M1 0W40, 11.7k mi, 07 Sprinter gasoli (vs. AMSOil)

[folzag]

Compared to the prior interval, this one was about 4 months shorter, slightly more cold weather starts, and more loaded miles.

Comparing to AMSOil: no shear, stayed in-grade for a 40wt. TBN held up better, I suspect owing to a higher starting level. No make-up oil. But, perhaps all for naught since there was a notable increase in iron. Then again, while notable, is it significant as regards engine life? That's what ultimately matters.

According to Blackstone's written comment to the prior UOA, the universal average is 7600 mi. I rather suspect M1 is also the universal average oil -- look at the Moly, plus we know it's the factory fill -- so, at 50% more miles, as to be expected, I'm at 50% more wear.

I'll say, at 1/2 the cost of AMSOil, better TBN, and no make-up oil req'd, my inclination is to stay with M1. What's not to like?

Without further ado:
Code:


ALLAN: Wear went up just a little. It's hard to pinpoint exactly why that might

be. We see way more changes to wear because of operational differences than a

change in brand. But if you know you're pretty much using the engine the same

now as you were last year, and if you switch back to Amsoil (again, with the

same type of operation going on) and iron drops? Then we'd say yep, Amsoil is

the reason for the improvement. The TBN read stronger here than last time, and

the viscosity is correct for 0W/40 oil. No fuel found. Nice engine, regardless

of the oil!





Fill M1 AMSOil Univ Avg

0W40 5W40

Mid-SAPS

Miles 11,700 11,800 7,400

Months 12 16

Make Up Oil 0 qt 0.5 qt



ALUMINUM 5 5 4

CHROMIUM 1 1 1

IRON 46 32 28

COPPER 13 13 7

LEAD 1 2 1

TIN 0 0 1

MOLYBDENUM 80 16 74

NICKEL 0 0 1

MANGANESE 1 1 3

SILVER 1 0 0

TITANIUM 0 0 0

POTASSIUM 5 0 3

BORON 122 53 98

SILICON 10 11 9

SODIUM 7 7 18

CALCIUM 2832 1634 2257

MAGNESIUM 28 18 62

PHOSPHORUS 869 702 840

ZINC 1054 861 969

BARIUM 0 0 0



Values Should Be*

SUS @210°F 72.8 63.0 65-78

cSt @100°C 12.7 11.06 11.6-15.3

Flashpt in °F 400 405 >375

Fuel %
Antifreeze % 0.0 0.0 0.0

Water % 0.0 0.0
Insolubles % 0.3 0.2
TBN 3.6 1.9 >1.0


FWIW, my prior UOA.

 

[Benito]

I agree the M1 looks better because of TBN , less shear and no top up.

But isn't it strange how at the same mileage the wear metals are identical except the M1 has higher iron? Was it noisier as well?

 

[Brybo86]

Really all it boils down to is wear.
Example Oil A gave 50ppm iron and still has a TBN of 4
Oil B gave 12ppm and has a TBN of 0

Which oil did better? Oil B

I would try a 3rd oil, maybe Rotella 5w40, or castrol 0w40

If the Amsoil really costs double based on the uoa I would go with the m1 and go 10k, but I think the amsoil gave you better wear.

As far as shear is concerned do you have virgin oil numbers for viscosity? So we can tell how much they both dropped?

You have to compare the change from new oil to old oil not old m1 vs old amsoil

 

[folzag]

Originally Posted By: Benito
Was it noisier as well?

Not that I ever noticed.

 

[folzag]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
Really all it boils down to is wear.
Example Oil A gave 50ppm iron and still has a TBN of 4
Oil B gave 12ppm and has a TBN of 0

Which oil did better? Oil B


For my non-hypothetical situation, TBN is important to me because, while it turned out I drove a lot this last 12 months, that is unusual. I want to be able to safely leave it in the sump for 18 to 24 months. If it's going to be doing a lot of sitting after some 8 or 10k miles on the clock, I want to be sure there's adequate TBN. Unless, I'm mistaken on the importance of TBN when it is sitting parked.

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
I would try a 3rd oil, maybe Rotella 5w40, or castrol 0w40

If the Amsoil really costs double based on the uoa I would go with the m1 and go 10k, but I think the amsoil gave you better wear.

My goal is to consider oil brand & interval a solved problem ASAP, and switch to doing UOA's every 3rd change for a check-up/diagnostic. Also, since my wear per 1k miles is in-line and the TBN held-up, I was actually going to start going out to 15k. M1 lists 0W40 as a "15k mi" oil.

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
As far as shear is concerned do you have virgin oil numbers for viscosity? So we can tell how much they both dropped?

You have to compare the change from new oil to old oil not old m1 vs old amsoil

Agree about the delta being the important comparison, but AMSOil didn't even stay in its nominal spec. I may try and hunt down the virgin numbers nonetheless.

Thanks.

 

[wemay]

Mobil1.

 

[Colt45ws]

I think you should stay with the M1. Its hard to say why the wear went up, but as you said, its in line with average wear/mi and not at any level worth getting concerned over. 15k certainly looks doable from here.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Did the Mobil 1 hold the iron in suspension better than the Amsoil? Maybe the wear inside the engine is the same but the iron in suspension is different. What you're getting is the condition of the oil and maybe not exactly the condition of the whole engine.

The advice you often here is that for similar specs, pick the cheaper oil. M1 would be the choice even though "best" is not well defined.

 

[Noobie]

I'd stick with the M1 and do a couple of more runs to look at wear metals because in this OCI you had more loaded miles.
M1 is probably cheaper than Amsoil up there so its the better choice.

 

[toneydoc]

I'd go with the Mobil 1

You get it for less $, it is easy to get at the stores, it has been proven for a long time, it does the job well, and you know it can go a year and has done well.

What is not to like about it?

 

[Falken]

The Amsoil destroyed the Mobil 1.

I'd try Pennzoil Ultra next!

 

[Kuato]

Interesting...perhaps Amsoil's new 0w40 would be a better comparison vs the M1 and worth a try.

 

[timeau]

Amsoil has just 1634 ppm of calcium? This is Mid-SAPS oil, right? So the TBN started from 8 instead of almost 12 in Mobil1. You are comparing apples with oranges.

 

[buster]

It is an apples to oranges comparison due to the difference in SA. I'd still use the Mobil 1 though.

 

[440Magnum]

I'd use the M1. The iron could easily be due to working the engine harder. And nobody makes a big deal that lead went down with the M1 either Frankly all the differences are probably within the error bars of a low cost UOA and environmental/usage variations during the OCI anyway.

 

[Leonardo629]

OP: you said M1 costs half as much as Amsoil?

I'm surprised 5W40 would shear down so much.

 

[Gokhan]

It's hard to say why iron is higher. It could even be a slight difference in the sampling method.

 

[gallydif]

Originally Posted By: Falken


I'd try Pennzoil Ultra next!

+1

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
folzag - This is a case of leaving well alone IMO. A good Report

 

[OVERKILL]

The AMSOIL had half a quart of make-up oil, the Mobil 1 had zero, that alone will affect the readings.

The data looks like this (raw):

Universal averages:
Fe: 3.78PPM/1000Miles

AMSOIL:
Fe: 2.7PPM/1000Miles

Mobil 1:
Fe: 3.93PPM/1000Miles

So the Mobil 1 run was in-line with the UA's for Fe/1000 Miles, which is nothing to worry about. The AMSOIL run was lower, but it also as I noted, had make-up oil added, so that will skew the results a bit.