Are Turbos Hard on Oil?

[buster]

And where are those tests?

Run ESP on the GM Turbo test or IIIH and get back to me. You can't. Being you can't you don't know if it is better.

Two things that keep popping up from people that are complete nonsense:

All API licensed oils are formulted to barely meet the specs. Not true.
Euro oils by default are better than API oils that greatly exceed the stringent GM Turbo, TEOST, IIIH, IVB tests. Not true.

 

[edyvw]

Run ESP on the GM Turbo test or IIIH and get back to me. You can't. Being you can't you don't know if it is better.

Two things that keep popping up from people that are complete nonsense:

All API licensed oils are formulted to barely meet the specs. Not true.
Euro oils by default are better than API oils that greatly exceed the stringent GM Turbo, TEOST, IIIH, IVB tests. Not true.

Where did I say I can?
I only told you that other party approvals are a much better indication of quality than marketing by the blender.
You are still pushing blender marketing. Obviously, the point of approval is a bit complicated to understand.

 

[buster]

Where did I say I can?
I only told you that other party approvals are a much better indication of quality than marketing by the blender.
You are still pushing blender marketing. Obviously, the point of approval is a bit complicated to understand.

Fair enough. It just seems to me there is some overlap/gray area. Carry on.

There are top tier oils built on SP/API add packs that are some of the best oils on the market.

The Extended Drain API oils changed everything.

 

[edyvw]

Fair enough. It just seems to me there is some overlap/gray area. Carry on.

There are top tier oils built on SP/API add packs that are some of the best oils on the market.

I did not say it is not good oil. I said there are better.

 

[GI_GRIFF]

I did not say it is not good oil. I said there are better.

I am sure glad you two ole Bitog veterans made-up. That was intense!

 

[buster]

I fully admit I've been stubborn about it and have given @edyvw a hard time about it.

 

[Blagoje]

Saying Euro oils are the end all be all because they meet some super inside secretive Euro spec is complete bs. LOL

For my specific engine the jury is out, two of the best performing lubes are Pennzoil Ultra Platium 0W20 and Castrol EDGE Extended Performance 0w20 with Pennzoil Ultra Platium very clearly being the superior performer (per UOA data) even though it is a standard RC oil versus Castrol EDGE Extended Performance that carries the MB 229.71 certification.

 

[Hohn]

I think so, but modern oils are designed to handle it. Inside the turbo bearings themselves the oil can get very hot. It’s a demanding application.

With the advent of water cooling on most bearing housings, most turbo engines aren't much harder on oil than non turbo engines.

People forget that the old style turbos had a lot of oil flow primarily for cooling-- the oil dedicated to lubrication was very little (most bearing housings had an inlet orifice to restrict oil to the bearings and divert most of it to the housing.


With water cooling, the heat rejection to the oil is drastically less as is the effect on oil oxidation as a result.

 

[kschachn]

For my specific engine the jury is out, two of the best performing lubes are Pennzoil Ultra Platium 0W20 and Castrol EDGE Extended Performance 0w20 with Pennzoil Ultra Platium very clearly being the superior performer (per UOA data) even though it is a standard RC oil versus Castrol EDGE Extended Performance that carries the MB 229.71 certification.

A random spectrographic analysis cannot in any way determine relative oil quality as you're describing here.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

Seems like a silly question, but I figured I'd ask anyways. We just picked up a used 2018 Chevrolet Equinox with 91k miles from a dealer. 1.5l Turbo LYX. Oil was freshly changed when we bought it....no signs of sludge from what I could see through the oil filler. Runs great. No complaints.

I just did the 1st oil change this past weekend at 1k miles to get the unknown dealer commodity stuff out of there and put in some Valvoline Restore and Protect to clean up any deposits. Unknown maintenance but I figured a few OCI's of Valvoline Restore and Protect wouldn't hurt.

When we bought it the oil was brand new looking. After 1k miles it had darkened significantly on the dip stick and when i drained it it looked very dark, like it was due for an oil change. The other thing I was surprised at was how HOT the oil was!!! I normally take my vehicles for a short drive to get the oil good and warm/hot before changing.

This oil was super hot! I could barely turn the drain bolt by hand it was that hot. Surprised me a bit actually.

So that brings me to my question. Are turbo engines harder on oil than non-turbo engines? If so, what in the oil tends to wear down fastest? Does it shear faster than non-turbo'd engines? Does the oil oxidize faster? Anything else I'm not aware of? Just looking for some education. Thanks!

**EDIT** I should mention we don't drive the car aggressively but my wife does A LOT of short trips and idling. So for that, we fall in the severe maintenance category. I drive it to work once per week on the highway (45 miles each way) for the fun of it.

Turbos aren’t necessarily hard on the proper oil. Poorly formulated oils are hard on turbos.

 

[Blagoje]

A random spectrographic analysis cannot in any way determine relative oil quality as you're describing here.

Well it's a good thing that I have a spreadsheet of several dozen UOA samples of what I'm describing.

 

[kschachn]

Well it's a good thing that I have a spreadsheet of several dozen used oil analysis samples of what I'm describing.

How many used oil analysis do you need to determine you have a statistically valid sample size? When do you cancel out all of the many variables from everyday driving?

