Castrol GTX 5 w 20 Grand Caravan 3.8

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Your feedback will be appreciated. I think that the GTX is doing a better job, do you agree ? if not please explain, I want to learn
Thanks to all of you guys !!

Dodge Grand Caravan 2006 3.8 ltr

New vehicule, first sample skipped, starting on the second one

I'm planning to extend the interval from about 5000 km to 7500km

,Time on oil and filter

First column 4963 km Q.S peak perf.5w20

Second column 5300km Q.S P.Perf. 5w20

Third column 4579km Castrol GTX 5w20




silicone : 17 / 11 / 11

Potassium : 0.8 / 0.0 / 1.9

Sodium : 30 / 1.8 / 222

Fuel : 0.0 / 0.0 / 0.0

Glycol : neg / neg / neg

Water: neg / neg / neg

Soot: neg / neg / neg

Sulfation: 39 / 41 / 11

Nitration: 26 / 29 / 9

Boron : 171 / 204 / 31

Barium : Neg / neg / neg

Calcium : 1601 / 1738 / 1881

Magnesium : 7.6 / 11 / 10

Moly : 51 / 49 / 64

Sodium : 30 / 1.8 / 222

Phosphorus : 597 / 719 / 675

Sulfur : 2603 / 2962 / 2053

Zinc : 793 / 864 / 851

Visc @ 100C 7.7 / 7.6 / 8.6

Oxidation : 44 / 47 / 13

Tan : -- / 2.15 / ---

TBN : --- / --- / 3.86

Iron : 17 / 16 / 8.4

Nickel : 0.0 / 0.0 / 0.2

Chromium : .06 / .08 / .08

Titanium : 0.1 / 0.1 / 0.0

Copper : 94 / 72 / 37

Aluminum : 4.5 / 3.5 / 4.1

Tin : 0.0 / 0.7 / 0.1

Lead : 0.0 / 0.1 / 0.1

silver : 0.0 / 0.1 / 0.1
 
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The only true way to compare both brands - is to run these two brands side-by-side after engine break-in. For instance: Had you started in 2006 with the GTX - then moved into the QS as the vehicle engine breaks-in, you may have seen the reverse with these brands.
 
Nobody's concerned by the huge increase in sodium between Castrol and Q.States ? I wonder if the sodium is parts of their add pack.
Can you tell me why Castrol is counting on sodium to protect an engine ? In other words what sodium is doing ;-))
 
Sodium = anti-oxidant. Normal additive in GTX, but only in 5w20 grade. Good reports. Both QS and Gtx will serve you well
 
The copper numbers are very high, but at least coming down.

Looks like GTX has done the best overall but any of them may have produced a better-than-previous result as the engine gets past break-in.

This looks like a Wearcheck analysis, in which case the Oxidation/Nitration/Sulfation numbers may not be very meaningful.
 
Originally Posted By: va3ux
The copper numbers are very high, but at least coming down.

Looks like GTX has done the best overall but any of them may have produced a better-than-previous result as the engine gets past break-in.

This looks like a Wearcheck analysis, in which case the Oxidation/Nitration/Sulfation numbers may not be very meaningful.


They are all from Wearcheck, can you explain a little more about their reading not beeing very meaningfull ;-))
 
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Wearcheck's ox/nit/sulf numbers are not actual percentages, that's why they are meaningless since you cannot compare them to other labs.
 
As Patman said, Wearcheck does not report the actual true reading for those tests, which are measured in absorbance units/cm. Instead they take those readings (abs/cm), compare them to all the data they have for the last 100,000 samples in their data base, rank your reading on a percentile basis, and then report that. So an Oxidation value of "44" from Wearcheck simply means that your oxidation was higher than 44% of the readings in their database, but lower than the remaining 56%. But that's not telling you what your actual number was. And you're being compared to UOA from diesels, natural gas engines and who knows what else. Further, to do these readings properly, they should have asked for a sample of the original virgin oil you used for a baseline reading, but they never do. They're referencing some generic standard.

This is the reason I switched from Wearcheck to FluidLife. Fluidlife reports the actual reading (abs/cm) and they ask for a sample of the virgin oil IF they don't already have that data in their database.

But don't worry too much. This info is really most useful only for someone trying to really extend oil drain intervals to the max, or for engines that are known to place heavy oxidation/nitration loada on the oil. If your engine doesn't fall into that category, then Wearcheck is otherwise just fine. Examples : EGR increases nitration rate; high engine temp and blowby increase oxidation rate; natural gas engines place high nitration load on oil; turbochargers increase oxidation rate, etc etc.

Someone properly schooled in oil analysis (not me) would be able to use these numbers to predict varnishing or sludging conditions, and/or end of oil life based on these numbers. I'm interested in them because my 2.7L V6 employs EGR and high internal temps, and this engine is known for higher oxidation/nitration load than many 'normal' engines. If I were running a GM 3.8L V6, I probably couldn't care less about them.
 
5000 km = 3125 mi
7500 km = 4687 mi


I don't see any reason why you can't go with a 8000 km (5000 mi) OCI. That would be my limit. Depending on your daily driving distance and climate I would consider a 4000 mi (6400 km) OCI during the winter months if you don't use a block heater in extreme cold temps.
 
I'm planning to extend to 7500 km. I'm a firm believer in the OLM since I'm following it on other vehicule with a very good succes. I cant see why the old 3.8 from Mopar would behave different than a GM V6 .My last 2 UOA on a 3.1 GM with 115000 km and 9300 km on the oil came back with great result only the silicon was a bit High .

Dodge recommend a 5000km interval and the vehicule is leased, thats why I was following their directive, but who cares now as long as the UOA reports are good !!!

Thanks , 2000 km to go before the next report , stay tune
smile.gif
 
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