Here is my most recent UOA for my 1994 Harley Davidson Low Rider (with the Evolution 1340cc engine)...
I used Chevron Supreme 20W50, from an old stash which is SL rated.
I also used an STP S3614 oil filter, which is my main reason for sending in this UOA (I wanted to see how the filter did, as they're only about 3 dollars at Auto Zone).
My iron is up considerably, but still well under Universal Averages. Other metals are about what they have been all along. I believe the STP filter did just as well as any of the filters I've used before (mostly the Harley filters, made by Champion labs).
When I see iron go up, and copper and lead stay constant, I wonder about rusting. This oil wasn't in the bike more than about two months... but the bike was parked and not ridden for longer periods of time during this OCI.
One other difference could be in the way I took this sample... I let the oil drain for about ten seconds before I caught the sample (believe it or not I actually dropped the drain plug and forgot to unbox the sample jar, so I had to hurry it get the jar out of the package and catch the sample). So that could have slanted the numbers one way or the other, as the sample came from the last half quart or so of the drain.
Note that although the Chevron Supreme 20W50 was reported to be the same oil as the Havoline (the earliest two OCI's on the sheet are Havoline 20W50), the add pack is different. Blackstone notes this. This oil sheared to a 40 weight also, as has become the custom for my bike, it seems.
But the protection was there, and this UOA still ranks in the top 5 Harley Davidson UOAs on the board (along with 4 or so other dino UOAs, naturally
)...
The Havoline add pack is better, though, and may have accounted for the lower iron numbers in the early UOAs. The most recent UOA shown on the sheet was Valvoline VR1 (2 qts 20W50, 1 qt 60wt). The Valvoline showed lower iron than this Chevron did also.
The most disparate number, all things considered, is the sodium level showing up in the Chevron oil at a scant 5 ppm, but the other oils had only about 1 or 2 ppm of sodium. Probably not a correlation with the higher iron, but something to wonder about anyway.
Thanks for the read.
Dan
I used Chevron Supreme 20W50, from an old stash which is SL rated.
I also used an STP S3614 oil filter, which is my main reason for sending in this UOA (I wanted to see how the filter did, as they're only about 3 dollars at Auto Zone).
My iron is up considerably, but still well under Universal Averages. Other metals are about what they have been all along. I believe the STP filter did just as well as any of the filters I've used before (mostly the Harley filters, made by Champion labs).
When I see iron go up, and copper and lead stay constant, I wonder about rusting. This oil wasn't in the bike more than about two months... but the bike was parked and not ridden for longer periods of time during this OCI.
One other difference could be in the way I took this sample... I let the oil drain for about ten seconds before I caught the sample (believe it or not I actually dropped the drain plug and forgot to unbox the sample jar, so I had to hurry it get the jar out of the package and catch the sample). So that could have slanted the numbers one way or the other, as the sample came from the last half quart or so of the drain.
Note that although the Chevron Supreme 20W50 was reported to be the same oil as the Havoline (the earliest two OCI's on the sheet are Havoline 20W50), the add pack is different. Blackstone notes this. This oil sheared to a 40 weight also, as has become the custom for my bike, it seems.
But the protection was there, and this UOA still ranks in the top 5 Harley Davidson UOAs on the board (along with 4 or so other dino UOAs, naturally
The Havoline add pack is better, though, and may have accounted for the lower iron numbers in the early UOAs. The most recent UOA shown on the sheet was Valvoline VR1 (2 qts 20W50, 1 qt 60wt). The Valvoline showed lower iron than this Chevron did also.
The most disparate number, all things considered, is the sodium level showing up in the Chevron oil at a scant 5 ppm, but the other oils had only about 1 or 2 ppm of sodium. Probably not a correlation with the higher iron, but something to wonder about anyway.
Thanks for the read.
Dan
