FX4 PU 5W-20 UOAs (All to Date)

[CarbonSteel]

I thought it would be interesting to see all of my UOAs in a single view to make it easy to compare (so pardon any repetition). I can tell in which OCIs I towed, but I am extremely confident in PU 5W-20 and 5W-20 in general; no regrets here!

Code:
Year: 2010 Make: Ford Model: F-150 FX4

Engine: 5.4L FFV Transmission: 6R80 Axle: 3.73



Oil Brand/Type: PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU PU MC

Oil Viscosity: 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20 5W-20

API Service: SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM SM

Lab: BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST BLKST





Truck Mileage: 62,055 54,575 47,075 39,770 32,280 27,100 21,600 16,600 10,600 4,500 991

Oil Mileage: 7,480 7,500 7,305 7,490 5,180 5,500 5,000 6,000 6,100 4,500 991



Aluminum: 3 5 3 2 2 3 3 6 3 3 3

Chromium 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0

Iron: 8 13 8 9 7 9 10 18 13 10 18

Copper: 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 9 41

Lead: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Tin: 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Molybdenum: 56 46 47 58 55 54 45 47 52 48 42

Nickel: 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

Manganese: 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 10

Silver: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Titanium: 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Potassium: 0 6 5 1 0 2 3 4 2 3 14

Boron: 249 156 144 156 233 244 230 249 278 258 272

Silicon: 11 16 19 21 19 19 17 16 29 45 111

Sodium: 4 7 5 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 9

Calcium: 3168 3003 3053 2941 2900 2814 2613 2740 2911 2706 2203

Magnesium: 15 17 17 16 12 12 11 12 12 12 14

Phosphorus: 728 671 668 710 713 676 608 629 691 643 773

Zinc: 820 724 743 861 834 813 675 718 774 752 835

Barium: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 16



cSt Viscosity @ 100°C 8.25 7.93 7.80 8.45 8.04 8.14 8.21 8.12 7.72 7.94 7.09

Pennzoil cSt Viscosity @ 100°C 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 8.41 N/A



SUS Viscosity @ 210°F 53.2 52.2 51.7 53.9 52.5 52.9 53.1 52.8 51.5 52.2 49.4

Flashpoint in °F 405 420 415 410 425 405 390 410 390 400 390

Pennzoil Flashpoint in °F 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 435 N/A



Fuel %
Antifreeze % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Water % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Insolubles % 0.3 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.1

TBN N/A N/A N/A 5.4 N/A N/A 5.6 4.8 5.3 9.4 7.5

TAN N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A



ISO Code 17/16/13

 

[david_ES2]

Nice low numbers was hoping to see some results of API SN ultra.
pennzoil ultra is all i use now.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: david_ES2
Nice low numbers was hoping to see some results of API SN ultra.
pennzoil ultra is all i use now.

I have not seen SN in my area as yet; only SM in 5W-20. I am experimenting and will be switching to Mobil Super 5W-20 in SN on the next run to see how it performs. Out of the bottle, it is cleaner than Ultra (according to the particle test I ran on both), but I am interested in how it will perform against Ultra. We will see soon enough...

 

[dnewton3]

Excellent synopsis. That engine is doing well; so is the lube.

Is the warranty now expired? If so, you'd be very safe to do extended OCIs, and start to grow your ROI. Everything is pointing toward longer OCIs being safe; low wear rates, no contamination; TBN has been good in the past.

I would suggest the next UOA to have TBN; I could easily see 10k miles being doable.

 

[Jim Allen]

Great to see it all in one place. This kind of record keeping and trending is just how to use UOAs effectively. And educationally. In the time you've owned you truck, you've put on 62K-plus miles. In that same time, I've done only a bit over 11K. Either I gotta get a life or you do!

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3
Is the warranty now expired? If so, you'd be very safe to do extended OCIs, and start to grow your ROI.

Not quite; I am about halfway through it [it is a 120K warranty]. I will be extending it to 10K [at least] when it expires. However, my ROI should start happening more quickly with the next OC as I am changing from synthetic to conventional as an experiment to see the difference. Provided all goes well, my OCs will go from $45.00 to $14.00 (cost of oil and filter).

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
Great to see it all in one place. This kind of record keeping and trending is just how to use UOAs effectively. And educationally.

Thanks Jim! I have certainly learned an incredible amount of information in this time frame (and I hope in some small way others have learned too). I came from the "3,000 mile/3 month OCI without fail club" and have gone from 3K to 5K to 7.5K and these UOAs prove there is no difference between any of them EXCEPT the money that remains in your pocket and time that you do not have to use performing OCs. Had I remained with my 3K/3month OCIs, I would now have performed over 20 of them in the FX4 versus the 11 that I have (that should probably have been only 9 had I went to a 7.5K OCI after the first two break-in OCs).

Originally Posted By: Jim Allen
In the time you've owned you truck, you've put on 62K-plus miles. In that same time, I've done only a bit over 11K. Either I gotta get a life or you do!

LOL @ you! We ride ATVs frequently and we also visit Colorado and Wyoming every chance we can. Yellowstone has been a source of inspiration for many years and it calls me back home very frequently. I just completed a MSCIS/ISS degree and now I am going to write an adventure book and traveling has provided the backdrops for ideas to be inserted into it. I have traveled to every major continent in the world (for business) and save for a visit to London or Paris, there is no place like the good old USA and we have seen most of it via the front seat of a vehicle.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3
I would suggest the next UOA to have TBN; I could easily see 10k miles being doable.

