I'm new here and very ignorant on cars and oil. Alternatives to Blackstone?

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Aug 31, 2022
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doing my best to educate myself and follow forum rules. Could someone kindly tell me what they consider the best labs for oil analysis besides Blackstone? Thanks!
 
A few previous threads on the same or a similar subject, some contain more information than others:

 
Welcome to the site, johndw28 !

Please post your questions in the proper forum, and use our search tool, as it is very useful.

See kschachn's post for your answer.

Please heed this advice I'm about to give you ...
As soon as you ask "what's the best (insert topic here) ?", you open a giant can of worms.
- unless you clearly and well define the conditions surrounding the situation you're involved with, the "best" is simply hard if not impossible to accurately answer, because too many things are either variables or unknown
- BITOG has a lot of intelligent people, and we also have a lot of folks who have no idea what they're talking about; you can easily find someone who agrees with your preconceived ideas, or contradicts those same ideas, because the "best" means different things to different people
- there is a massive difference between what you may "want" and what an engine actually "needs"; folks often will spend WAY more than is necessary to serve some false sense of security, and the term "cheap insurance" is overused here so often it makes me want to figuratively vomit

Examples:
BAD Q - Hey ya'll, what's the best oil for my truck? I want to use the best for my baby because she's worth it.

GOOD Q - Hey ya'll, I need some advice for my oil choices. I have a 1994 F150 with a 4.9L engine with only 100k miles on it. I only use it in summer in KY. I don't haul any significant loads with it. It burns a little oil; about a quart in 5k miles. It was my grandpa's truck and I only need it to last me through college, then I'll get a new one. Can you give me three oil recommendations that would suffice for my situation, so that I can narrow down my choices?
 
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doing my best to educate myself and follow forum rules. Could someone kindly tell me what they consider the best labs for oil analysis besides Blackstone? Thanks!
Welcome
If you're a "preferred customer" at Amsoil they sell a OAI (Oil Analyzers Inc/Polaris Labs) UOA value kit, KIT14, for tracking for me). Their regular kits (KIT01 & 02) with TBN etc is For atf analysis I use JG Lubricant Services. Tom Johnson is part owner. He was a fluids engineer at GM/Allison and was instrumental in the development of the TES295 atf spec. If I have a question about my atf results I can talk to him on the phone and get my question(s) answered.
Enjoy the forum!
 
Thanks so much to everyone for their insightful and helpful responses. It is greatly appreciated. I apologize for posting in the wrong forum.
 
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