'97 Nissan Maxima with the VQ30 engine. 115,984 miles on vehicle, 2965 on oil (approx 3 months). Oil was Castrol Syntec 0w30 (GC) Gold. Oil filter was OEM Nissan 15208-9E000, which supposedly has been discontinued for an even smaller thimble (I mean filter). Air filter is a Purolator Pure One. Driving style is moderate, but it is run hard on ocassion. Engine is fully warmed up before I romp on it. Mostly short trips of less than 10 miles round trip, but usually atleast a weekly interstate run of 70+ miles round trip. Idling is kept at a minimum, and living in Louisiana, it's not like I have to warm the car to defrost the windshield (like I did living in Ohio). I get in, crank car, make my adjustments, and go gently (under 3000 rpm) for the first few miles. This run also had a PCV catch can installed, which collected about 10 ml every ~400 miles or so. MMO or Lucas UCL is used in about every tank at just below recommended dosage rates. Fuel economy averages about 22 mpg with mostly city driving, but has been up to 29.8 mpg on an all interstate long trip. This is consistent (or better) with the EPA mileage figures for the car. This run is also the OCI after a rinse phase for an AutoRx run. Temps have been moderate, always above freezing but below 90*F.
The first two used oil analysis (both dated in '03) were with Mobil 1 5w30. Because of the wear in them (see Iron and Lead), Mobil 1 has not been used since. I'm not knocking Mobil 1 (unless that's popular this week), but rather just stating my car didn't seem to like it. And yes, it was much louder than the Castrol GTX run before and after it. GC is even quieter than GTX. No, I don't have objective high-tech audio tests to confirm this. It is just my subjective opinion (plus my wife noticed, so that alone should confirm it as absolute fact).
I had also used a K&N panel filter for them, so it probably contributed heavily to the wear (notice the high silicon). It has not been used since. Interestingly, a closer inspection of my K&N revealed super small holes in the media that I could see with my naked eyes. I'm no longer a fan. Maybe I should take the sticker off my airbox now.
MI/HR ON OIL 2,965 UNIT / 3,793 4,840
MI/HR ON UNIT 115,984 LOCATION 75,193 71,400 UNIVERSAL
SAMPLE DATE 12/13/06 AVERAGES 04/24/03 12/19/03 AVERAGES
1/13/06 Unit AVG 04/24/03 12/19/03 Universal AVG
ALUMINUM 2 4 5 5 4
CHROMIUM 1 1 2 1 2
IRON 5 20 35 21 13
COPPER 2 3 3 5 4
LEAD 14 35 61 31 9
TIN 0 0 0 0 1
MOLYBDENUM 9 46 67 62 61
NICKEL 0 0 0 0 0
MANGANESE 0 1 1 1 1
SILVER 0 0 0 0 0
TITANIUM 0 0 0 0 0
POTASSIUM 1 1 0 1 1
BORON 0 76 145 83 39
SILICON 11 18 26 18 12
SODIUM 2 7 8 10 8
CALCIUM 1559 2128 2398 2416 2037
MAGNESIUM 420 159 23 35 270
PHOSPHORUS 764 741 712 748 764
ZINC 860 833 852 788 901
BARIUM 0 0 0 0 0
SUS Flashpoint Fuel Antifreeze Water Insolubles
Viscosity In *F @ 210 *F
Should Be 58-65 >385
VALUES WERE 62.7 390
Blackstone comments: DAVID: Thanks you for the information about everything you did during this last oil change iterval of 2965 miles. All wear metals and silicon were lower than the last sample of April 2003. Most of those wear metals read below universal averages but lead (bearings) was a bit higher than normal, likely due to some of the various additives you used. Lead should decrease in the future. No contaminants found. The oil's viscosity and filtration (see insolubles) were normal. Try 3500 miles for next oil change and check back for another look at lead before considering longer oil use.
