98 Volvo S70 T5 WIX UOA (Synpower 10w30 4900 Mi.)

[CaseyR22]

Hello BITOG! Long time reader, first time poster. I got a UOA done for my 1998 Volvo s70 T5 through wix/ALS. This is my first UOA on any car and as far as I can tell everything seems inline but would love to hear input from you guys.

The Car:

• 1998 Volvo S70 T5
• 136665 Mi. at time of sample
• K&N air filter, SNABB Intake, OBX Turbo back exhaust, IPD Tune, 1993 Volvo 850 N/A Cams, 15Psi Boost. Etc. Etc.
• Car is driven pretty hard, lots of city driving, short trips, drag racing track days etc.
• Running Synpower 10w30 since I got it 42K mi. ago with a 3-5K mi OCI.

Synpower 10w30
4900 Mi. On oil
Bosch 3323 Filter
1.25 qt makeup oil (Pennzoil Platinum and Supertech Full syn as this is what I had around)

The results:
Code:
LAB NO. 40110238076

DATE SAMPLED 04-Jul-12

DATE RECEIVED 25-Jul-12

DATE REPORTED 26-Jul-12



Metals (ppm)

Iron (Fe) 4

Chromium (Cr)
Lead (Pb) 10

Copper (Cu) 5

Tin (Sn)
Aluminium(Al) 1

Nickel (Ni)
Silver (Ag)
Titanium (Ti)
Vanadium (V)


Contaminants (ppm)

Silicon (Si) 4

Sodium (Na) 281

Potassium (K)
Coolant No



Additives (ppm)

Magnesium (Mg) 2

Calcium (Ca) 2180

Barium (Ba)
Phosphorus (P) 689

Zinc (Zn) 801

Molybdenum (Mo) 11

Boron (B)


Contaminants

Water (%)


Physical Tests

Viscosity (cSt 100C) 9.8



Physical / Chemical

Base Number (mgKOH/g) 2.3


My thoughts: Looks good, wear metals are relatively low. silicon is surprisingly low, zinc is nice, TBN is not that great IMO considering the makeup oil, Viscosity looks good. Don't know where all that sodium is coming from but it seems consistent with some other Synpower UOAs I've seen. Filled the sump with PP 5w30 this time and will UOA that at 4k Mi. Hope to be running 6-7K mi. OCI in the future.

WIX/ALS review: I've heard they were slow before, which was NOT my experience at all. They got the results to me within 6 days of when I mailed it in. The report lacks fuel contamination, and flashpoint which is unfortunate. Also you have to email customer service to get a login on the website which is inconvenient but they replied very fast. Considering I paid all of like $11 for this UOA I'm pretty happy. That fuel % would be really nice though.

Thanks for any input!

 

[dave1251]

Looks fine. With the amount of consumption you are experiencing 8-10K would be very obtainable.

 

[Artem]

7,500 mile OCIs sound perfect based on the oil consumption and this UOA.

 

[oggb]

If you'd used a synthetic besides Synpower you probably could go longer. Not a spectacular oil for extended drains.

 

[CaseyR22]

Thanks for the input guys!

Originally Posted By: JRed
If you'd used a synthetic besides Synpower you probably could go longer. Not a spectacular oil for extended drains.
Like I said, I am running 5w30 PP right now and will send in a sample (without draining) at 4-5K and see how it looks. I've pretty exclusively used Valvoline products for a long time but everyone here seemed happy with PP and I got a great deal on it. MPG has also improved slightly since I went to the 5w30 and so far it seems like consumption is down too.

 

[dnewton3]

Given the implied heavy use of the engine (city driving, short trips, drag racing) I'd say this isn't too bad.

Of all the things present, the Pb would concern me the most. 10pp in 5k miles is not terrible, but it certainly is a cautionary note.

A singular UOA is not anything to make a firm decision on, but it can be a reason to pay more attention and reduce variables.
Try to not hop/skip from brand to brand; you're not going to have any decent feeling for true performance with no consistent inputs.

I don't see the fluids having any change of making a decent ROI unless you can find a way to extend the OCI.