*Still a newbie guys... be gentle*
Howdy, this is my first UAO, and it was not so much to see what was going on with a fairly new motor, but as a means of verifying for myself Amsoil’s claims of extended drain intervals and better protection using their products..
The sample was taken hot, about 1/3 of the way through the drain process. At the time of oil change, I needed about 1qt to get back to the top of the crosshatch marks on the dipstick, so there was no refresher oil added since end of April (I added .5 qt). Given that I had added 1.5qts during the 10,000 mile interval, and that I needed 1 more qt to top up…, I had burned 2.5 qts during that time frame. That is 1qt consumed every 4000 miles. I think that is within reason, and I have read that the GM LSx series of motors are oil consumers. BTW, the OLM still had 7% remaining! I found that very interesting!
My prior oil change before this, I was running Castrol synthetic, which come to find out is not really my definition of synthetic at all, just… (If I read correctly) refined to a higher standard and able to be badged synthetic on a technicality, and I was paying almost $6.00 a qt for it. After looking at the cost of a dealership to buy a true lab created oil, and then paying wholesale for it, and weighing my oil needs for 3 vehicles + sundried other lawn eqp & lubrication needs… I decided to give Amsoil a try. Before I sold this to any family or friends, I wanted to have documented proof of what the product does. Here are my results, though I don’t necessarily fully understand what I am looking at.
---------- begin OA -------------
BLAKE: No problems showed up in the first sample from your Grand Prix. You asked about the
viscosity and it read normally for a 0W/30. Wear looked great for an oil run 10,000 miles. Universal
averages are based on an oil run ~5,500 miles, so your engine is wearing far better than most. No
harmful contaminants were found and the air and oil filters (silicon and insolubles) read normally. The
TBN read 2.4 showing some active additive remaining. 1.0 is low. Try 11,000 miles next time. Nice
engine! We don't know how to convert our data to the formats you mentioned.
CRESSON, TX 76035
EQUIPMENT MAKE:....GM
EQUIPMENT MODEL:..5.3L 327 CI V-8
FUEL TYPE:.............Gasoline (Unleaded)
CODE:....................GXP
ADDITIONAL INFO:....LS4
REPORT DATE:...6/7/07
NAME:..............BLAKE MOORE
E-MAIL:[email protected]
OIL USE INTERVAL : 10,000 Miles
OIL TYPE & GRADE: Amsoil 0W/30
MAKE-UP OIL ADDED: 1.5 qts
OIL REPORT
MI/HR ON OIL :......10,000
MI/HR ON UNIT:.....23,028
SAMPLE DATE:.......05/27/07
*PARTS PER MILLION* / UNIVERSAL AVERAGES
ALUMINUM.........3..............4
CHROMIUM........1...............2
IRON................19.............23
COPPER............65.............63
LEAD................11.............9
TIN..................2..............1
MOLYBDENUM...14..............50
NICKEL............1................1
MANGANESE.....2................2
SILVER............0................0
TITANIUM........0................0
POTASSIUM.....4................1
BORON............9................57
SILICON..........14...............13
SODIUM..........9................9
CALCIUM.........2877..........1699
MAGNESIUM.....13..............378
PHOSPHORUS...697............788
ZINC..............787.............952
BARIUM...........0................0
TEST.....VALUES SHOULD BE.......TESTED VALUES WERE
WATER %..............0................0.0
ANTIFREEZE %.......0................0.0
FUEL %.................
FLASHPOINT INºF.....>375.........400
SUSVISCOSITY@210ºF:55-67.....60.2
INSOLUBLES %........
COPYRIGHT BLACKSTONE LABORATORIES 2006
416 EAST PETTIT AVE
FORT WAYNE, IN 46806 (260) 744-2380
LIABILITY LIMITED TO COST OF SAMPLE ANALYSIS
--------------- end OA -------------
2 things intrigued me on the numbers. After looking at several other UOA’s on this forum, my Copper number seems very high. And my Boron number seems very low. I thought copper was a sign of wear, and while that number seems high, I still come in under what the lab says the average is for vehicles run 5,500 miles… and I ran for nearly 2x as long. As for the Boron, maybe that is the Amsoil additive package? Maybe they don’t use much/any Boron in Series 2000 0w-30?
After further study, I tentatively concluded that it would be fine to run this oil on out to 15,000 miles, as the Amsoil literature suggests (for heavy use), especially given that another qt would prop back up the TBN for a while. What do you guys think?
