Mobil 1 0W-40, 6k mi OCI, 150k mi, 2013 Cadillac CTS-V

[Emperors6]

Previous UOA is here. UOA history for this vehicle is available with this search: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/s...le_only]=1&c[users]=Emperors6&o=relevance&g=1. Switched to a shorter OCI of 5k/6mo (approximately). Unfortunately, the oil sample got mixed with other UOAs (gear oils) I sent so by the time we figured it out we didn't have enough oil left over to do an oxidation value test. Notes from slip that I sent in: "OLM was at 22%. I was meaning to change at 5k miles but ran about 1k miles over that. Mostly highway driving. By watching dip stick every few gas refills, it burned maybe half a quart of oil over the entire OCI."

 

[Gasbuggy]

Fellow V owner. Is this the new formula M1 0W40?

 

[Emperors6]

Based on the calcium level, I'd say yes. Though I did expect to see higher magnesium levels. I bought the 12 qt cardboard box in April from Walmart.

 

[Emperors6]

Actually, scratch that. I went back and checked when I bought the oil that was in the sump the UOA was done on. I bought it last year in June, so it should still be the old formula. The explanation for the lower Ca is that for the last quart I used Mobil 1 15W-50 I had left over from the other car (5 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-40 mixed with 1 quart of Mobil 1 15W-50).

 

[himemsys]

Unfortunately, the oil sample got mixed with other UOAs (gear oils) I sent so by the time we figured it out we didn't have enough oil left over to do an oxidation value test.

How does getting the oil mixed up with gear oils prevent the oxidation test from occurring? Were they testing the motor oil, thinking it was gear oil, and used it all up?

Regarding the previous UOA where the oxidation value is flagged at 53.4. Using this as an indicator of oil life is new to me. How does it work? Higher is worse? I know M1 0W40 starts at around 25 in oxidation for its virgin value. Does Speediagnostix take this into account?

 

[Emperors6]

How does getting the oil mixed up with gear oils prevent the oxidation test from occurring? Were they testing the motor oil, thinking it was gear oil, and used it all up?

Regarding the previous UOA where the oxidation value is flagged at 53.4. Using this as an indicator of oil life is new to me. How does it work? Higher is worse? I know M1 0W40 starts at around 25 in oxidation for its virgin value. Does Speediagnostix take this into account?

Yes, the motor oil was used up when testing it as gear oil.

From Speediagnostix regarding the Oxidation of the M1 0W-40:
"It is 35 out of the bottle. It will drop slightly with the first 1,000 miles and then start to increase."

From Speediagnostix regarding the Viscosity of the M1 0W-40:
"VOA viscosity is 12.7 and shears to 11.0 almost instantly."

 

[fantastic]

IMO there shouldn't be any mix up's for the costs they are charging. Good to see 150k on this street roadster. As far as you know the Manganese is wear metals from the engine?

 

[Emperors6]

It might have been my fault about the mixup, since I sent 3 UOAs and might have gotten the online report confused. I should have labeled the bottles right away after taking the samples. Anyways, I'll be more diligent next time. Yeah, the manganese must be from the engine since I didn't use any octane boosters with this car, and the only fuel additive I use is Red Line SI-1.

 

[himemsys]

It might have been my fault about the mixup, since I sent 3 UOAs and might have gotten the online report confused. I should have labeled the bottles right away after taking the samples. Anyways, I'll be more diligent next time. Yeah, the manganese must be from the engine since I didn't use any octane boosters with this car, and the only fuel additive I use is Red Line SI-1.

Coming from Blackstone, I've found Oil Analyzer's online submission to be very confusing. They use terminology such as "asset" and "component" that I wasn't clear on at first (is one the vehicle and the other the oil?). It's a bit overwhelming trying to fill out the online submission, but you can just fill out the slip and ignore the online stuff if you want. Also, I predict that as more people switch from BS to OA that we will see an increase in reported mistakes by the lab. People used to be quick to complain about how inaccurate BS is, but I have a feeling that we will find out they are no more or less accurate than the other labs, as other labs get more exposure. Sure, the inferred method of fuel dilution is less accurate, but it's a product of the method they use, not BS themselves.

