Castrol Syntec 5w30 01 Pathfinder 3.5L 3870 miles on oil

[thedawk]

EQUIPMENT MAKE: Nissan
EQUIPMENT MODEL: 3.5L V6
FUEL TYPE: Gasoline (Unleaded)
OIL USE INTERVAL: 3870 Miles
OIL TYPE & GRADE: Castrol Syntec 5W-30
MAKE-UP OIL ADDED: 0 qts
ADDITIONAL INFO: Puolator PurOne PL14610, unknown air filter.

Blackstone Info:
DENNIS: You kept this oil in use 3870 miles, and that interval produced nearly perfect wear results. The universal averages column shows typical wear from this type of engine after about 4600 miles on the oil. Your wear levels are well below those levels. We found no harmful contamination in the oil that would cause you a problem; no excessive fule, coolant, or moisture was present. Air and oil filtration (see silicon and insolubles, respectively) were functioning normally whille this oil was in use. No problems found. The TBN read 1.1, showing little additive in the oil.

MI/HR ON OIL: 3870
MI/HR ON UNTI: 57,923
SAMPLE DATE: 06/27/04

CURRENT #'S/UNIV #'S

ALUM: 2/4
CHROM: 1/1
IRON: 4/14
COPPER: 1/8
LEAD: 2/6
TIN: 0/1
MOLY: 34/50
NICKLE: 0/0
MANG: 0/1
SILVER: 0/0
TITAN: 0/0
POTASS: 0/1
BORON: 10/87
SILICON: 15/12
SODIUM: 3/6
CALCIUM: 2669/2463
MAGNES: 13/229
PHOSPH: 662/740
ZINC: 757/879
BARIUM: 0/0

SUS VISC.@ 210: 60.3
FLASH: 390
FUEL%: ANTI: 0.0
WATER: 0.0
INSOL'S: 0.4


My comments: This is my first UOA and I'm guessing everything looks pretty good. I did change the air filter at this oil change and it was very dirty, so hopefully the silicon will come down some. I did notice that the TBN seems pretty low ith only 3870 miles on it. I don't know if this is very signifigant or not. The car does see an even mix of sitting in hot traffic for long periods as well as highway travel. This oil was in the use from April until the end of June.

thedawk

 

[Whimsey]

Your wear #'s look good. Your silicon is a bit high but it hasn't affected the wear so I wouldn't be concerned about it. It might just be the nature of your engine. What is surprising is the TBN of 1.1 after less than 3900 miles. I wonder what was the TBN of the oil new. Is this your first use of Syntec 5W-30? And if so what oil was used previously? If you're going to pay $4.50+/- per qt for "synthetic" oil maybe you might want look at Mobil 1. It should hold up better and you can increase your OCI's. Or if your are going to stay in the 4,000 mile range maybe you should consider a good dino oil like a Havoline, Penzoil or better yet Motorcraft 5W-30. Walmart is now selling that weight in the new synthetic blend. At a $1.42/qt it's a steal. I used Motorcraft 5W-30(old non-blend)in my wifes Explorer with 5,000 mi OCI's and got real good UOA's.

Whimsey

 

[thedawk]

Thanks for the reply Whimsey,
The previous oil in use was Syntec Blend 5w-30 for several oil changes before this. I now have GC 0W-30 and plan on another UOA to compare. I agrre with you about the TBN. Blackstone says that anything above 1 is still OK, so this oil has just about had it according to their previous recommendations that I have seen on this board. I would expect this oil to be able to hold up better than 3870 miles, so I doubt that I will ever use it again.

thedawk

 

[Al]

Well you addressed the silicon and put in another oil. That TBN was terrible for that oil length.

I wold suggest you go with the larger filter. I believe Purolator does not carry another larger for Nissan. However you can use Supertech/Fram and I think Bosch has the same # 7317. K&N is HP1010 Mobil I is M1-110. For other brands look up Maxima year 2000 filter.

If you go to Nissan and get their filter ask for the larger filter. The larger filter might do a better job and help you out with the insolubles which may help the whole analysis.

 

[unDummy]

I hate syntec so my opionions will be biased. I've also seen worse UOAs on Vq's with other oils. Why isn't anyone using the synthetic "cleaning effect" since previous oils were blends?
I guess that with your driving style, 4k is the limit for this oil. Since this oil is not cheap, its not cost effective.
I bet that the GC will do better. I also bet that after a rinse, Mobil1 0w40/5w30/0w30/10w30 would also post some good numbers for you!

How long do you plan on running the 0w30?

The 14610/14620 filters can be upsized to the 14459/24458/20073 is there is room, but pureone might not be available in all sizes.

 

[thedawk]

Yeah, I've been considering trying to find a larger filter to put on there. I have really been wanting to try the K&N HP1010 but havn't been able to find one in any of the local parts stores here. There is plenty of room to install a larger one, so maybe I'll do that the next oil change. I was planning on running the GC up to 5 or 6 thousand. I havn't seen any bad UOAs for the GC so I'm thinking it should be alright here also. Thank for all the input.

thedawk

 

[Al]

quote:

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Originally posted by thedawk:
Yeah, I've been considering trying to find a larger filter to put on there. I have really been wanting to try the K&N HP1010 but havn't been able to find one in any of the local parts stores here. There is plenty of room to install a larger one, so maybe I'll do that the next oil change. I was planning on running the GC up to 5 or 6 thousand. I havn't seen any bad UOAs for the GC so I'm thinking it should be alright here also. Thank for all the input.

thedawk

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HP-1010 is available at Autozone and Advance Auto. They usually don't carry the 1010 in stock. But its available in a day at Advance for sure and possibly Autozone.

 

[ekpolk]

Reading together the fantastic wear results and the very low remaining TBN, is the lesson from this UOA that Group-III Syntec does a fine job as long as it's treated like what it really is -- a mineral oil??? From yet another point of view, I'm left thinking about this what I've thought all along: Castrol can call it "synthetic" all they want but it's still actually a mineral oil. If it waddles on webbed feet, has feathers and quacks, I can call it an elephant all day. . .

My other thought on this is that while the numbers do look good on their face, when you reduce to a per mile figure, it's still good, but not as impressive.

 

[dropitby]

As you see mixed views but this is another good report by Castrol Syntec. The Pure One filter is doing a good job I would add a new NAPA Gold air filter or a WIX.The Castrol Blend also gives great oil reports so unless you want to change for more more TBN I would add a few oz. of MOLABREW along the way so this and the new air filter should produce steller UOA at 5-6K.The GC I just put in my wifes car is going 5000 till I check it.NAPA Gold Air filter Pure One Oil filter and 3 oz of MOLABREW. That the ticket I hope but we'll see.

 

[newtoncd8]

Thanks for this report. Because of the low TBN at 3870 miles, I just changed our '04 Lexus RX330 from Castrol Syntec 5W30 to Mobil 1 5W30. I only run a 5,000 mile interval, but I am not sure Castrol could have made it. I just drained the Castrol Syntec (it has 5,100 miles on it), but I forgot to get a sample and have already recycled it.

I started using the Syntec because of the solid UOA's across the board with both Castrol Syntec and Syntec blend. But, with this latest one and the Lexus LX470 Mobil 1 report, I just figured perhaps Mobil 1 works better in Toyota/Lexus engines.

[ September 16, 2004, 05:00 PM: Message edited by: Curtis Newton ]

 

[buster]

quote:

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That TBN was terrible for that oil length.

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My biggest problem with Castrol Syntec is that the TBN on most UOA's with it is very poor for a $5qt oil. Talk about over priced.