TFL "Super Tremor" UOA

The Fast Lane finally did the first oil change on their 2020 "GODZILLA Super Tremor". Did I mention then went 9500 miles on that 1st change? They had Black Stone do an oil analysis on the oil and overall I agree it looked good, but I did notice it had sheered out of grade.



Considering their usage plans for this truck, the fact that it is lifted with oversized tires running a tune, I think 10k oil changes is way to much and that they need to be following the severe service schedule and changing the oil every 5-7.5k miles (preferably 5k).

Thoughts?


First oil change on any vehicle has high levels of contamination and shearing. It has been shown on numerous UOAs here that the vehicle's UOA will settle down by 20,000 miles or so. So until they get to the third sample at 28,500 miles there is really nothing to compare.

I do agree with the early change philosophy, but suppose they were simply going by the OLM...which is not always accurate as has been discussed ad nauseum here.
 
I do agree with the early change philosophy, but suppose they were simply going by the OLM...which is not always accurate as has been discussed ad nauseum here.

Thank you, that is what I was getting at. If we feel that OLMs are not accurate then why are we trusting them? Sure the UOA didn't look terrible, and to some extent back's up the OLM, but I just can't do it. And if I had their use case I would have an even harder time doing it.
 
That may be true...but if you read what I said, I said "TO ME" the UOA is a snapshot of the engine's health. Either way, I shared my opinion...some agree with me...some don't. That is the beauty of things, we can agree to disagree. Have a good day.

OK, but if I said "to me, the purpose of a hammer is to make noise" and somebody noted that no, the purpose of a hammer is to drive nails, however, if it makes a funny noise while doing so, you may want to take a closer look, I can't come back and argue that my opinion on the purpose is equally valid, because it isn't.

One UOA, without a trend, doesn't tell you much about engine health unless there is something seriously out of line. Trended UOA's allow one to establish a benchmark and then watch for anomalies, but even then, deviation is a normal part of that. A significant departure from that trend or something showing up that shouldn't be there, like coolant, is when it shows value and warrants an investigation, but the odds of somebody trending UOA's on a consumer vehicle with sufficient frequency to catch something like a coolant leak without other obvious symptoms first are pretty low.

On the other hand, a UOA with TAN/TBN and ideally insolubles will tell you whether the lubricant is suitable for continued use or not, which can be extremely valuable. This is the target market, where a body is trying to extract maximum operating life out of a lubricant on large pieces of commercial equipment while staying within the safe operating envelope of the product. This maximizes ROI and will also catch contamination by virtue of regular sampling, ideally before it becomes severe and causes damage.
 
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Interesting...I'l just leave this right here from the owner's manual...

View attachment 27775

It seems to me that what TFL is doing to their truck does not meet normal use, but rather severe in which case the 5000-7500 I mentioned at the beginning of this thread would be accurate.

You missed the top line of the excerpt you posted.

"When to Expect the Message Prompting You to Change the Oil".

The manual says follow the IOLM. Exceptions are for things like primarily off-road driving which could increase silicon in the oil which the algorithm doesn't account for.

If the additional load of the tires and and amount of towing they did had met the level required to start decreasing the OCI they would have received an earlier message. Apparently their use profile didn't drop out of the parameters considered normal for a 7.3 SuperDuty.

I wouldn't be surprised since that engine was developed for 18500 lb Boom Trucks and 30,000 lb Service Truck & Trailer Combos if the loading has to be fairly high to push it out of the normal range.
 
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I'm with W9HDG
I own one and an oil change on these is so simple. And if you can't do it, Ford gives you $210. on your "Ford Pass"
for services at any dealership regardless of the OLM etc. I also got a 20 year-200,000 mile powertrain warranty that
is an independent insurance for free from my dealer.

I no longer freak about new vehicles and I go easy on my trucks early on and I will take mine to 5000 miles.
The last three SD's I had went that way and the oil filters were very clean and the oil. But the TFL truck has many drivers
and is a severe duty vehicle and 9200 mile UOA was impressive but stupid if you were going to keep the truck.

Chevron 5w30 Supreme easily meets the specs and a MC filter (not for me) is what like under $25 for a cheapo oil change...
 
7.3L Reg Cab F250
 

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Why is there mention of high sulfur diesel fuel if this information is for the 7.3 gasser?

Interesting...I'l just leave this right here from the owner's manual...

View attachment 27775

It seems to me that what TFL is doing to their truck does not meet normal use, but rather severe in which case the 5000-7500 I mentioned at the beginning of this thread would be accurate.
 
Why is there mention of high sulfur diesel fuel if this information is for the 7.3 gasser?

The mileages are the same for IOLM expected activation on the 6.2 and 7.3. I'm not sure if that's an error or the diesel chart. We don't buy diesels since DPF.
 
I'm with W9HDG
I own one and an oil change on these is so simple. And if you can't do it, Ford gives you $210. on your "Ford Pass"
for services at any dealership regardless of the OLM etc. I also got a 20 year-200,000 mile powertrain warranty that
is an independent insurance for free from my dealer.

I no longer freak about new vehicles and I go easy on my trucks early on and I will take mine to 5000 miles.
The last three SD's I had went that way and the oil filters were very clean and the oil. But the TFL truck has many drivers
and is a severe duty vehicle and 9200 mile UOA was impressive but stupid if you were going to keep the truck.

Chevron 5w30 Supreme easily meets the specs and a MC filter (not for me) is what like under $25 for a cheapo oil change...


I'm unclear if this truck is property of TFL or a long term loaner from Ford. I can't really remember the last time a journalist went "off the reservation" as opposed to following the manufacturer's recommendations. If it's a loaner I'm not sure if they have any discretion.
 
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Thank you, that is what I was getting at. If we feel that OLMs are not accurate then why are we trusting them?

Because over and over it has been shown that the oil monitors are either a simple counter (Ford 2010-20??) or a very conservative algorithm that is (probably) calibrated for conventional oil.

The algorithms have become more accurate over time but seem to be set for soccer moms who can't be bothered with an oil change until their husband drives the minivan and asks how long the light has been on. Rightly so.

But I have not yet seen a UOA on a NA port injected engine wherein the OLM was at 0% and the oil was depleted. Turbo and gdi are different animals with which I have little or no experience, but longer OCIs for them seem to be contraindicated.
 
Interesting...I'l just leave this right here from the owner's manual...

View attachment 27775

It seems to me that what TFL is doing to their truck does not meet normal use, but rather severe in which case the 5000-7500 I mentioned at the beginning of this thread would be accurate.
We seem to miss that part when we say we read the manual.
 
I'm unclear if this truck is property of TFL or a long term loaner from Ford. I can't really remember the last time a journalist went "off the reservation" as opposed to following the manufacturer's recommendations. If it's a loaner I'm not sure if they have any discretion.

TFL bought it.
 
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