Mobil 1 5w-30 EP, 3,000 Miles, 2002 Acura MDX

[BBuzecky]

No make up oil, virtually all city driving. My dad had a bad report on the same oil with 5,876 miles/1 year during his last UOA, with a TBN of 1.3 among other things. Car has about 80,000 miles on it now. The first column is from his previous UOA, the second column is the results he just got back.

Code:


aluminum 28 -- 10

chromium 2 -- 1

iron 71 -- 26

copper 27 -- 24

lead 1 -- 1

tin 6 -- 4

molybdenum 87 -- 107

nickel 1 -- 0

manganese 1 -- 1

silver 0 -- 0

titanium 0 -- 0

potassium 2 -- 0

boron 51 -- 71

silicon 9 -- 8

sodium 8 -- 4

calcium 2184 -- 2491

magnesium 12 -- 11

phosphorus 588 -- 735

zinc 788 -- 837

barium 0 -- 0



SUS visc. 56.1 -- 60.4

cSt visc. 9.10 -- 10.32

flashpoint 365 -- 385

fuel TR --
antifreeze 0.0 -- 0.0

water 0.0 -- 0.0

insolubles 0.2 -- 0.2

TBN 1.3 -- 3.4


Comments were :

"Wear metals read lower this time around, which is certainly a nice thing to see. That said, we're not sure whether an actual improvement in how the engine is wearing or just less metal accumulation due to the shorter oil change is to thank for the improvements. We suggest another oil run of this length next time to see how metals look. That'll give us an apples-to-apples comparison. In the meantime, the TBN looked fine at 3.4 and the oil itself was still free of any contaminant that might have been causing wear. The viscosity was fine. Check back to monitor."

TBN of 3.4 seems awful low to me, from a run of merely 3,000 miles and 6 months on extended performance. What do you think?

Link to first UOA

 

[chubbs1]

Oil still breaks down even when not in use. Once you have cranked that engine a few time there is enough blowby to slowly eat away at the TBN. This engine is not OK. I would try another oil with a high TBN like P-Ultra and see if there is any improvement. The FP of the oil was way down too. Try something else. Maybe even a HDEO like RT 10w30.

 

[cchase]

It's funny, the first UOA here looks like M1 EP but the 2nd seems different.

 

[OVERKILL]

What oils were run in the car before he switched to EP? Just wondering if we are seeing the results of deposit removal? The trend seems to be downward, so that is a good thing. If you want to try another high detergent oil like PU to see if the results change, that might be a good idea as well.

 

[BBuzecky]

Car has always seen full synthetic, normally Mobil 1 or EP every 6 months for the life of ownership. Recently my dad decided to run the EP one full year, since he only drives 6-7k in a full year. That is when he started doing UOA's and the first report was pretty dismal. Considering the products used for the life of ownership, the engine inside should be spotless.

 

[JAG]

In this application, M1 EP seems to be good for about 4000 miles instead of 15,000. Wowza! I bet PU would do better.

Since this is a city driver and water moisture is a big contributor to the oil degradation, Camguard may be worth the cost of using it. It's main benefit would be corrosion protection.

 

[OVERKILL]

Any possibility that the previous oil was contaminated with something? There is a pretty distinct difference between the two OCI's..... Also, what is he using for a filter?

 

[BBuzecky]

Same oil, Mobil 1 EP 5w-30 with Mobil 1 Filter each time. Difference is the first uoa was run for 1 year/6k, while this run was only 6 months and 3k miles. Explains the better uoa, but 3,000 miles on a supposed 15,000 mile oil I would hope it would hold up. I think if he ran it 6,000 miles the tbn would once again be shot and the readings would be higher.

 

[Boss302fan]

MDX V6 engines can be sludge monsters... Not sure why, but I think the Honda engineer I talked too(4 years ago) said it was because of the engine cooing design.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: BBuzecky
Same oil, Mobil 1 EP 5w-30 with Mobil 1 Filter each time. Difference is the first uoa was run for 1 year/6k, while this run was only 6 months and 3k miles. Explains the better uoa, but 3,000 miles on a supposed 15,000 mile oil I would hope it would hold up. I think if he ran it 6,000 miles the tbn would once again be shot and the readings would be higher.


Well kind of, except that twice the time and mileage, and it had 3x the iron....... And copper is almost the exact same. There are some things that don't line-up.

BTW, what lab did the testing? Blackstone? What is your sample method?

 

[Merkava_4]

Jeez ... why you guys keep buying that Mobil 1 oil is beyond me. It would be cheeper to just
buy some store brand oil and add some raw sugar to it if you're trying to ruin the engine ...

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Jeez ... why you guys keep buying that Mobil 1 oil is beyond me. It would be cheeper to just
buy some store brand oil and add some raw sugar to it if you're trying to ruin the engine ...


Wow. Did you see the Pennzoil Ultra run just a few threads below this one? Why haven't you commented on it?

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

Wow.


LMAO!!

OVERK1LL, you're like fishin' in a barrel.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

Wow.


LMAO!!

OVERK1LL, you're like fishin' in a barrel.

And you're like a troll under a bridge, so I guess that makes us even then? LOL

Quote:
YOU NEED 20w50 AND IF YOU USE MOBIL 1 YOUR ENGINE WILL DIE!

 

[BBuzecky]

Overkill, Blackstone did both tests. It's actually my fathers car, so I didn't do the work myself. He gets his sample direct from the oil plug after a few seconds of draining. I don't know a whole lot about UOA's besides the comments they leave you, although when we saw the levels last time there was an issue somewhere. From here on out the car will get 6 month/3,000 oil changes, although my dad wants to sell it now, I think that is an over-reaction.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

Wow.


LMAO!!

OVERK1LL, you're like fishin' in a barrel.

And you're like a troll under a bridge, so I guess that makes us even then? LOL

Quote:
YOU NEED 20w50 AND IF YOU USE MOBIL 1 YOUR ENGINE WILL DIE!


That pretty well sums it up, Overk1ll. Yep, M1 oils will ruin your engine so don't use it under any circumstances. Even Hucks triple re-refined hog lard slipperly stuff is better.