Amsoil Series 3000, 18,750 Miles, Chevy S-10 4.3L
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Sorry about the poor post, I am new. Notice the high Potassium and Sodium. This 4.3L needed a set of intake gaskets (of course) I started with Amsoil Series 2000 and moved up to the Series 3000 at 68K. Any opinions would be appreciated.
Looks pretty solid except for some evaporative/oxidative thickening. I'd say a 20k OCI would be about right here, given the level of TBN reserve. If you look at the previous analysis with the same batch of oil in the sump, there was hardly any wear in the past 12,000 miles, aside from the 7 ppm of Fe.
The Series 3000 seems to hold up like a rock in both diesel and gas engines.
The Series 3000 seems to hold up like a rock in both diesel and gas engines.
Great report. This is their best oil IMO. It seems that the SL additive levels are just more suited for extended drains. Higher Ca and ZDDP. Proven additives. I'd like to see ASL run for comparison or M1 EP to see how the SM stuff would hold up.
Outstanding result overall. I'd be very happy with that. I am curious about the thickening, especially combined with the relatively low insolubles. Assuming the thickening is a result of oxidation, shouldn't that be accompanied by a substantial rise in insolubles? Of course, my assumption that the two would be linked may be wrong, or perhaps the thickening is from something else.
Everybody says/repeats "oxidative thickening" as if they know what they are talking about. Makes me chuckle.
M1 5W-40 thickened too in the guys' UOA that was for around 20k miles. With that many miles, I'd be surprised by any oil that did NOT thicken. Chemical reactions will occur. There is no stopping it. All the oil blender can do is put in a good dose of top notch antioxidants and chemically stable basestocks.
I'd drain before much thickening happened too. Oil is cheap IMO.
An oil used this long can and will thicken simply due to evaporation, of the more volatile portions of the basestock and add pack. When this happens, you don't necessarily see a high solids level, as you would if the thickening was primarily related to oxidation and the formation of insoluble, high molecular weight polymers.
One of the limiting factors in determining maximum service intervals, is maintaining the ability of the oil to pump at very low temps during startup/warmup. In fact a key reason why significantly longer OCI's are recommended for the Series 2000 is simply that's it's a 0wt grade. So it will maintain these critical low temp properties longer than a 5w or 10w using similiar basestock blends (ASL/ATM). Once the engine is fully warmed up, if the oil has thickened up by one SAE grade it's really not a big deal. In this engine you could start out using a 5w-40, HDEO and the engine would run perfectly. The only tradeoff would be a small decrease (maybe 2%-3%), in fuel efficiency, compared to running a 5w-30.
Amsoil is highly resistant to oxidation, as evidenced by it's performance in the "TFOUT" (thin film, oxygen uptake test). This test is designed to evaluate oxidation resistance under carefully controlled conditions, using a sample of fresh oil that has been doped with nitrated fuel, water and catalytic wear metals like copper. The reason you notice thickening more with Amsoil is simply that the average OCI with Amsoil is much longer than it is for other oils. Try running the GC/0w-30 for 18.7k miles with this same setup (not that it would even last that long) and you'd see significant thickening as well.
One of the limiting factors in determining maximum service intervals, is maintaining the ability of the oil to pump at very low temps during startup/warmup. In fact a key reason why significantly longer OCI's are recommended for the Series 2000 is simply that's it's a 0wt grade. So it will maintain these critical low temp properties longer than a 5w or 10w using similiar basestock blends (ASL/ATM). Once the engine is fully warmed up, if the oil has thickened up by one SAE grade it's really not a big deal. In this engine you could start out using a 5w-40, HDEO and the engine would run perfectly. The only tradeoff would be a small decrease (maybe 2%-3%), in fuel efficiency, compared to running a 5w-30.
Amsoil is highly resistant to oxidation, as evidenced by it's performance in the "TFOUT" (thin film, oxygen uptake test). This test is designed to evaluate oxidation resistance under carefully controlled conditions, using a sample of fresh oil that has been doped with nitrated fuel, water and catalytic wear metals like copper. The reason you notice thickening more with Amsoil is simply that the average OCI with Amsoil is much longer than it is for other oils. Try running the GC/0w-30 for 18.7k miles with this same setup (not that it would even last that long) and you'd see significant thickening as well.
Evaporative thickening slipped my mind. Good points TeeDub.
On another note, if I did OCIs this long, I'd get TAN tested to get another data point on the health of the oil. It's impressive that the TBN was 3.3.
On another note, if I did OCIs this long, I'd get TAN tested to get another data point on the health of the oil. It's impressive that the TBN was 3.3.
A TBN of 3.3 from Blackstone is a TBN of 5.5-6.0 from any other lab. You could probably run this oil another 4k-5k miles, although it would continue to slowly thicken.
With Cu/Pb levels of 5 ppm/3 ppm, respectively, I don't see any indication this oil is becoming acidic.
With Cu/Pb levels of 5 ppm/3 ppm, respectively, I don't see any indication this oil is becoming acidic.
Very true about the low Cu/Pb and that being a sign of the TAN being fine.
This is a truly great oil. I don't know why it is not recommended more often. It cost the same as the S2000 but I believe it has a higher ester content. This oil ranks with Redline and GC as one to the best. Any oil will thicken around 10,000 miles.
Wow thats pretty cool. Thats what im running now although im not going that high.
This is an awesome report. I almost couldn't believe the numbers at first, then I realized he is using a bypass filter (I missed this initially.) My guess is the bypass filter makes a huge difference.
A comment on the oil thickening. Many of you (TeeDub in particular) know 10 times more than I do about oil (so I'll put the flamesuit on), but there a few cases where the oil thins a bit and then thickens later. My current run of M1 0W20 is at 12k and I have seen no thickening. The oil started at 8.48 cst@100C and is now at 7.85 cst@100C, the oil has been in service since Sept 29, 2006, it may thicken in the warmer weather, I plan to check it every 2k out to 20000 if it holds up. Latest UOA here .
Dennis
A comment on the oil thickening. Many of you (TeeDub in particular) know 10 times more than I do about oil (so I'll put the flamesuit on), but there a few cases where the oil thins a bit and then thickens later. My current run of M1 0W20 is at 12k and I have seen no thickening. The oil started at 8.48 cst@100C and is now at 7.85 cst@100C, the oil has been in service since Sept 29, 2006, it may thicken in the warmer weather, I plan to check it every 2k out to 20000 if it holds up. Latest UOA here .
Dennis
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