Is it possible that...

[modularv8]

different motor oil brands and types (conventional/synthetic) produce different wear levels in engines that are not detected by an used oil analysis because of the oil filter?

I hope my question is clear. Since we use an oil filter to capture most of the contaminants (including wear metal particulates), does the used oil that is sampled for an used oil analysis not contain all the wear metals that are produced during the OCI? If so, then is possible that different brands/types of motor oils produce different levels of wear that we are not able to see in a used oil analysis because the oil filter has captured most of them, causing used oil analysis wear numbers to look very similar between brands/viscosities/etc?

Hope this isn't a silly question...

 

[SuperDave456]

The particles that a oil filter would catch are to large to show up in a used oil analysis.

A used oil analysis will detect micron sized particles, but unless you are running some ultra awesome bypass filter, most top end oil filters have 99% efficiency around 20 microns.


Like the Prolator Pure One website:
"Purolator PureONE Oil Filters are 99.9% Efficient*"
Then at the bottom of the page:
*Based on ISO 4548-12 at 20 microns on PL30001

20 microns is pretty big for what they are looking for in a used oil analysis.
The used oil analysis would pick up trace elements, unless you did a particle count.
And due to there being different variables in a particle count methods, I'm unsure of their result.

 

[fdcg27]

Interesting question, and maybe a can of worms.
Mobil 1 oils have sometimes shown relatively high iron in basic used oil analysis.
Redline and RLI oils will as well.
Longtime Mobil 1 users report very clean engines with low measured wear, as do those of Redline, while RLI saves engines subject to high fuel contamination of the engine oil.
It is really a matter of what is measured, and I think that the informed consensus here is that a used oil analysis tells you everything about how well an oil lasts in an engine, and very little about engine wear using that oil.

 

[river_rat]

I think it is likely that since wear particles come in a wide range of sizes, that there is probably some correlation between used oil analysis and wear. Not that a used oil analysis will catch massive failure, but I think there is still some indication there.
As for M1, et al, I think the chemistry of the oil has something to do with the iron levels sometimes testing a little elevated even when there is very little actual metal wear.