Petro-Canada SS | 0w30 | 5742KM(3564m) | G6 3.5L

[cp3]

OK, here we have my first UOA and the first on my Wife's 2006 Pontiac G6 GT 3500 V6
225992km (140424m) on the clock
Petro-Canada Supreme Synthetic 0w30 SN/GF-5 ( VOA & PDS )
In use about 3 monts Dec 24 to Mar 18 for a total of 5742km
Filter was Fram Tough Guard TG3387A

(I will cut open and post as well)

Car sees a daily 50km each way commute on the highway and she doesn't drive "hard" but it's not babied when cold like I do. I would describe her feet as "heavier" than mine on average, unless I want to play. Was changed based on OLM which went off at 5% this time and changed that day. This was the third consecutive run of PC 0w30 but the first on the SN/GF-5. Was a mild winter for sure but still extended periods below 0C. Used a little more than half a liter but no make up added.

Comments and thoughts welcome. A little curious about the Na, could that be ingested through the air filter? May have been a mild winter but still lots of salt thrown around!

Code:


DATE: MAR 18/12 JAN 25/12

OIL: PC SS 0W30 PC SS 0W30

FILTER: FRAM TG3387A VOA

TOTAL KM: 225992

KM ON OIL: 5742

OLM: 5%

TOP UP: 0



ELEMENTAL

ANALYSIS



Fe............9 1

Cr............0 0

Mo............80 81

Al............1 1

Cu............2 0

Pb............2 1

Sn............1 1

Ti............0 0

Ni............0 0

Ag............0 0

Si............18 5

Na............25 4

K.............0 1

Zn............787 785

Mg............8 10

P.............836 797

Ba............0 0



FT-IR ANALYSIS



SOOT..........0 0

SULF..........13 15

OXID..........13 9

NITR..........11 5



PHYSICAL



VIS CST.......9.19 11.48

TBN...........1.5 7.50

Fuel..........
Water.........NEG NEG

Anti-freeze...NEG NEG

 

[RedCorvette]

Very low TBN after such low mileage especially with 50km one way commutes which should be easy on the oil.

Not getting much value out of a synthetic.

I wonder if the driving style when cold is having an impact.

Those OLM's are impressive though.

 

[cp3]

I don't believe this is marketed as a long drain oil so I'm not surprised by the TBN. It's also a fairly small sump for a mid-sized V6 IMO, only 3.8 liters.

 

[ltslimjim]

Is this supposed to be like Mobil1 AFE 0w-30?

 

[cp3]

A little heavier than AFE but higher VI. AFE is 3.0 & 166 vs. Petrol-Canada at 3.2 & 177 however AFE wins the MRV with a 13250 compared to 24800. Petrol Canada's cold measurements really seemed to take a hit with the switch to SN.

 

[advocate]

OLM aside what is the normal recommended OCI for this vehicle? That's a pretty low TBN for such low mileage. This worries me as I plan on using their non synthetic SN 5w-20 for a 10000km OCI in the near future. But with a much larger sump at 7 quarts (6.5L). I wonder if these engines are just hard on oil with a small oil capacity not helping things.

 

[cp3]

Well this is typical of this car for a winter OCI. The colder weather really shortens it up, ~5000km compared to ~10000km for a straight summer run. My G5 does not fluctuate anywhere close to this much. It was changed the week after the G6 and with 4000km is only at 73% and projecting out to Sept/Oct before a change. This could be because of the smaller displacement, less cylinders and lager capacity I think.

GM doesn't really specify a recommended OCI, follow the OLM or 1 year. I do believe that they say if the system gets reset to change within 5000km.

 

[CATERHAM]

Winter fuel dilution is killing the oil although most of the fuel has been boiled off prior to taking the oil sample.
Otherwise a good report.
BTW, I had no idea the GM V6 sump was so small.

 

[cp3]

Yes that could be. I think the "recycled" throttle body that I put on in the fall is on it's way out too and that causes the cold idle to be a little high, which would also contribute to this.

I was happy with it, not too concerned that the TBN is done as that was the OCI called for. Am curious about the sodium though....

It does seems small to me, even the 3.9 in the Montana's are 3.8 liters, especially when compared to the 4.7 liter capacity in my 2.4 I4. Maybe explains why we see such good reports on the Ecotec, like BigTallV's.