Determining the Proper Oil for Your Engine - Email from Lake Speed Jr

[OVERKILL]

all wear metals ppm added up.

Which, as someone else pointed out, is a horrible way to do things, because certain engines shed certain metals at very high rates for periods of time; every engine is built differently and has a different "wear signature", which @dnewton3 and @Doug Hillary have posted on in the past.

My 5.7L has a "combined" metals of 147 because copper is at 86 (normal for a HEMI). That gives us a 21.75ppm per thousand miles figure, which, by his metric, is awful.

Iron is at 25, which gives us 3.7ppm per thousand miles, which, for this engine family, is very good.

 

[OVERKILL]

The second screen shot under Test Results shows a VOA of Ravenol VSE 0w-20 having 4ppm Tin, which Lake says is due to the Molybdenum. If I continued to use this oil, any higher Tin numbers may be due to engine wear, not the additive package.

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Odd, my VOA of Ravenol SSL 0W-40 showed zero tin and my VOA's and UOA's of HPL, which use massive amounts of moly, also show zero tin

 

[rstcso]

Odd, my VOA of Ravenol SSL 0W-40 showed zero tin and my VOA's and UOA's of HPL, which use massive amounts of moly, also show zero tin

I'm not defending the results, but saying to take into account metals which may be a result of an additive package. I remember someone doing a VOA of a HPL oil which had 9ppm aluminum. An email had been sent to HPL and David told them to subtract that amount from future UOAs.

 

[Glenda W.]

I think I’ll take a lubrication engineer’s advice who worked for NASCAR who repeatedly shows the data behind his claims over advice from a faceless dude on the internet, but thanks.

Are you sure he’s a lubrication(chemical) engineer?

Reason I ask is his official Linkedin says otherwise.

 

[kschachn]

The second screen shot under Test Results shows a VOA of Ravenol VSE 0w-20 having 4ppm Tin, which Lake says is due to the Molybdenum. If I continued to use this oil, any higher Tin numbers may be due to engine wear, not the additive package.

I wonder what on earth that means. I’ve never heard of those two elements interfering in the analysis like that.

More like noise I’d say.

 

[kschachn]

I'm not defending the results, but saying to take into account metals which may be a result of an additive package. I remember someone doing a VOA of a HPL oil which had 9ppm aluminum. An email had been sent to HPL and David told them to subtract that amount from future UOAs.

Only certain elements can interfere in an ICP analysis and it depends on the specific type of machine. I’m not buying this widespread interference due to the “additive package”. All compounds are completely decomposed in the machine and where the elements came from is irrelevant.

 

[rstcso]

Only certain elements can interfere in an ICP analysis and it depends on the specific type of machine. I’m not buying this widespread interference due to the “additive package”. All compounds are completely decomposed in the machine and where the elements came from is irrelevant.

 

[mark pruett]

That it is. If I follow his plan, it will be at least three years before we put on enough miles to get to the last step.

I'd think this sort of thing would be best as a statistical analysis for a fleet. Like every vehicle gets oil analyzed at X thousand miles and

Individual cars are going to have too much variation between seasons and what not to be useful I'd think. I mean I put a couple of thousand mile road trips on my vehicle in the last oci that would likely skew any analysis results versus my usual mix of city and highway.

 

[userfriendly]

Performing UOAs during the break-in period sounds like a waste of time and money.

 

[rstcso]

Performing UOAs during the break-in period sounds like a waste of time and money.

Relatively cheap entertainment and less expensive than taking my wife out to a restaurant.

 

[userfriendly]

Relatively cheap entertainment and less expensive than taking my wife out to a restaurant.

Another waste of time and money.

 

[rstcso]

Another waste of time and money.

Taking my wife out? That's what I keep telling her, too! May I quote you?

 

[Glenda W.]

I’m retired. Time and money are all I have….

 

[cammyfive79]

Taking my wife out? That's what I keep telling her, too! May I quote you?

There's always folks here who love to insert themselves into any facet of another persons life. Don't you dare even mention that you use a shampoo or bar of soap over 49 cents.....plenty of folks here who would read you the riot act for "wasting money".

 

[rstcso]

There's always folks here who love to insert themselves into any facet of another persons life. Don't you dare even mention that you use a shampoo or bar of soap over 49 cents.....plenty of folks here who would read you the riot act for "wasting money".

Oh great! Now I have to look up my last order of bar soap from Amazon to see if I'm in compliance.

 

[chexxers]

interesting discussion shows theres a LOT to know about oils!!!

 

[userfriendly]

Shampoo? What’s that? An EP additive?
After decades of using Sunlight dish soap in the shower, I finally switched to Dawn.

 

[rstcso]

Shampoo? What’s that? An EP additive?
After decades of using Sunlight dish soap in the shower, I finally switched to Dawn.

Good idea keeping a supply of Dawn on hand in case you come across some oily wildlife if an oil tanker runs aground... again.

 

[OVERKILL]

I'm not defending the results, but saying to take into account metals which may be a result of an additive package. I remember someone doing a VOA of a HPL oil which had 9ppm aluminum. An email had been sent to HPL and David told them to subtract that amount from future UOAs.

Well yes, that's why you are supposed to do a baseline. This is important for things like oxidation and viscosity as well.

 

[TiGeo]

I'm not defending the results, but saying to take into account metals which may be a result of an additive package. I remember someone doing a VOA of a HPL oil which had 9ppm aluminum. An email had been sent to HPL and David told them to subtract that amount from future UOAs.

I do this for Si for HPL Euro 5W40 in my UOAs.