Suspecting fuel dilution (2013 Sonata 2.0T)

Pennzoil motor oil
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Originally Posted By: Garak
I think Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30 would fit the A5/B5 mention nicely, as would M1 or Syntec.


With the amount of Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5w30 I was able to buy during the AZ clearance, ill be using it for quite some time. Gladly.
 
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Yeah I maybe switch to Quaker State Ultimate Durability, it's cheaper and it won't make a huge difference as I will change it out every 3.5k miles.
 
Swift101, if you have Auto Zone in your area, many of us were able to score Quaker State Ultimate Durability for $1-$3 /qt during their huge clearance a wk or two ago. The oils on clearance varied greatly store to store but its worth the trip as up to yesterday i saw Kendall GT-1 10w30 blend still available at these great prices. If not, as you have sited, Quaker State Ultimate Durability is already a huge bargain at Walmart etc.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
Swift101, if you have Auto Zone in your area, many of us were able to score Quaker State Ultimate Durability for $1-$3 /qt during their huge clearance a wk or two ago. The oils on clearance varied greatly store to store but its worth the trip as up to yesterday i saw Kendall GT-1 10w30 blend still available at these great prices. If not, as you have sited, Quaker State Ultimate Durability is already a huge bargain at Walmart etc.


Thanks for the tip, I have an Auto Zone about 2 miles away from me. I'll stop by for sure and see if they have good oils on clearance.
 
Good luck Swift101, the other oil I have plenty of is Havoline syn, 5w30.

Garak, question...
If Havoline syn has the highest viscosity index number according to PQIA, wouldnt this contribute to its ability resist shear better than its competitors?
 
Originally Posted By: Swift101
Originally Posted By: salv
I work in service for a Hyundai dealer. The turbos and GDI engines are tough on oil. I wouldn't recommend going beyond 5k. If you make a lot of short trips, idle for long periods, or do a lot of stop and go driving, 3500 miles is good.


Thanks everyone for the input.

I'll get it changed next weekend, I just got paranoid after smelling gas. My manual states I can use 5W-40, I wonder if it would help with fuel dilution. My understanding is that if enough gasoline gets into the oil it causes the oil viscosity to drop. So technically the Pennzoil Ultra 5w30 becomes 5w-20. Please correct me if I'm wrong, just exploring my options.


Your instincts are spot on and the Hyundai tech gives good advice. I have a 2008 Mazdaspeed3 DI turbo but I have a 4 mile commute to work. I drive home for lunch nearly every day so that's four short trips per day with three of them stone-cold starts. I've used PP and M1 in this engine since break in. The oil turns black in 1000 miles. Your nose knows. The very strong smell of gasoline in my engine at 3500 miles translates to 2.5% fuel and viscosity at the very low end or beyond of the 5w30 spec. So, I have established a max OCI of 4,000 miles.

Oh, one other thing. There is still usable TBN on my 3500 mile used oil analysis which gives me some peace of mind. The question which I have not been able to resolve is, 'How much dilution is too much?' all I can share with you is that my investigation led me to the practice described above and I'm very comfortable with it. I do my own oil changes so I've been through about a dozen changes on this car and repeated used oil analysis and feel as though I know it very well.
 
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Another conclusion from my post above: Oil brand isn't very important. The dilution prematurely damages the oil so you don't need the longest interval oil on the market. I do stick with synthetics on a small turbo like this because you're going to always have localized hot spots and syn will simply stand up to that better on a day to day basis.

Bottom line: buy any brand name syn on sale and change your oil every 4-5,000 miles with a fresh filter. Keep detailed records and receipts. You'll meet the manufacturer's requirements and have peace of mind that you have done all you can to give your engine an opportunity for long life.
 
Originally Posted By: wemay
Garak, question...
If Havoline syn has the highest viscosity index number according to PQIA, wouldnt this contribute to its ability resist shear better than its competitors?

Maybe. The experts here would know better for sure, but it depends upon how they got that high VI in the first place. Havoline is another high quality oil. I'd be inclined to use it, too, except it's a little tougher to get out this way, and the synthetic price is much magnified compared to the conventional Chevron varieties.

As Indy noted above, the shear from fuel dilution is going to be the real issue. Finding an oil that's more shear resistant in "average applications" won't necessarily do you a lot of good in combating fuel dilution.
 
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Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: wemay
Garak, question...
If Havoline syn has the highest viscosity index number according to PQIA, wouldnt this contribute to its ability resist shear better than its competitors?

Maybe. The experts here would know better for sure, but it depends upon how they got that high VI in the first place. Havoline is another high quality oil. I'd be inclined to use it, too, except it's a little tougher to get out this way, and the synthetic price is much magnified compared to the conventional Chevron varieties.

As Indy noted above, the shear from fuel dilution is going to be the real issue. Finding an oil that's more shear resistant in "average applications" won't necessarily do you a lot of good in combating fuel dilution.


Just a question: hypothetically, if one does 3 weeks of short-tripping in cold weather that results in fuel dilution, but then does a long highway drive that evaporates the offending fuel, is the oil restored to a good, unsheared, condition or has permanent damage been done?
 
No, from what I understand, the damage is permanent. The actual shearing itself due to the physical dilution may be reduced, but I've been told here that the chemical reactions that have occurred simply aren't "undone," and viscosity won't be restored to "as new" condition. My response to excess fuel dilution, in any case, has always been more frequent OCIs.
 
I was just reading up on Quaker State Ultimate Durability and it looks like a great choice for us guys with turbo DI motors since we can't do long OCIs (For warranty reasons/fuel dilution).

It meets Honda HTO‐06 turbo spec & is GM dexos1 certified as many of you mentioned. Since I'll be doing 3.5k OCIs it doesn't make sense for me to get PU since it will get diluted by gasoline.

I understand PU is a better oil but It might be a waste in my case. On a side note Quaker State Ultimate Durability's NOACK comes in at 8.8 (at least according to PQIA) , which is slightly better than PP. I suppose it's due to the fact that their both SOPUS products.

http://www.epc.shell.com/Docs/GPCDOC_X_cbe_24855_key_140007513239_201302211620.pdf
 
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Couldnt agree with you more. Don't strictly go by NOACK though, although i know most on this board will swear by it. A few other more experienced than me have sited other oils with higher NOACK to be just as good (Edge w/ti, etc). Really, at 3-4k mi OCI, any API SN oil, conv or syn would fit the bill IMHO.
 
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