Howdy, this is my first UAO, and it was not so much to see what was going on with a fairly new motor, but as a means of verifying for myself Amsoil’s claims of extended drain intervals and better protection using their products..
The sample was taken hot, about 1/3 of the way through the drain process. At the time of oil change, I needed about 1qt to get back to the top of the crosshatch marks on the dipstick, so there was no refresher oil added since end of April (I added .5 qt). Given that I had added 1.5qts during the 10,000 mile interval, and that I needed 1 more qt to top up…, I had burned 2.5 qts during that time frame. That is 1qt consumed every 4000 miles. I think that is within reason, and I have read that the GM LSx series of motors are oil consumers. BTW, the OLM still had 7% remaining! I found that very interesting!
My prior oil change before this, I was running Castrol synthetic, which come to find out is not really my definition of synthetic at all, just… (If I read correctly) refined to a higher standard and able to be badged synthetic on a technicality, and I was paying almost $6.00 a qt for it. After looking at the cost of a dealership to buy a true lab created oil, and then paying wholesale for it, and weighing my oil needs for 3 vehicles + sundried other lawn eqp & lubrication needs… I decided to give Amsoil a try. Before I sold this to any family or friends, I wanted to have documented proof of what the product does. Here are my results, though I don’t necessarily fully understand what I am looking at.
---------- begin OA -------------
BLAKE: No problems showed up in the first sample from your Grand Prix. You asked about the
viscosity and it read normally for a 0W/30. Wear looked great for an oil run 10,000 miles. Universal
averages are based on an oil run ~5,500 miles, so your engine is wearing far better than most. No
harmful contaminants were found and the air and oil filters (silicon and insolubles) read normally. The
TBN read 2.4 showing some active additive remaining. 1.0 is low. Try 11,000 miles next time. Nice
engine! We don't know how to convert our data to the formats you mentioned.
CRESSON, TX 76035
EQUIPMENT MAKE:....GM
EQUIPMENT MODEL:..5.3L 327 CI V-8
FUEL TYPE:.............Gasoline (Unleaded)
CODE:....................GXP
ADDITIONAL INFO:....LS4
REPORT DATE:...6/7/07
NAME:..............BLAKE MOORE
E-MAIL:[email protected]
OIL USE INTERVAL : 10,000 Miles
OIL TYPE & GRADE: Amsoil 0W/30
MAKE-UP OIL ADDED: 1.5 qts
OIL REPORT
MI/HR ON OIL :......10,000
MI/HR ON UNIT:.....23,028
SAMPLE DATE:.......05/27/07
*PARTS PER MILLION* / UNIVERSAL AVERAGES
ALUMINUM.........3..............4
CHROMIUM........1...............2
IRON................19.............23
COPPER............65.............63
LEAD................11.............9
TIN..................2..............1
MOLYBDENUM...14..............50
NICKEL............1................1
MANGANESE.....2................2
SILVER............0................0
TITANIUM........0................0
POTASSIUM.....4................1
BORON............9................57
SILICON..........14...............13
SODIUM..........9................9
CALCIUM.........2877..........1699
MAGNESIUM.....13..............378
PHOSPHORUS...697............788
ZINC..............787.............952
BARIUM...........0................0
TEST.....VALUES SHOULD BE.......TESTED VALUES WERE
WATER %..............0................0.0
ANTIFREEZE %.......0................0.0
FUEL %.................
FLASHPOINT INºF.....>375.........400
SUSVISCOSITY@210ºF:55-67.....60.2
INSOLUBLES %........
COPYRIGHT BLACKSTONE LABORATORIES 2006
416 EAST PETTIT AVE
FORT WAYNE, IN 46806 (260) 744-2380
LIABILITY LIMITED TO COST OF SAMPLE ANALYSIS
--------------- end OA -------------
2 things intrigued me on the numbers. After looking at several other UOA’s on this forum, my Copper number seems very high. And my Boron number seems very low. I thought copper was a sign of wear, and while that number seems high, I still come in under what the lab says the average is for vehicles run 5,500 miles… and I ran for nearly 2x as long. As for the Boron, maybe that is the Amsoil additive package? Maybe they don’t use much/any Boron in Series 2000 0w-30?
After further study, I tentatively concluded that it would be fine to run this oil on out to 15,000 miles, as the Amsoil literature suggests (for heavy use), especially given that another qt would prop back up the TBN for a while. What do you guys think?
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