Amsoil 0w-30 ~~~ 2006 LS4 v8 Grand Prix GXP ~~~ 10,000mi

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*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?
 
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If you're going to run this oil out to 15,000 miles I would strongly encourage you to pay a few buck more and get Terry Dyson to interpret this UOA for you. His recommendations on extended drains and the proper oil for you car will prove invaluable in the long run.
 
Looks like a good UOA to me. I would second G-man's advice if you want to go to 15K. Although this oil still has some good life left in it, Terry's advice is really worth the money.

The copper seems okay to me. Remember the universal averages are for a vehicle at half your mileage. But that is just my opinion.

I also wouldn't worry about the Boron either. It is just part of the additive "equation". I've noticed that it drops off quickly and then stays down.

I'd get my email address off of here though. To edit your post:

1) click the reply button on your original post

2) change the "newreply.php" in your browser to "editpost.php" and hit enter.
 
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Quote:


If you're going to run this oil out to 15,000 miles I would strongly encourage you to pay a few buck more and get Terry Dyson to interpret this UOA for you. His recommendations on extended drains and the proper oil for you car will prove invaluable in the long run.




Who's Terry Dyson? What does his service cost?
 
I would dump this oil. Your TBN is 2.4. Why gamble on it making it to 15,000 miles. Also, have you changed your air filter yet?
 
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I would dump this oil. Your TBN is 2.4. Why gamble on it making it to 15,000 miles. Also, have you changed your air filter yet?




TBN is lower than I would have preferred, but like I mentioned, if I was to continue this oil, It would take 1 qt immediately to top off. How different do you think that OA would look with a fresh qt in there? What do you think the TBN would be then? (Just asking, I honestly don't know!)

The filter is a K&N dropin replacement, 10,000 miles ago. Amsoil does not make a replacement nanofiber filter for the v8 GP's. (yet)

I also meant to add to the original post that I was using the Amsoil EaO oil filter, and that I replaced the oil with a different weight. The new oil is Amsoil 5w-30 (ASL blend) which is the weight the factory specs call for. I was going to do a UOA on it also, and compare the two. See if there was any difference other than price. See if the car got the same gas mileage...
 
Wear is great. TBN is not linear with miles so it could remain at 2.4 for more miles. Sample again about 2,500 more miles and see where you're at.
 
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BTW, the OLM still had 7% remaining! I found that very interesting!




Indeed - since the OLM doesn't know what kind of oil you are using!!

My first comment is that the car is still breaking in. It's a GM throwing copper, and copper in solution is hard on used motor oil. That said the viscosity is awesome, solids good, TBN fine. If you would have topped up with the quart, it would have been better that's for sure.

It will be interesting to see how ASL does. It has more Mo and B. However, I would NOT trust Blackstone's additive numbers, sometimes they just measure low or wrong, and I'm not sure why.

Did you sign up under one of the BiTOG sponsors?
 
I wouldn't take it out to 15,000 either. 11,000 to 12,000 max....

cheers.gif
 
Thanks for the input Pablo.

I actually signed up locally, And after getting the bus manual, when I did not know what the Amsoil chart numbers meant, I found this site and posted that thread and you answered all of my questions. Had to do it twice, IIRC, as the first time, the server blew your long reply away.
LINK:
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...part=1&vc=1

Anyway, I have gotten like zero feedback/support locally. Not that I need any, just didn't know what to expect either. If I knew then what I know now... you'd be my sponsor. It may not mean anything at this point, but if I drop the Amsoil (not likely, BTW!), but if I do, I will send future queries to this site and have them look for you.
 
Oh yeah I remember that thread! Funny with "fake" names I have a difficult time remembering 16,000+ members.

As I predicted the TSO should have gone 15K, especially with a quart added at this point. Has anyone run a conventional oil to 0% on the OLM that was 10K+?

In a way you are doing all of us a service, by running the ASL next.
 
I think for 10k intervals you have a winner here. I would think the next 10k interval would be even better.
 
The wear doesnt look out of line at all for the mileage but if you vehicle is still under warranty they may frown at the extended intervals. May want to consider following the owners manual till warranty runs out then extend the OCI's, but either way its your decision just figured id mention that.
 
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The wear doesnt look out of line at all for the mileage but if you vehicle is still under warranty they may frown at the extended intervals. May want to consider following the owners manual till warranty runs out then extend the OCI's, but either way its your decision just figured id mention that.




No offense, because you are a newbie. Here's a quote from the initial post:

Quote:


BTW, the OLM still had 7% remaining!


 
Hey, you guys think I should ditch the K&N?
I've been doing a lot of reading lately, and apparently, they are not near as clean as what I initially thought.

One study I was looking at actually said the OEM AC Delco was the best filter among several tested, including K&N and an Amsoil oil/gauze filter that I did not see in my product literature.

Amsoil is now offering a filter that uses nano-fibers or somesuch, but a dropin is not listed for my car. It *reads* like it would be even better than paper...

Reason I am asking, As I was changing the oil on my I-30 last night (putting in Castrol Syntec 5w-30... the last of mountain I bought at a really good deal... 5000 mi OCI's on that)... and I dropped the drain plug on the ground, and wiped the funnel down with a slightly greasy/oily/dirty rag... I thought... Well right there are 2 sources of introducing dirt (Silicon) into your oil right off the bat.

1) Not cleaning your oil plug well after dropping it. (Ouch! HOT!)
2) Dirty funnel
3) leaving oil cap off during oil change and ____ blowing in there.
At one point I looked down and there was a fracking June bug crawling around in the funnel... Wonder what the lab report would look like then?
4) Wiping your dipstick down with a dirty rag

You know, I am guilty of all of the above. Not saying I want my garage to be a hospital clinic... but 15 more seconds of care on those 4 points could greatly cut down on potential ____ in your motor.

& maybe replacing the K&N too?
 
Quote:


Hey, you guys think I should ditch the K&N?




Absolutely.. but not for the reason you think. They have fouled one too many MAF sensors. A faulty Mass Airflow sensor can cause weird problems such as rough tranny shifts etc apart from the more apparent airflow related ones.
 
I would, I find it easier to just replace than to clean those things, and plus my Napa Gold (Wix) shows great filtration in my UOA. Couldn't be happier. I had a K&N on the car for a few thousand miles but I took it off, and re-sold it to another Integra owner
smile.gif
 
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