Useful Oil Analysis Frequency Every 10k Miles?

[JeepRubicon2k3]

Hello,

Long time lurker here, I am considering UOA for a new car that I purchased and was thinking of doing it every 10k miles even though I change the oil every 5k miles. Would this be useful? Currently at 5k miles.

What’s a good lab to go with? I was looking at Amsoil?

I’m trying to achieve the following in no order:
Engine longevity
Warranty
Oil effectiveness
Warn trends, warning signs

Thanks for the help

 

[Urshurak776]

5K intervals probably not so much. Maybe do one now and then.

Pick whatever oil you want for your car. Maybe do an early change after 1-2K, then again at 6K then again at 10K. Every 5K after that. Maybe do a UOA at around the 15 or 20K mark just to see how it's looking. This is what I always do anyway. Bottom line, do what you're comfortable with. Same with oil brand and filter. At 5K, any oil will do fine probably. For filter, I go with either OEM or a Premium Guard variant. Lots of choices, but, again, you need to reasearch and go with what makes you comfortable.

 

[Ayrton]

10,000 is too often for a UOA with regular maintenance, unless you're just curious / want to geek out at the numbers. I go back and forth between being that way and wanting to save the cash.

If you're just curious you could send in this first oil sample, but it's going to have more break in metals, etc. so there won't be a lot to interpret from it yet.

You could wait until the third or fourth drain, and then every few years, again, unless you're just curious!

People seem pretty positive about the Amsoil testing kit.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Wait until somewhere over 25k miles and then go full OCI and sample. Doing it sooner on a shorter interval, IMO, is rather silly and not as helpful.

 

[JeepRubicon2k3]

Interesting, I have never done a UOA so of course the nerd in me is interested but I'm not at a point in my life where I can just toss cash around. For some reason I was thinking they needed to be done every oil change to be useful.

What's a good lab to go with and frequency for a new car?

 

[JohnnyJohnson]

Once every 5000 miles would nearly bring my OIC cost up to half of dealership cost. I've done one on my New Mazda and that was just to check for oil dilution and metals the next one I do will likely be at 20K miles or over.

 

[SR5]

Originally I thought oil analysis was for big fleets of commercial vehicles, to keep the fleet on the road earning money, while keeping an eye on the oil. Then pull the fleet vehicle off the road, when the oil needed changing, not before.

The point was to save money for the company and to keep an eye on the oil to see how much life it still had in it. Oil analysis was designed to examine the oil, not directly protect the engine.

OP, If you want to do it once or twice as a hobby, that's fine. But doing it every 10k miles, when you are going to change your oil anyway, is a waste of money. Take your family out to dinner instead, or buy a S&P500 ETF.

 

[JeepRubicon2k3]

I appreciate your response thank you.

Some back story: I had a car throw an internal water pump and it killed the engine of an otherwise great car(I had the car serviced at 100k miles like the manual recommended). At this time no one really knew about the infamous Ford/Mazda internal pump. I feel like a UOA might have picked up the coolant but maybe not.

This was a major impact to my family in many ways. Anyway, my wife really likes this new car and wants to keep it past 100k miles.

 

[SR5]

I’m no expert on this. For a coolant leak I believe you are looking for elevated sodium (Na) or potassium (K) levels. But you need a baseline reading, a VOA of the same oil but fresh or unused.