PP 10W30, 5019 miles, '01 Grand Prix GT 3800 V6

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This oil was run from 3/29/09 until 6/20/09. It was 10W-30 PP with a Napa Gold oil filter. My last UOA was a check up to see how things were doing after getting my intake gaskets redone. I ran a few intervals since then of PP and finally decided to check it again with the hope of being able to run it a little longer if things looked good. I'm pretty happy with this report.

I drive pretty gentle most of the time.
Wix air filter. Air filter changed at 100k miles on the odo and again at this oil change. I'm changing it every 10k now.

Blackstone Coments:
Nothing but a continuance of proper wear is indicated by the data from this most recent analysis of oil from your GM 3.8L power plant. Wear metals resided at low levels in line with averages, so no obvious problems exist at parts sharing the oil. Also, the main oil additive levels were normal for this oil type and grade, showing no heat or moisture damage occurred on this oil's watch. Silicon was low at 11 ppm, showing no problems at the air filtration/induction system. The oil did not contain any contaminants, that we could find. Try ~6,500 miles on the next fill of oil.

Comments welcome. I've got PP 10W/30 in it now with a Wix oil filter and plan to go until the OLM goes off which is typically around 7k miles.

Code:


OIL PP10W30 PYB10W30 PP5W30 M110W30 M110W30

MILES IN USE 5.0k 3.4k 5.1k 5.7k 4.9k Uni Avg

MILES 110k 87.1k 80.5k 70.4k 64.8k

SAMPLE TAKEN 6/20/09 6/10/08 2/28/08 9/2/07 7/3/06



ALUMINUM 2 2 3 3 2 3

CHROMIUM 1 1 1 1 1 1

IRON 8 9 24 14 8 13

COPPER 19 21 28 39 30 17

LEAD 5 9 4 21 19 8

TIN 0 2 1 0 0 1

MOLYBDENUM 48 3 52 98 83 64

NICKEL 0 0 1 0 0 0

MANGANESE 0 0 0 0 0 0

SILVER 0 0 0 0 0 0

TITANIUM 0 0 0 0 0 0

POTASSIUM 2 7 11 1 3 7

BORON 36 114 34 47 52 45

SILICON 11 29 13 12 12 11

SODIUM 2 8 10 5 4 22

CALCIUM 2944 2018 2919 2184 2354 2077

MAGNESIUM 10 7 12 11 13 90

PHOSPHORUS 639 646 656 538 589 692

ZINC 832 784 819 675 745 849

BARIUM 0 0 0 0 0 0





INSOLUBLES 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3

WATER 0 0 0 0 0

FLASHPOINT ºF 410 400 400 410 420

SUS VIS 210ºF 59.2 56.6 57.9 58.6 60.8

cSt @ 212ºF 9.99 9.24 9.63 9.83 10.44

TBN n/a n/a 3.9 3.7 n/a
 
Looks good!
Quite a drop in lead since the switch from Mobil 1.
I wonder what the copper source is?
 
Looks like a great report, but is it really necessary to change the air filter so frequently? I keep mine on my car for 2 years (or 30k miles, whatever comes first). I used a Wix on my car for a hair over 2 years and my silicon always came back pretty low. This is off-topic, but I've been driving down dirt roads more often now, so I wonder how the Purolator I'm using is going to hold up...

Also off-topic, but where in GR are you located?

Take care
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: ThirdeYe
Looks like a great report, but is it really necessary to change the air filter so frequently? I keep mine on my car for 2 years (or 30k miles, whatever comes first). I used a Wix on my car for a hair over 2 years and my silicon always came back pretty low. This is off-topic, but I've been driving down dirt roads more often now, so I wonder how the Purolator I'm using is going to hold up...

Also off-topic, but where in GR are you located?

Take care
thumbsup2.gif



I used to change them every 30k miles but in my other car it was suggested to change out the air filter every 10k with a cheap Fram to keep it from getting loaded up. The silicone does seem to run higher in my other car. I can get the Napa Gold/Wix filters just as cheap as Frams if ordered in bulk so I've kept using them but have been changing more often. I'm not completely convinced it has made a difference for either car.

I'm in the Caledonia area.
 
Looks good. I bet the copper will be 1/2 next time around.

I have to same fill right now not due to be change for another month.
 
Being out of wty, I'd get a TBN, and if it looked good, I'd just change every 10k miles.

