Chevron 5w-30, 9417 miles, 2008 Impala 3.5

[Tucson Five-O]

Hey Guys,

I finally got around to doing my first UOA. Ran to within 25 miles of 0% OLM. Driving conditions are as close to ideal as possible. 80-85% highway driving from Tucson to Phoenix. Speeds 65-85mph. Temperature range encountered for Dec 2-May 9 OCI was 25-100F. No warmup idling used, just what is necessary in city driving getting to the freeway. OLM theoretical maximum is 12500, so the 9417 is about 75% of that. Used a PureOne oil filter.

I was very impressed with the stable viscosity of the Chevron Dino. 9.7 is the nominal viscosity so I guess the Ornite additive package and the Group II+ are pretty shear-proof. And I'm sure I could have gone about 10-20% further by resetting the OLM judging by the 2.4TBN.

Switched to the new Pennzoil Conventional 5w30, partially to see how the high boron additive package works and as an intermediate step as the next oil will be Pennzoil Ultra. My goal is to run the PU to 150% of the OLM range to start, and ultimately down to 1.5TBN (whichever comes first).
So we'll all see whether synthetic oil is economically viable in an engine that's easy on oil but doesn't need it (no
Any comments are welcomed.

Take care,
Gary

 

[FL_Rob]

Chevron 5w30,seems outstanding on dino.very nice.

 

[5sfe91]

9,000+ miles on dino OMG some people might have a cow lol

 

[addyguy]

Very, very impressive results. Next to Petro-Canada, Chevron/Havoline oils are my favourite without a doubt.

I'm done numerous 8-9k runs on PC 5w30 conventional, which actually has a very similar add-pack to this; and with more city driving, my TBN is a little lower than what you got, but still above 0.

 

[webfors]

Nice report!

 

[buster]

Nice report. CVX always made good oils.

I'd like to see how clean the piston rings are though over time using a conventional oil this long.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: buster
Nice report. CVX always made good oils.

I'd like to see how clean the piston rings are though over time using a conventional oil this long.

Would most daily drivers even see oil temperatures high enough where a synthetic oil would be beneficial towards preventing oil coking? I seriously doubt it.

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: buster
Nice report. CVX always made good oils.

I'd like to see how clean the piston rings are though over time using a conventional oil this long.

Would most daily drivers even see oil temperatures high enough where a synthetic oil would be beneficial towards preventing oil coking? I seriously doubt it.


Depends on how you drive the car, the type of car etc.. In most engines, probably not. It is clear though that the industry is demanding oils that handle piston cleanliness better. Just take a look at Lubrizol's GF-5 chart. Synthetics are the future, people need to get over it.


http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_xcPUl6xu56w/S9aKFHr5L5I/AAAAAAAAAF8/faTN-kS-3Fs/s1600/GF5+chart.bmp

 

[saberz]

Very nice to know that the 3.5L V6 can go that long and be easy on oil(have it in my 6er). I'll be going down the Formula Shell route myself after this fill.

 

[stranger706]

Wow, most people won't even run synthetics that long. Very impressive.

 

[zddp77]

Who says you cant extend your drain with conv. oil , this proves you can. The new GF-5 spec. will make synthetic oil obsolete. The difference in synthetic and conv. will just be marketing.

 

[Gary Allan]

That OLM is truly a masterpiece. It clearly removes most of the fudge factors that the OEM HAS to cipher to cover most of the people most of the time. You've got an on board authoritative expert.

It's unfortunate that they don't have counters to record some of the data points. Right now there are people attributing this to how great the oil is (which it is), but what we're mostly seeing is the relative non-severity of the usage.

 

[JT1]

Originally Posted By: zddp77
Who says you cant extend your drain with conv. oil , this proves you can. The new GF-5 spec. will make synthetic oil obsolete. The difference in synthetic and conv. will just be marketing.


For the majority of automotive engines this may be true, but I doubt I will live to see a day when we start using conventional oils in our gas turbine engines. In other words a TRUE synthetic will LIKELY never be trumped by a mineral based oil.

 

[zddp77]

I'am talking about automotive use.

 

[Mokanic]

Is this the exact same oil as Havoline Deposit Shield? Are moly numbers the same for both?