What is going to keep me using OA is the quick turnaround time, oxidation reporting and use of gas chromatography.

 

[fantastic]

It might have been my fault about the mixup, since I sent 3 UOAs and might have gotten the online report confused. I should have labeled the bottles right away after taking the samples. Anyways, I'll be more diligent next time. Yeah, the manganese must be from the engine since I didn't use any octane boosters with this car, and the only fuel additive I use is Red Line SI-1.

Sorry for jumping to conclusions. I must also ask b/c of curiousity. Have you thought about using the same 50 viscosity oil in the V as you do in the Vette? I'm not real familiar with either is why I'm asking. But I do know the V is the hyped up version.

 

[Emperors6]

Coming from Blackstone, I've found Oil Analyzer's online submission to be very confusing. They use terminology such as "asset" and "component" that I wasn't clear on at first (is one the vehicle and the other the oil?). It's a bit overwhelming trying to fill out the online submission, but you can just fill out the slip and ignore the online stuff if you want. Also, I predict that as more people switch from BS to OA that we will see an increase in reported mistakes by the lab. People used to be quick to complain about how inaccurate BS is, but I have a feeling that we will find out they are no more or less accurate than the other labs, as other labs get more exposure. Sure, the inferred method of fuel dilution is less accurate, but it's a product of the method they use, not BS themselves.

What is going to keep me using OA is the quick turnaround time, oxidation reporting and use of gas chromatography.

I think it's more I made a mistake of using the wrong sample id for the wrong oil type. However, I don't think SPEEDiagnostix uses OA, but they use https://www.theoillab.com/.

Sorry for jumping to conclusions. I must also ask b/c of curiousity. Have you thought about using the same 50 viscosity oil in the V as you do in the Vette? I'm not real familiar with either is why I'm asking. But I do know the V is the hyped up version.

The V is mostly street driven, the oil temperature doesn't get as high as the Corvette, so it wouldn't make sense to use a heavier oil.. Also, the Corvette has looser bearing clearances since the engine is modified.

 

[fantastic]

I think it's more I made a mistake of using the wrong sample id for the wrong oil type. However, I don't think SPEEDiagnostix uses OA, but they use https://www.theoillab.com/.


The V is mostly street driven, the oil temperature doesn't get as high as the Corvette, so it wouldn't make sense to use a heavier oil.. Also, the Corvette has looser bearing clearances since the engine is modified.

Schaeffers Oil uses the same lab you listed. I'll be using them in the future soon via Schaffer UOA kit.

I understand the V doesn't see the high temperatures of the Corvette so no need to go extreme on the viscosity. I figured they were around the same power output (limited knowledge) Regardless lower temps in the V. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Emperors6]

Made a wear chart (vertical axis is logarithmic, horizontal is days since first OCI). Cu seems to be trending upward, I'll keep an eye on it.

 

[Emperors6]

Since oxidation value is missing, I pulled the used oil from the filter and sent that in for testing. The oil filter sat for a few weeks before I sent it in. The one on the left is from the oil filter, the one on the right is midstream through the oil drain:

 

[Emperors6]

Actually, re-posting the previous post since they re-ran the sample because the machine was out of calibration. The sample from the sump (right side) and the oil filter (left side) are now much closer. I'm going to take this as a sign that I can just change the oil filter and get an oil sample without draining the sump and use that as a proxy for the state of the oil left in the sump once I switch to HPL.

 

[fantastic]

That is really interesting contrast. They're pretty close. I see the oil filter visc. is 13.1 while the sump oil is 12.6. Do you not have an oxidation reading for the sump oil? Great work!

 

[Emperors6]

Unfortunately, there was a mix up with the report to the lab in what tests to run and at first they thought it was gear oil and didn't run that test. Then, they didn't have enough sample left to run it.

 

[fantastic]

Unfortunately, there was a mix up with the report to the lab in what tests to run and at first they thought it was gear oil and didn't run that test. Then, they didn't have enough sample left to run it.

That's no good. Darn the luck sometimes. That explains it though thanks.