They have to calibrate the OLM to the lowest common denominator (which I'm sure is the cheapest SM you can find at a discount store). The oil you're using should be well capable of doing 10k OCIs.
 
Originally Posted By: 97 GTP
Looks good. I bet the copper will be 1/2 next time around.

I have to same fill right now not due to be change for another month.


I hope you're right but why do you think the copper will drop in half? I've noticed your copper is not nearly as high as mine. I'm near the average so I'm pretty happy but lower would be nice.

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
Being out of wty, I'd get a TBN, and if it looked good, I'd just change every 10k miles.

They have to calibrate the OLM to the lowest common denominator (which I'm sure is the cheapest SM you can find at a discount store). The oil you're using should be well capable of doing 10k OCIs.


I think I will get a TBN next time when the OLM goes off and hopefully you are correct that I can go even longer. I figure the OLM will go off in about 7k miles. I'll try that first.
 
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Your copper is trending down. I say half since you'll be running PP for more than one interval. Once everything gets cleaned up the wear numbers will lower.
 
This is probably the 3rd interval of PP since the YB run that I tested last. Perhaps it will keep going down but I don't see a big drop coming. I hope you're right.
 
Those metal numbers are meaningless. You already have 110,000 miles on you engine and at the rate of your OCI you'll make it well past 200,000 miles. The UOAs are a waste of money for you, and besides if the engine wears out there is nothing you can do about it anywhy more than you are already doing.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Those metal numbers are meaningless. You already have 110,000 miles on you engine and at the rate of your OCI you'll make it well past 200,000 miles. The UOAs are a waste of money for you, and besides if the engine wears out there is nothing you can do about it anywhy more than you are already doing.


I'd say the UOA that gave me advanced warning my intake was leaking wasn't a waste of money. The ones that show PP produces less lead than Mobil 1 seem worth it as well. I plan to drive it past 250k so knowing what works best is worth it to me. On my other car I found Rotella T 10W-30 works better than GC. I see what you're saying to an extent and the numbers have a limit to their meaning but at the very least it is fun to look at them. I think most will admit that it is part entertainment and part value. Now that I've found a formula that seems to work I'll probably do less and less UOA's. The cost does add up.
 
I don't give UOAs much credit but I didn't see any water in your UOA. Did I miss something? Also I did say you can go well past 200,000 miles at what you are doing. All of your iron numbers are OK, well below the 150PPM level, and GM engines seem to show high copper as a rule. Spend you dollars on oil. You will have an engine that last a long time.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
Those metal numbers are meaningless. You already have 110,000 miles on you engine and at the rate of your OCI you'll make it well past 200,000 miles. The UOAs are a waste of money for you, and besides if the engine wears out there is nothing you can do about it anywhy more than you are already doing.


UOA is not a waste of money for the OP. You simply have to look at the data in the proper context. Even without a TBN, we can see that the oil's viscosity is good, there's no fuel, antifreeze, no problem with insolubles, nor is there an excess of abrasives in the oil (effective air filtration). Sure, wear metals are unremarkable on their face, but that's far from the whole picture here.

I'm amazed at how people can look at one dimension of a UOA that's got plenty of useful info, and declare the whole thing worthless. With all due respect, not so.
 
I'm not against a single UOA per say, but to do them test after test after test seems like a waste of oil change money to me. I've been changing my oil since 1963 and never did a UOA until Sept 08 just for kicks on my Mercury. I can see it if you are losing water and can't explain where it's going.
 
Originally Posted By: tig1
I'm not against a single UOA per say, but to do them test after test after test seems like a waste of oil change money to me. I've been changing my oil since 1963 and never did a UOA until Sept 08 just for kicks on my Mercury. I can see it if you are losing water and can't explain where it's going.


Hey, there's plenty of room under this tent. I just prefer knowing all I can, even though quite frankly, I'd probably survive without it (at least by the odds). On the other hand, we've seen many members catch impending disasters that would not have otherwise been known until it was too late. The coolant in oil example is a good one. That often goes critical in small amounts, before the loss would be apparent in the rad or overflow bottle.
cheers3.gif
 
Originally Posted By: 97 GTP
Curious, what mods do you have?


Nothing at all to the engine. Other than a external trans. cooler, tint on the windows, Hidden Hitch, and an extra set of wheels with winter tires it is completely stock.
 
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