2020 Civic Hatchback 1.5T/ ~30000mi/5000mi OCI/Kirkland 0w20 Blackstone and OA

Senchronize

Senchronize

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Jun 16, 2023
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Hello,
As promised from my last thread(https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...-4000m-oci-kirkland-0w20.370148/#post-6525028) that I would send the same sample to both OA and Blackstone to see discrepancies and fuel dilution

The results came back and there is indeed fuel dilution differences 1% at BS, >5% at OA, despite that, all the other wear numbers are similar. And the report from OA also agrees that it is normal to be at this level for this DI engine. So I will continue to use my costco 87 gas with kirkland 0w20 oil and check back in after every 10k or even 20k miles. I'm no longer too concerned about the problem :)

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Yeah, They have a point there appears to be no apparent additional wear with the 5+% Fuel dilution. Your wear is quite low for the mileage to be quite frank. OA is the right lab for fuel testing over blackstone but they are good at everything else. Also, Fuel doesn't track with mileage. You could potentially put on an additional 2k miles, as an example, and not increase fuel but I'd test it out to double check. Great report under the circumstances! What does the 0w-20 HD Diesel mean in your OA description?
 
Just a mistake, not sure why it says diesel, the paper form for OA is kind of convoluted. It's just 0w-20 synthetic motor oil from Costco.
 
Senchronize said:
Just a mistake, not sure why it says diesel, the paper form for OA is kind of convoluted. It's just 0w-20 synthetic motor oil from Costco.
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Understood, I just thought I'd double check they didn't have that grade of HDEO (y). This report is exactly what you'd want to see when it comes to oil analysis testing. Great job!
 
fantastic said:
Yeah, They have a point there appears to be no apparent additional wear with the 5+% Fuel dilution. Your wear is quite low for the mileage to be quite frank. OA is the right lab for fuel testing over blackstone but they are good at everything else. Also, Fuel doesn't track with mileage. You could potentially put on an additional 2k miles, as an example, and not increase fuel but I'd test it out to double check. Great report under the circumstances! What does the 0w-20 HD Diesel mean in your OA description?
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OA is third partied to Polaris Labs. Which is a good accredited lab. Just saying who really preformed the testing. You may know this I bet, just posted for others that don't know this.
 
Mainia said:
OA is third partied to Polaris Labs. Which is a good accredited lab. Just saying who really preformed the testing. You may know this I bet, just posted for others that don't know this.
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Yes, But in this discussion there were two different testing kits used so in the sake of not adding confusion it's good to not veer too far off the names that were already mentioned. Everything from the buyers end is handled through Oil Analyzers emails, phone calls, etc. Polaris Labs is way more expensive to buy analysis kits from anyways & better to go with a third party like Oil Analyzers.
 
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If my vehicle showed such a low flashpoint and cst@100 in the mid 6's, I would run REAL-REAL fast to Costco and get a jug of Kirkland 5w30 to use next OCI.

I wouldn't even spend any time looking for car keys to my vehicle to drive there.....lol
Wait - never mind! I would instead go to Walmart and get a jug of Supertech 20k Advanced 5w30. That way you can still align your engine with the exact same oil manufacturer (Warren Highline) and the 20k oil would only cost you a few dollars more - protect your Mega Diluter Engine better too.
 
Triple_Se7en said:
If my vehicle showed such a low flashpoint and cst@100 in the mid 6's, I would run REAL-REAL fast to Costco and get a jug of Kirkland 5w30 to use next OCI.

I wouldn't even spend any time looking for car keys to my vehicle to drive there.....lol
Wait - never mind! I would instead go to Walmart and get a jug of Supertech 20k Advanced 5w30. That way you can still align your engine with the exact same oil manufacturer (Warren Highline) and the 20k oil would only cost you a few dollars more - protect your Mega Diluter Engine better too.
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Oh but a $35 spectrographic analysis shows that everything is fine.
 
Super diluted and cst@100 is on the border of the 20 range. I would go with something a little stouter like PUP, M1 EP, PP, etc. especially if you want to stay with 0W20. The cost difference between those offers and Kirkland would be less than the cost of one UOA. Or just change the Kirkland more often. Just my observation anyways. Do what you want.
 
Yes, my OCI has always been 5k mi. Should be fine, all our family cars now run on 0w-20 so I just bulk buy when Costco has them on sale. Not that concerned

Correct me if I'm wrong, the worry is that the fuel dilution the CST@100 is too thin and not enough to protect the components, but the test results clearly show very little wear. This batch of oil also survived from June to December in AZ, with very high operating temps over the 4 months period btween June to October. So I'll continue as normal.
 
Blackstone should stop testing fuel dilution until they get their testing up to par with others. They complain about so much business there isnt an excuse.
 
Senchronize said:
Yes, my OCI has always been 5k mi. Should be fine, all our family cars now run on 0w-20 so I just bulk buy when Costco has them on sale. Not that concerned

Correct me if I'm wrong, the worry is that the fuel dilution the CST@100 is too thin and not enough to protect the components, but the test results clearly show very little wear. This batch of oil also survived from June to December in AZ, with very high operating temps over the 4 months period btween June to October. So I'll continue as normal.
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Why wait for lagging indicators (ie, high wear) to do something? The damage will already be done at that point.