I'm currently using GC gold with an OEM Nissan filter and Pure One air filter. My PCV catch can is not installed as I'm rebending some stainless line to relocate it. This has taken me quite awhile due to medical considerations. But it should be back on during my next OCI (next month probably), when I'll get another UOA. Will be interesting to see back-to-back used oil analysis of the same car with the same oil and filters, but one run with a catch can and the other without. I don't really know if it'll make a difference.
Sorry for the length, but I wanted to get all the information posted. I also apologize for the spacing, I just couldn't get it to space right by copy/paste or inserting spaces manually. I'll try to get a photobucket account or something and post the actual .pdf image there, then link to it here. Any and all comments are welcome.
Semper Fi,
Dave
The first two used oil analysis (both dated in '03) were with Mobil 1 5w30. Because of the wear in them (see Iron and Lead), Mobil 1 has not been used since. I'm not knocking Mobil 1 (unless that's popular this week), but rather just stating my car didn't seem to like it. And yes, it was much louder than the Castrol GTX run before and after it. GC is even quieter than GTX. No, I don't have objective high-tech audio tests to confirm this. It is just my subjective opinion (plus my wife noticed, so that alone should confirm it as absolute fact).
I had also used a K&N panel filter for them, so it probably contributed heavily to the wear (notice the high silicon). It has not been used since. Interestingly, a closer inspection of my K&N revealed super small holes in the media that I could see with my naked eyes. I'm no longer a fan. Maybe I should take the sticker off my airbox now.
MI/HR ON OIL 2,965 UNIT / 3,793 4,840
MI/HR ON UNIT 115,984 LOCATION 75,193 71,400 UNIVERSAL
SAMPLE DATE 12/13/06 AVERAGES 04/24/03 12/19/03 AVERAGES
1/13/06 Unit AVG 04/24/03 12/19/03 Universal AVG
ALUMINUM 2 4 5 5 4
CHROMIUM 1 1 2 1 2
IRON 5 20 35 21 13
COPPER 2 3 3 5 4
LEAD 14 35 61 31 9
TIN 0 0 0 0 1
MOLYBDENUM 9 46 67 62 61
NICKEL 0 0 0 0 0
MANGANESE 0 1 1 1 1
SILVER 0 0 0 0 0
TITANIUM 0 0 0 0 0
POTASSIUM 1 1 0 1 1
BORON 0 76 145 83 39
SILICON 11 18 26 18 12
SODIUM 2 7 8 10 8
CALCIUM 1559 2128 2398 2416 2037
MAGNESIUM 420 159 23 35 270
PHOSPHORUS 764 741 712 748 764
ZINC 860 833 852 788 901
BARIUM 0 0 0 0 0
SUS Flashpoint Fuel Antifreeze Water Insolubles
Viscosity In *F @ 210 *F
Should Be 58-65 >385
VALUES WERE 62.7 390
Blackstone comments: DAVID: Thanks you for the information about everything you did during this last oil change iterval of 2965 miles. All wear metals and silicon were lower than the last sample of April 2003. Most of those wear metals read below universal averages but lead (bearings) was a bit higher than normal, likely due to some of the various additives you used. Lead should decrease in the future. No contaminants found. The oil's viscosity and filtration (see insolubles) were normal. Try 3500 miles for next oil change and check back for another look at lead before considering longer oil use.
I'm currently using GC gold with an OEM Nissan filter and Pure One air filter. My PCV catch can is not installed as I'm rebending some stainless line to relocate it. This has taken me quite awhile due to medical considerations. But it should be back on during my next OCI (next month probably), when I'll get another UOA. Will be interesting to see back-to-back used oil analysis of the same car with the same oil and filters, but one run with a catch can and the other without. I don't really know if it'll make a difference.
Sorry for the length, but I wanted to get all the information posted. I also apologize for the spacing, I just couldn't get it to space right by copy/paste or inserting spaces manually. I'll try to get a photobucket account or something and post the actual .pdf image there, then link to it here. Any and all comments are welcome.
Semper Fi,
Dave
