GC 0W-30, 98 Accord V-6, 6700 miles

[4runner]

Good Morning,
I thought I would post my UOA report for your review. I’m using GC 0W-30. I’m using an Amsoil air filter. I have 88700 miles on the Accord.
I have 6700 miles on the oil. This is my first time running GC. I’m also using an Amsoil SDF-36 oil filter.

code:

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Amsoil GC

0W-30 0W-30

5100 mi. 6700 mi.

iron 9 17

chromium 1 1

lead 3 6

copper 15 9

tin 0 0

aluminum 2 2

nickel 0 0

silver 0 0

silicon 13 9

boron 39 4

sodium 7 4

magnesium 671 259

calcium 1681 2345

barium 0 0

phosphorus 1146 941

zinc 1485 1003

molybdendum 7 2

titanium 0 0

vanadium 0 0

potasium 0 0

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fuel < 1
viscosity @ 100 c 11.25
water 0
glycol neg

Thanks for you input.
Kirk

 

[Last_Z]

Not bad, but a bit dissapointing compared to the Amsoil. Does this vehicle call for 5W-20?

Rick

 

[Quattro Pete]

This looks very good, IMO. Considering that some VOAs of GC 0w-30 showed as much as 9ppm of Iron to begin with, the 17ppm iron in your UOA doesn't look bad at all, even compared to Amsoil, especially that you kept the GC for 1600 miles longer.

What type of driving conditions (highway/city) were predominant on each of these oils?

EDIT: Oh yeah, and where is TBN?

 

[Al]

Thanks for the info. Nice to see some more GC reports. Both reports are O.K. nice jto see your silicon down. Thanks for posting.

 

[Ferb]

quote:

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Originally posted by Quattro Pete:
Considering that some VOAs of GC 0w-30 showed as much as 9ppm of Iron to begin with

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The iron number jumped out at first, so thanks for reminding us. Anyone have a guess with the lead? double the ppm in 20% more time. hmmm...

ferb!

 

[wrangler]

quote:

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The iron number jumped out at first, so thanks for reminding us. Anyone have a guess with the lead? double the ppm in 20% more time

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It seems to me that these numbers look too close to call, especially if you consider that Blackstone gives a +/- 3ppm margin for error. Also it’s not like all wear metals are evenly distributed through out the oil and all the samples you take will be identical… It’s not a perfectly homogeneous blend of oil and wear-metals…

 

[jsharp]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ferb:

quote:

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Originally posted by Quattro Pete:
Considering that some VOAs of GC 0w-30 showed as much as 9ppm of Iron to begin with

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The iron number jumped out at first, so thanks for reminding us. Anyone have a guess with the lead? double the ppm in 20% more time. hmmm...

ferb!

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We don't really know if this was from that batch or one with more reasonable starting iron numbers either. Both these reports look ok, but I dare say if this were another brand of oil it wouldn't be getting a pass while the wear metals doubled...

 

[quadrun1]

Well it looks like GC thinned here by about 8%! A percentage typical of M1 0W-40!

I wonder how much it'll thin in my turbo car?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Yeah, I wonder, too. Do we have any UOAs of GC 0w-30 in turbocharged engines to look at?

 

[quadrun1]

Here are two that I found:

Volvo 850T - not bad!
VW 1.8T - no thinning!

phew!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Looks good. Thanks for digging it out.

 

[Schmoe]

Nobody is really saying anything about the lead and copper, so I will. Whassssup with that? I can see the copper a little as all Honda engines have shown this in past UOA's and the iron, which I think has proven itself to be a M1 "thing", but the lead? UP 50%? That would worry me crazy and the Si has gone down, so you can't claim it's the Si that's doing the sand-paper-on-engine dance. This may not be a good oil for that engine.

 

[mikep]

quote:

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Originally posted by Schmoe:
Nobody is really saying anything about the lead and copper, so I will. Whassssup with that? I can see the copper a little as all Honda engines have shown this in past UOA's and the iron, which I think has proven itself to be a M1 "thing", but the lead? UP 50%? That would worry me crazy and the Si has gone down, so you can't claim it's the Si that's doing the sand-paper-on-engine dance. This may not be a good oil for that engine.

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Glad you mentioned this.

