oil in on December 1st and dump it out on April 1st. The other 8 months could be its own OCI. For our driving, that would be 2k miles on the winter oil and 4k miles on the other OCI.
 
there are multiple ways to obtain proof of 0w20 used for an oil change. and please don't start on the ethics and all that mumbo jumbo
Other than the feel good factor, is there any data to suggest that a 30wt is necessary?
 
Other than the feel good factor, is there any data to suggest that a 30wt is necessary?
of course. if you're running 20weight and it comes out thinned below the 20grade, it essentially means you've been running out of spec oil. by running 30 weight you're just compensating for viscosity reduction induced by fuel dilution and ensuring engineered hydrodynamics are still in place.
 
Back
Top