 

[Tucson Five-O]

I think that several factors make this UOA seem impressive:

1. Close to ideal operating conditions. As we all know cold and short trips are the enemy of oil life, as the oil doesn't get hot enough to burn off fuel/water contaminants. Heat isn't the enemy as long as the oil temperatures don't go above the design specifications. For modern Group II/II+ what would that be? >250F? I think that any viscosity loss due to heating would be inconsequential with regards to wear and oil usage.
The climate here in southern AZ is ideal. Very little cold, damp weather and again the heat in the summer is no worse than what Bill in Utah speaks of (~110+F), just more prolonged. It doesn't harm modern engines with good cooling systems, it HELPS prolong engine life by bringing the oil temperature up to the coolant temperature and slightly above quicker.

2.Virtually no city driving. I take 2-4 trips to Phoenix per week (business/pleasure). 125 miles there, 5-10 miles of city driving on both ends, then 125 miles back.

3. Using good filters to their design limits. Fram air filter was changed at 40000 miles. I believe that the air filtering improves with age. Oil filter is PureOne. I'm going to try to stay with the PureOne, even when I switch to PU and really lengthen the OCI. As long as the insolubles stay low, why switch to Mobil 1/DistancePlus/RP oil filters?

4. This engine is a decidedly low rpm/low performance engine. 85mph=2200rpm. I've had the engine to 5000rpm maybe eight times in 40000 miles.

5. I use only Chevron/Shell gas so I'm sure the intake valves are clean and the engine is in like new shape.

6. Tires are kept at +3 lbs. over factory recommended settings. No fast starts, so this engine is babied, using as little fuel as possible to get me from point A to B.

And lastly, I do believe in technology, both with the OLM and modern oils. I too am very impressed by the GM OLM system, which I think is even conservative judging by the final TBN here.

I'm going to run the you know what out of the PU when I get through the Pennzoil Conventional run, which I will probably lengthen to OLM +10% given its 8.4 starting TBN vs. Chevron 7.5-7.6 starting TBN.

If the PU doesn't pan out from an OCI vs. cost analysis as dnewton3 and Bill in Utah frequently discuss, then it's either Chevron/Havoline DS (although no Havoline to be found now in AZ) or Pennzoil Conventional, depending on the final wear numbers. I don't think the Chevron viscosity stability can be beat in a dino, but I'll tolerate a little shear with the Pennzoil Conventional if the FE/Cu wear numbers are consistently lower.

So at 30K miles/year I should be done with Pennzoil Conventional and into PU to start the long-term SSO-like test about October.

Take care,
Gary

 

[Tucson Five-O]

I am more of a syn guy than dino, but as I've learned here from many posters, if the engine doesn't need it, then the cost to run PU or Mobil 1 Extended Performance (I'm not even going to try Castrol Edge) better be worth it, concerning being able to extend the OCI. I'll cut the Group III/IV synthetics a little slack in the final cost analysis for their extra cleaning abilities as Chevron can be had for under $28 for 12 qts. at Costco here.

I have no concerns over staying with Chevron or Pennzoil conventional long-term regarding oil deposits and ring pack cleanliness if the PU/Mobil 1 Extended Performance aren't cost effective. I really believe in GroupII+ oils keeping the engine clean down to 1.3-1.5 TBN levels at drain time.

And yes Mokanic, my understanding is Havoline DS and Chevron Supreme are the same oil. Just marketing decisions from Chevron/Texaco where to sell/bottle it. The east seems to have the Havoline DS now. Out west we have the Chevron Supreme.

Take care,
Gary

 

[Tucson Five-O]

And concerning the GM OLM I agree with Gary Allan and Bill in Utah. ALL car manufacturers should be required to have them. GM should license the technology to others. Although I wouldn't trust it with GM's DI engines, not yet anyway! Makes you wonder if they really tested the DI Lambda series engines running them to 0% oil life. Lol

I see Ford just came out with their IOLM system. Honda has their own. Wonder why Toyota, Subaru and Hyundai don't have them yet.

My ex starts crying when the oil in her 2008 Hyundai Sonata V-6 reaches 3000 miles. What a waste of PYB!

Take care,
Gary

 

[Ben99GT]

Chevron Supreme continues to impress, for a dino.

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: Mokanic
Is this the exact same oil as Havoline Deposit Shield? Are moly numbers the same for both?


Yes, just different bottle colors/label. Blackstone VOAs show ~250 ppm moly for both.