Rotella T4 15w40 + Lucas Oil Stabilizer, Fram TG Filter, ~2000 mile OCI in a 1993 Corvette

Robvette

Robvette

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Dec 20, 2020
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302
The prior owner of this car used a K&N air filter and the airbox was slightly compromised imho (see video below of problem and solution) which explains the elevated Si, but this oil seems unfazed. PQ index of just 4 is awesome. This car was autocross raced 3x during this OCI, I purchased it last Sunday and road tripped it from Belleville WI to Roanoke VA.

[Note: the first (28 Feb 23) numbers are from my 92 Lingenfelter 383 Corvette - not this car. The lab mistakenly thought this was a subsequent oil sample.]

IMG_7945.jpeg


Airbox issue and solution. Note: this airbox is not made any longer but I hope to find a good used one in the next year or so.


Last night I installed M1 15w50 oil and a Fram Titanium Filter, Amsoil Synchromesh Manual Transmissin Fluid and then brought it to a local car show this morning.
IMG_7951.jpeg
 
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Great that you're catching an air filter issue & the silicon does appear quite elevated. The UOA says Shell 15w-50 I'm assuming that was also an error & is 15w-40.

Also, One of the big changes that was just posted the other day is that Shell Rotella T4 was spotted to now have a gasoline SN rating. From what I see, on your oil analysis, shows they've heavily reduced Calcium, Phos, Zinc, & now Includes Moly & Magnesium.

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/shell-rotella-t4-15w-40-now-sn-rated.372381/
 
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Silicon is definitely high, hopefully that's not causing too much abrasive wear.

Iron is 5.5ppm/1,000 miles, not sure what typical for this particular engine is, but that's not super high, though a bit higher than what is "typical" for a V8 in the size range. Will be interesting to see if that trends downward with your new maintenance regimen, particularly now that you believe you've addressed the air intake sealing issue.

Phosphorous is of course low because of the Lucas diluting the AW additives.
 
Just realized I didn’t include the second half of the UOA sheet in the original post.
IMG_7975.webp
 
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Robvette said:
Fwiw - when I got this car I shared that the prior owner used Rotella T4 15w40 with Lucas in this thread: https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/t...s-in-a-93-corvette-autocross-race-car.372414/

True to form, BITOG folks slammed the prior owner for choosing that oil and using Lucas.

Then, I share this analysis that … looks … pretty … dang … good … and …

Crickets
Click to expand...
You can't draw any conclusions about Lucas from this UOA. Stop trying so hard to be right about this.
 
Fwiw - when I posted that T4 / Lucas combo is what the prior owner used, even without a UOA, BITOG judgements and conclusions were everywhere.

Now we have a good looking UOA and … we know for sure that anything positive about this UOA cannot be attributed to T4 or Lucas.

I’ve learned you gotta have a sense of humor here at BITOG and enjoy the irony.

Just yesterday I shared that my wife’s 2006 Prius with 270,000 miles consumes significant oil if the owners manual recommended 5W-30 is used, but if Mobil 1 10W-40 is used oil consumption drops to an almost unnoticeable rate.

One veteran member commented that I was preaching to the choir, that in all of their older vehicles they use one higher viscosity grade than recommended with excellent results.

Another veteran member commented that there is absolutely no need for molasses 40 and 50 weight oils. None.

Thankfully, everyone is right.
 
Robvette said:
Fwiw - when I posted that T4 / Lucas combo is what the prior owner used, even without a UOA, BITOG judgements and conclusions were everywhere.

Now we have a good looking UOA and … we know for sure that anything positive about this UOA cannot be attributed to T4 or Lucas.

I’ve learned you gotta have a sense of humor here at BITOG and enjoy the irony.

Just yesterday I shared that my wife’s 2006 Prius with 270,000 miles consumes significant oil if the owners manual recommended 5W-30 is used, but if Mobil 1 10W-40 is used oil consumption drops to an almost unnoticeable rate.

One veteran member commented that I was preaching to the choir, that in all of their older vehicles they use one higher viscosity grade than recommended with excellent results.

Another veteran member commented that there is absolutely no need for molasses 40 and 50 weight oils. None.

