Part one: Introduction
Since many of us are regularly having UOA done on our vehicles, and have seen often good results from using high quality oils, good filtration and the like; I thought it would be good to post some information that would be helpful for the new members or for members who are thinking about UOA for the first time.
If you haven't read this already I strongly encourage you to do so:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/engine-oil-analysis/
There are many reasons why you might want to get a UOA done. Here are a couple of the main ones-
-You would like to start moving to an extended oil change interval.
-You are looking to catch engine maintenance issues.
-You are concerned about an engine issue and are trying to find the source of the problem.
One of the most important principles (and often overlooked by beginners) behind doing UOA is that it is a statistical analysis based on a trend. So what that means is you can't look at your first analysis and think you know everything about your engine and oil. You need to first establish a trend over multiple UOA and see what is happening and considered "normal wear" for your engine and your driving habits.
While looking at other people's analysis can be helpful - especially if they have the same engine and use the same oil; it will not likely give you any sense of baseline or trend averages that are applicable specifically to you. The same can be said about the "averages" that you get back from the lab. The best thing you can do us establish your own trend and determine the "normal" values for your engine and driving habits. Typically I recommend having at least 3 baseline points on your UOA to establish your trend before making any serious changes to your maintenance program.
Since many of us are regularly having UOA done on our vehicles, and have seen often good results from using high quality oils, good filtration and the like; I thought it would be good to post some information that would be helpful for the new members or for members who are thinking about UOA for the first time.
If you haven't read this already I strongly encourage you to do so:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/engine-oil-analysis/
There are many reasons why you might want to get a UOA done. Here are a couple of the main ones-
-You would like to start moving to an extended oil change interval.
-You are looking to catch engine maintenance issues.
-You are concerned about an engine issue and are trying to find the source of the problem.
One of the most important principles (and often overlooked by beginners) behind doing UOA is that it is a statistical analysis based on a trend. So what that means is you can't look at your first analysis and think you know everything about your engine and oil. You need to first establish a trend over multiple UOA and see what is happening and considered "normal wear" for your engine and your driving habits.
While looking at other people's analysis can be helpful - especially if they have the same engine and use the same oil; it will not likely give you any sense of baseline or trend averages that are applicable specifically to you. The same can be said about the "averages" that you get back from the lab. The best thing you can do us establish your own trend and determine the "normal" values for your engine and driving habits. Typically I recommend having at least 3 baseline points on your UOA to establish your trend before making any serious changes to your maintenance program.