Besides, as long as the HT/HS is sufficient for your engine and driving style, wear is not a concern. But what about all the other things an approval guarantees? Such as oxidation resistance, sludge and deposit formation, etc? What do you look at on that used oil analysis to see how the oil is doing in those areas?

 

[Blagoje]

How many used oil analysis do you need to determine you have a statistically valid sample size? When do you cancel out all of the many variables from everyday driving?

Besides, as long as the HT/HS is sufficient for your engine and driving style, wear is not a concern. But what about all the other things an approval guarantees? Such as oxidation resistance, sludge and deposit formation, etc? What do you look at on that used oil analysis to see how the oil is doing in those areas?

I think you should contact the people that operate this website as well as any used oil analysis provider and tell them to shut all their operations down because nothing they do means anything.

 

[kschachn]

I think you should contact the people that operate this website as well as any used oil analysis provider and tell them to shut all their operations down because nothing they do means anything.

Or note that it’s rampant to have posters put an excessive amount of importance on $35 used oil analysis and attempt to extract far deeper conclusions than is warranted.

Does the actual ASTM test for comparative wear between oils use a spectrographic analysis?

 

[Wireman1987]

Seems like a silly question, but I figured I'd ask anyways. We just picked up a used 2018 Chevrolet Equinox with 91k miles from a dealer. 1.5l Turbo LYX. Oil was freshly changed when we bought it....no signs of sludge from what I could see through the oil filler. Runs great. No complaints.

I just did the 1st oil change this past weekend at 1k miles to get the unknown dealer commodity stuff out of there and put in some Valvoline Restore and Protect to clean up any deposits. Unknown maintenance but I figured a few OCI's of Valvoline Restore and Protect wouldn't hurt.

When we bought it the oil was brand new looking. After 1k miles it had darkened significantly on the dip stick and when i drained it it looked very dark, like it was due for an oil change. The other thing I was surprised at was how HOT the oil was!!! I normally take my vehicles for a short drive to get the oil good and warm/hot before changing.

This oil was super hot! I could barely turn the drain bolt by hand it was that hot. Surprised me a bit actually.

So that brings me to my question. Are turbo engines harder on oil than non-turbo engines? If so, what in the oil tends to wear down fastest? Does it shear faster than non-turbo'd engines? Does the oil oxidize faster? Anything else I'm not aware of? Just looking for some education. Thanks!

**EDIT** I should mention we don't drive the car aggressively but my wife does A LOT of short trips and idling. So for that, we fall in the severe maintenance category. I drive it to work once per week on the highway (45 miles each way) for the fun of it.

I wouldn’t worry much about it, 5k/6month oci's. As mentioned turbos are water cooled and oils of the now can withstand turbocharged engines even 0W20

 

[Wylie6G72]

Wife’s KONA 1.6T is the same way. 0w-20 with no alternative. So naturally after the dealer change, I dropped the oil and filled with Mobil 1 ESP 0w-30. It seems to like it as well as my 2.5T CX-5.

What year is the Kona? My '24 Forte 1.6T specifies 5w30. Maybe it's Gamma vs. Smartstream depending on what yours has.

 

[Propflux01]

What year is the Kona? My '24 Forte 1.6T specifies 5w30. Maybe it's Gamma vs. Smartstream depending on what yours has.

2025 smartstream

 

[wemay]

There are hundreds of thousands of high mileage turbo equipped vehicles on the road using nothing but dealer bulk Blends.


Two explorers reach 500k miles on mixed cycle runs...one on Valvoline Conventional




F150 200k miles on Motorcraft Blend

 

[Wireman1987]

There are hundreds of thousands of high mileage turbo equipped vehicles on the road using nothing but dealer bulk Blends.


Two explorers reach 500k miles on mixed cycle runs...one on Valvoline Conventional




F150 200k miles on Motorcraft Blend

mentality many are brought up with that premium names and paying more for a product gets you something better.

 

[Jetronic]

Seems like a silly question, but I figured I'd ask anyways. We just picked up a used 2018 Chevrolet Equinox with 91k miles from a dealer. 1.5l Turbo LYX. Oil was freshly changed when we bought it....no signs of sludge from what I could see through the oil filler. Runs great. No complaints.

I just did the 1st oil change this past weekend at 1k miles to get the unknown dealer commodity stuff out of there and put in some Valvoline Restore and Protect to clean up any deposits. Unknown maintenance but I figured a few OCI's of Valvoline Restore and Protect wouldn't hurt.

When we bought it the oil was brand new looking. After 1k miles it had darkened significantly on the dip stick and when i drained it it looked very dark, like it was due for an oil change. The other thing I was surprised at was how HOT the oil was!!! I normally take my vehicles for a short drive to get the oil good and warm/hot before changing.

This oil was super hot! I could barely turn the drain bolt by hand it was that hot. Surprised me a bit actually.

So that brings me to my question. Are turbo engines harder on oil than non-turbo engines? If so, what in the oil tends to wear down fastest? Does it shear faster than non-turbo'd engines? Does the oil oxidize faster? Anything else I'm not aware of? Just looking for some education. Thanks!

**EDIT** I should mention we don't drive the car aggressively but my wife does A LOT of short trips and idling. So for that, we fall in the severe maintenance category. I drive it to work once per week on the highway (45 miles each way) for the fun of it.

Every 1.5 ecotec that I've seen tore down is heavily varnished. Either they are hard on oil, the oil minder is lacking or people just don't change the oil when it's due