UOAs are for establishing a base line for “normal” and trending or gathering data in order to develop a strategy for preventing or mitigating damage.

If you’re going to wait until there is excessive wear to mitigate contamination then you’re ignoring the leading indicators and waiting for the lagging indicators to appear to take action. You are in essence taking data just to ignore part of it.

What if the next UOA shows coolant in the oil but there is no excessive wear? Are you to going address that contamination immediately or wait until there is more wear?
 
ATex7239 said:
Why wait for lagging indicators (ie, high wear) to do something? The damage will already be done at that point.

UOAs are for establishing a base line for “normal” and trending or gathering data in order to develop a strategy for preventing or mitigating damage.

If you’re going to wait until there is excessive wear to mitigate contamination then you’re ignoring the leading indicators and waiting for the lagging indicators to appear to take action. You are in essence taking data just to ignore part of it.

What if the next UOA shows coolant in the oil but there is no excessive wear? Are you to going address that contamination immediately or wait until there is more wear?
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Both labs literally says my numbers are good? Or are you ignoring that part? All the oil numbers are still within spec albeit some are on the low end.

Not to say I’m not doing something about it, I’m already doing 5k oci to mitigate the issue.

is your recommendation switch to 5w30 , 91octane and 3k ocis? Or buy a new car instead? I’m genuinely interested
 
Senchronize said:
Both labs literally says my numbers are good? Or are you ignoring that part? All the oil numbers are still within spec albeit some are on the low end.

Not to say I’m not doing something about it, I’m already doing 5k oci to mitigate the issue.

is your recommendation switch to 5w30 , 91octane and 3k ocis? Or buy a new car instead? I’m genuinely interested
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Both labs also flagged/noted the fuel contamination. BS by flashpoint and OA by percentage. That is a leading indicator which is an attempt to address future outcomes based on current data. Is not flagged red with OA’s report because it was a good thing.

My recommendation would be to go with a different 0W20 (ie, higher cst@100) first. Then try higher octane fuel or go higher viscosity grade all together. My overall objective here would be to stay well within an 20 range - 6.9 to 9.2 cst@100 from start to finish.

I also have experienced fuel contamination with low wear metals. However, I chose to mitigate the dilution by going up in viscosity. I do not want to wait for excessive wear before addressing it.

‘21 Toyota Sienna/ A25A-FXS / 55,000 miles / Pennzoil Platinum 0w16 / 5,000 miles

Oil level went this OCI. First time this has happened. As suspected there is fuel dilution. Maybe from the abnormally cold winter weather and recent short tripping. Going to take it to the dealer before the 60,000 mile Powertrain warranty is up so I can get the event on record if nothing else...
bobistheoilguy.com

Post your latest oil change

Daughter's boyfriend (his first time doing an oil change. He mainly watched me. Next time I am going to watch him): 2016 Scion TC, 2.5L 70K on vehicle 5k OCI Out: Unknown fill from NTB, Napa gold filter In: Castrol EDGE 0W-20, Fram Titanium ~ 2004 Ford Explorer, 4.0L SOHC 147k on vehicle 3,200...
bobistheoilguy.com
 
ATex7239 said:
Both labs also flagged/noted the fuel contamination. BS by flashpoint and OA by percentage. That is a leading indicator which is an attempt to address future outcomes based on current data. Is not flagged red with OA’s report because it was a good thing.

My recommendation would be to go with a different 0W20 (ie, higher cst@100) first. Then try higher octane fuel or go higher viscosity grade all together. My overall objective here would be to stay well within an 20 range - 6.9 to 9.2 cst@100 from start to finish.

I also have experienced fuel contamination with low wear metals. However, I chose to mitigate the dilution by going up in viscosity. I do not want to wait for excessive wear before addressing it.

‘21 Toyota Sienna/ A25A-FXS / 55,000 miles / Pennzoil Platinum 0w16 / 5,000 miles

Oil level went this OCI. First time this has happened. As suspected there is fuel dilution. Maybe from the abnormally cold winter weather and recent short tripping. Going to take it to the dealer before the 60,000 mile Powertrain warranty is up so I can get the event on record if nothing else...
bobistheoilguy.com

Post your latest oil change

Daughter's boyfriend (his first time doing an oil change. He mainly watched me. Next time I am going to watch him): 2016 Scion TC, 2.5L 70K on vehicle 5k OCI Out: Unknown fill from NTB, Napa gold filter In: Castrol EDGE 0W-20, Fram Titanium ~ 2004 Ford Explorer, 4.0L SOHC 147k on vehicle 3,200...
bobistheoilguy.com
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Thanks, any good recommendations on the 0w-20? You yourself went up to 5w-30 from 0w-20 recommendations?
 
ATex7239 said:
M1 EP or PZ Ultra would both decent choices. Nope. I go from 0W16 to 0W20 in the winter because mine only shows signs of dilution when it is cold.
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Thanks, I'll grab those on sale. I don't want to step up to 5w30, but theoretically going to the kirkland 5w20 should be more stable as well compared to the 0w20? I don't see freezing temps here in AZ, might give it a try. Or maybe not: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/kirkland-5w-20-vs-0w-20.359172/page-3
 
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After reading many more threads in this forum regarding the dilution issue, I'm going to just run premium gas only(91 octane) and limit as many variables as possible. I will report back at 35000 miles from both labs again.
 
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