Missed this in my last post. I think 10K is no problem at all. The TBN was 5.4 at 7500 miles so I have to think (all variables remaining the same) 12K is completely possible with Ultra in this truck (just have to hit 120,035 on the odometer to try).

 

[dnewton3]

I really applaud your approach and your methodology.

You've got solid evidence to compare/contast results once you switch to dinos. I would suggest pick one and do many UOAs, just as you have with the PU.

Didn't realize the warranty is that long; I presume you got an extended warranty?

With the kind of mileage you put on, you're seeing great operational cycles. Good heat cycling, etc. And, you're seeing that the old 3mo/3k mile OCI is simply an outdated. Your ROI is going to be growing with each extension. You'll really boost is with dinos.

There is no reason to think that you'll not get hundreds of thousands of miles out of that rig.

 

[ltslimjim]

At this point 10,000 when doing lots of towing and 15,000 with no towing seems possible to me. Nice round goals. Good reports none-the-less.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: dnewton3
I really applaud your approach and your methodology.

You've got solid evidence to compare/contast results once you switch to dinos. I would suggest pick one and do many UOAs, just as you have with the PU.

Didn't realize the warranty is that long; I presume you got an extended warranty?

With the kind of mileage you put on, you're seeing great operational cycles. Good heat cycling, etc. And, you're seeing that the old 3mo/3k mile OCI is simply an outdated. Your ROI is going to be growing with each extension. You'll really boost is with dinos.

There is no reason to think that you'll not get hundreds of thousands of miles out of that rig.

Thanks Dave; my knowledge and methodologies have been derived from experiences provided by folks just like you on this forum. 2010 is the last of the modulars in the F-Series and Ford really made some deals on them--10K off sticker and an extended warranty when I bought mine. So I have an 6 year/120,000 mile extended bumper to bumper warranty, which is why I have been hesitant to go past a 7.5K OCI and to use anything other than MC filters. Although for the price point MC is almost impossible to beat, (scratch that, it is impossible to beat at that price).

I plan to use the Mobil Super (5W-20) that I have been acquiring, though traditional thinking would have me stay with SOPUS (PYB for example). I will be continuing the UOAs and will also use another lab to perform some particle counts with optical equipment versus the Blackstone pore method. I am impressed with the attributes of the Super and it is even cleaner out of the bottle than Ultra.

It should be some good fodder for the experimentation and I will hazard a guess now, that I can easily go 7.5K with the Super [perhaps not with towing, but we will see]. I will also see a 69% cost savings per OCI at the same time.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: ltslimjim
At this point 10,000 when doing lots of towing and 15,000 with no towing seems possible to me.

With Ultra, I totally agree and if I do not like my Mobil Super results, I will change back.

 

[dnewton3]

I think you'll find that the standand OEM OCI of 7.5k miles is very doable on the Super.

Although not the same engine, I'm able to run to the OEM 7.5k miles on my dino oils in my Fusion, and could EASILY run 9-10k miles. I choose not to do so because of my warranty coverage. Once that is overwith, I'll probably run 10k miles on dino. The UOA results I have suggest it's certainly doable.

I can understand running to 7.5k miles and changing oil in your circumstances; you're only about 1/2 way into your coverage. Makes sense. I would really like to see you run Super dino oils; I think you'd be pleasantly suprised to see how well they'll perform at OEM intervals, even when towing.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
Originally Posted By: dnewton3
I really applaud your approach and your methodology.

You've got solid evidence to compare/contast results once you switch to dinos. I would suggest pick one and do many UOAs, just as you have with the PU.

Didn't realize the warranty is that long; I presume you got an extended warranty?

With the kind of mileage you put on, you're seeing great operational cycles. Good heat cycling, etc. And, you're seeing that the old 3mo/3k mile OCI is simply an outdated. Your ROI is going to be growing with each extension. You'll really boost is with dinos.

There is no reason to think that you'll not get hundreds of thousands of miles out of that rig.

Thanks Dave; my knowledge and methodologies have been derived from experiences provided by folks just like you on this forum. 2010 is the last of the modulars in the F-Series and Ford really made some deals on them--10K off sticker and an extended warranty when I bought mine. So I have an 6 year/120,000 mile extended bumper to bumper warranty, which is why I have been hesitant to go past a 7.5K OCI and to use anything other than MC filters. Although for the price point MC is almost impossible to beat, (scratch that, it is impossible to beat at that price).

I plan to use the Mobil Super (5W-20) that I have been acquiring, though traditional thinking would have me stay with SOPUS (PYB for example). I will be continuing the UOAs and will also use another lab to perform some particle counts with optical equipment versus the Blackstone pore method. I am impressed with the attributes of the Super and it is even cleaner out of the bottle than Ultra.

It should be some good fodder for the experimentation and I will hazard a guess now, that I can easily go 7.5K with the Super [perhaps not with towing, but we will see]. I will also see a 69% cost savings per OCI at the same time.



Super should be just fine my UOA of Formula Shell at 7K was great and I believe 9K would of been fine this was with a little towing and a lot of short trips. I look forward to you to continuing showing us your results.