Thankfully, everyone is right.
Click to expand...
Also, I see no comments that despite the high silcon, the soft metal wear is extremely low in your sample.

Good job posting this, and your comments on the site itself.

I am glad others see this and risk to comment on it.

This is a human behavior and social structure study site, almost more than oil commentary.

The new acronym from my view is:

Behaviorism
Irony
Tribalism
Obtuseness
Groupthink
 
I do see that Lucas thickened it up which is exactly what it's made to do. It is thick as molasses at 18.1. There are many of us that appreciate these UOA regardless of what we say.
 
Robvette said:
Fwiw - when I posted that T4 / Lucas combo is what the prior owner used, even without a UOA, BITOG judgements and conclusions were everywhere.

Now we have a good looking UOA and … we know for sure that anything positive about this UOA cannot be attributed to T4 or Lucas.

I’ve learned you gotta have a sense of humor here at BITOG and enjoy the irony.

Just yesterday I shared that my wife’s 2006 Prius with 270,000 miles consumes significant oil if the owners manual recommended 5W-30 is used, but if Mobil 1 10W-40 is used oil consumption drops to an almost unnoticeable rate.

One veteran member commented that I was preaching to the choir, that in all of their older vehicles they use one higher viscosity grade than recommended with excellent results.

Another veteran member commented that there is absolutely no need for molasses 40 and 50 weight oils. None.

Thankfully, everyone is right.
Click to expand...
The first rule of oil & BITOG is one UOA isn't enough. Lucas can work great for years in someone else's car, doesn't mean it's a good product. It is a well known snake oil used to buff up a car with pressure or ring issues. You'd be better off using the STP oil treatment if that was your thing.

The fact you are not continuing to use that combo speaks volumes of the general consensus we had.

Screenshotting google searches of websites supporting you thicker is better the older an engine gets is fine and all but doesn't prove anything. The real facts are your wife's Prius has bad oil control rings from age and wear. The car in fact has a mechanical problem that can be bandaid fixed by running a higher viscosity oil. It does not mean ALL older engines should do this nor have to. You are one case.
 
Si is a funny one on BITOG. I have seen folks with 30-40ppm of in a UOA posted on a standard paper filter...comments...."looks great!". Same with a K&N..."OMG change that now!". It could be the simple sealing issue you are seeing. Some oils have quite a bit of Si in them normally. Worth noting/looking at but I doubt the K&N itself is contributing to that number if sealed in the box correctly...the K&N = Si UOA Is is a bit of an internet boogieman.

The fact is UOAs aren't going to show any difference between any oils you run Lucas or not. It's not the tool for comparing oils, it's a tool for looking at how your engine is doing. If you like Lucas, run Lucas, it isn't hurting a thing but saying the UOA looks "good" b/c you ran Lucas is simply not something these data can tell you or anyone.
 
TiGeo said:
Si is a funny one on BITOG. I have seen folks with 30-40ppm of in a UOA posted on a standard paper filter...comments...."looks great!". Same with a K&N..."OMG change that now!". It could be the simple sealing issue you are seeing. Some oils have quite a bit of Si in them normally. Worth noting/looking at but I doubt the K&N itself is contributing to that number if sealed in the box correctly...the K&N = Si UOA Is a bit of an internet boogieman.

The fact is UOAs aren't going to show any difference between any oils you run Lucas or not. It's not the tool for comparing oils, it's a tool for looking at how your engine is doing. If you like Lucas, run Lucas, it isn't hurting a thing but saying the UOA looks "good" b/c you ran Lucas is simply not something these data can tell you or anyone.
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Just make sure to apply the proper oil to the K&N filter element. Since, well you know, the oil is what actually does the filtering. :ROFLMAO:
 
KEVINK0000 said:
Also, I see no comments that despite the high silcon, the soft metal wear is extremely low in your sample.

Good job posting this, and your comments on the site itself.

I am glad others see this and risk to comment on it.

This is a human behavior and social structure study site, almost more than oil commentary.

The new acronym from my view is:

Behaviorism
Irony
Tribalism
Obtuseness
Groupthink
Click to expand...
What compound is the elemental silicon coming from? Without that you know nothing in regards to what is happening to the engine.
 
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