I don't know. The more I see of these high priced, hard to find coveted synths the more I am skeptical that they protect any better than a quality dino (if OCIs are kept under 5K miles). I don't doubt they clean better or help to keep and engine cleaner than most dinos but couldn't that could be remedied by reducing dino OCIs to the sub 4K mile mark. What's the purpose of spending the cashola if in order to keep wear in check you still need to drain at 5-6K miles?

Mikep

 

[Robbie Alexander]

quote:

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Originally posted by Schmoe:
Nobody is really saying anything about the lead and copper, so I will. Whassssup with that? -*-*-*

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Okay heres my non-knowing opinion...: HUmmmmmm

LOOK:

Amsoil GC 0W-30 0W-30 5100 mi. 6700 mi.iron 9 17chromium 1 1
DIFFERENT OILS = different results and can Skew things higher... Chrome does NOT change and Iron is added in GC right???

lead 3 6copper 15 9
theres always a possible lab error or just ERROR due to the nature of the beast.. with lead if it is an issue it will show in other metals... unless Terry would be so kind to inform the group as to when and under the circumstances where it won't.
And COPPER does indeed DROP... so I'd say Lead is MUTE!

SEE:
tin 0 0aluminum 2 2nickel 0 0silver 0 0

now:
silicon 13 9boron 39 4sodium 7 4

Si is kinda hard to judge perfectly and the oils ll have different levels but they are IMO close.
the other two are the make-up of the oil, and contaminates etc... I'd pass.. don't worry.

I'd say what I guess I have been saying all the time...
GOT TO GIVE IT THREE OR MORE UOA's on one oil before you can make any call..............................................

 

[unDummy]

'Pick your own wear' motor oil. Kinda like 'pick your part' salvage yards.

Go 50:50 with the Amsoil+GC and make all the wear numbers look good

 

[pscholte]

I'm in complete agreement with Robbie. Give an oil at least 2-3 consecutive intervals (no jumping around between oils) and in hot and cold weather conditions before making a judgement, and even then, to get a definitive picture, the results need to be interpreted by someone who has experience looking at the results of various oils and engines and engine/oil combinations.

 

[Santo Fontana]

quote:

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Originally posted by Quattro Pete:
Yeah, I wonder, too. Do we have any UOAs of GC 0w-30 in turbocharged engines to look at?

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You couldnt pay me to use that in my turbo. Ill wait for more guinea pigs.

Besides the rumors looks at the facts - amsoil, more silicon contamination, less wear.

 

[TooSlick]

I'd run the regular Amsoil 5w-30, "ASL", under these conditions, which is priced closer to the GC, 0w-30. I think the wear numbers will be the same as with the Series 2000, particularly for these type of short drain intervals. I'd go with the Amsoil 5w-30/SDF-36 combo and a 8k-10k, oil/filter change interval, which will be conservative.

Silicon seems a bit high, but since iron and chrome levels are fine, I don't see it as a problem. Just for kicks, you could try the OEM paper air filter on one change of oil and see if the Si drops significantly ....

I can't believe ALL the batches of GC have 9 ppm of iron in them? - that would be horrible plant cleanliness, IMHO.

Tooslick
www.lubedealer.com/Dixie_Synthetics

 

[Patman]

quote:

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I can't believe ALL the batches of GC have 9 ppm of iron in them? - that would be horrible plant cleanliness, IMHO.

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All batches don't. The early batches did, but when I had my virgin sample done, it was from a later batch and it only had 3.4ppm of iron in it. I suspect that as production kicked into high gear, that the iron got "flushed out" naturally, or perhaps their cleanliness got better. I now have spotted an even newer batch in circulation, and I would be willing to bet it's now "clean" I will mix my old supply with new stuff in a 50/50 ratio until the old supply is gone, so my future UOAs should only have perhaps 1-2ppm of iron due to the original oil.

 

[Quattro Pete]

quote:

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Originally posted by Santo Fontana:
You couldnt pay me to use that in my turbo. Ill wait for more guinea pigs.

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I won't hesitate to use it in mine. In fact, the SLX 0w-30 has been the factory fill for the VAG 1.8T engines for a few years now. The owner's manual recommends a 0w-30 oil, and the SLX (GC) meets all the required VAG specs, at least for my '01 1.8T.