Ferrari F430, Shell Helix Ultra 5W30, 5W40 mix

[AEHaas]

Oil analysis for 2007 Ferrari 430 Coupe performed 8/2007:

According to FNA the Ferrari was delivered with Shell Helix Ultra 5W30. This car was delivered factory new to my neighbor about 4 months ago. The car has not had the oil changed but he says he added 3 or 4 liters of Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40 since his purchase. I just took a random sample without changing the oil, at around 3,500 miles on the oil and the car. He would normally run the recommended 5,000 miles before a factory oil change but he ordered the 430 Spider. He will trade in this coupe for the spider next week. Driving has been 80 percent city, and spirited.

Shell Helix Ultra 5W30 has a 100 C viscosity of 12.1 and I have found that this Shell oil thins very quickly. In his Enzo the 10W60 Racing Helix oil became a 40 grade after only 1,400 miles. If you consider that he added 3 or 4 liters of oil to this 430 oil analysis we have a lot of thin oil running in this engine.

The 430 owners manual only recommends one oil for all applications. This is for all temperatures and for racing conditions as well: Shell Helix Ultra 5W40.

_______New Ferrari F 430 Coupe_______
______With 3,500 Miles, OEM oil_______
.......................................................
Iron__________25
Chromium ____ Nickel ________6
Aluminum _____5
lead __________12
Copper ________28
Tin ___________3
Silver ________ Titanium ______ Silicon ________8
Boron ________ Sodium _______7
Potassium ____ Molybdenum __ Phosphorus ___819
Zinc ________ 1000
Calcium _____ 1242
Barium ______ Magnesium ____1078
Antimony _____ Vanadium _____ Fuel %Vol _____1.1
Abs Oxid ______40
Abs Nitr _______11
Wtr %vol ______ Vis cS 100C ___11.1
SAE Grade ____30
Gly test ______NEG
TBN _________not done

I tested my oil using this company: www.youroil.net
Go to this page and download this Excel file to see other peoples results: http://members.rennlist.com/oil/

aehaas

 

[Last_Z]

I'd love to see the TBN in this oil. Half the Calcium and 20 times the magnesium of common oils. Anti wear and friction modifiers are lacking in this exotic oil. I would expect more. Maybe I'm missing something.

As for wear, I know these vehicles are road tested before delivery....it's a Ferrari after all! I'm willing to bet my boogers they change the oil right after such road test. Thereby, wear doesn't look like that of "first oil ever" but still shows some of the break in metals. I think wear is just fine and should drop in the future.

 

[buster]

Thicker viscosities are many times used to account for fuel dilution. I guess it's a cheap way of preventing too much wear when fuel is high. Just my opinion. Better quality oils as we've seen, maintain their viscosity better. IF the RLI stuff is as good as many think it would be a good oil for these cars. What lab was this btw?

 

[buster]

http://www.performanceoilstore.com/information_files/motor_oil/3684.pdf

Motul's LeMans oil is a 15w-60 and they will tell you that it's a higher viscosity simply bc of fuel dilution during long race intervals. This is how they traditionally dealt with the problem. I guess.