using oil analysis reports to determine N2O usability?

[TomL]

Hi, I'm kinda taking it off the break-in secrets thread here:
Engine Break-in Secrets

But I was wondering about using my old, and next, analysis reports to determine how much, or if even a 50hp, shot of nitrous I would be able to use on my car.

I already know pretty much all the basics about analysis such as the NOX and OXD %'s possibly effected by blowby. But I'm wondering about any specifics to look at, such as ratios between various numbers or something like that, to determine how much blowby I'm getting past the rings to see how if I could put nitrous on my car or not so that this

doesn't effectivly happen!

Thanks,

Tom

 

[TomL]

anybody? anybody?

 

[mormit]

Tom: Don't kill YOUR engine for a little fun, try this: http://www.ag.auburn.edu/users/gparmer/articles/neon/

 

[TomL]

Hi Mormit. Thanks for the reply! I appreciate your concern as well but safety really isn't an issue when it comes to installing nitrous on your car if it's done the RIGHT way, which is basically the case for every substantial performance mod. Being an engineering technology student I know I have to know the theory before I even begin testing. So I've already done my research which is one of the reasons I've started this thread based on its topic. Money, and this issue, are pretty much what's prevented me from even having the parts in hand yet, hehe, college makes you a poor guy.

I have my 3 analysis reports currently to show. Actually let me see if I can find them in the old oilanalysis.com message board and link to it here. Actually this is my old one and only shows the last 2 I've had done. I haven't scanned the newest one (8/02) yet.

The results mention that I should check the EGR as possible source of nitration elevation, and it seems that it's a somewhat common problem on my generation car. Would this interfere with tryiing to decipher the nitration being caused by blowby? Or am I way off here even to begin with?

Well I'd appreciate any help. Thanks,

Tom

 

[Pablo]

So am I wrong in reading your report that you went 36,219 miles on the oil? Or separate 17-19K intervals?

I would say interesting - the oil does look tired, and Fe high.

Well maybe your EGR is suffering - I don't know enough about your car model to comment on the EGR system. And if you do have EGR problems - the oil gave it's life...

Water is highish, but I have had that water number when I didn't sample HOT.....

Did you do a flush after? - THIS is a big issue I have with extended oil change intervals - now you have some really nasty dirty oil drippin's left behind - so start another long cycle....? I would advise Auto RX/Nuetra flush with a 3K cycle and a less expensive but good oil, prior to a real long cycle again.

[ November 23, 2002, 07:18 AM: Message edited by: Pablo ]

 

[jjbula]

What does the oil look like coming out? I've never seen an oil analysis report with the oil so "worn out" in oxidation and nitration. It is also pretty thick and would not flow well in a cold winter.

 

[TomL]

AHHHH!! Thanks for the replies guys, but I JUST typed up a LONG reply and then hit submit, and apparently when listing my viscosity values the !< symbol was taken to be an HTML tag it wasn't allowed! So I had to wait 60 seconds an during the wait a friend of mine sent me one of those "links" that's just a trick that does something stupid to your browser and the reply went away!!!! I coulda sworn I copied it too because that seems like it happens to me a lot!

Oh well, anyways yes the 0.11 appears to be high for water, but I was told a lot of my short trips could've been the cause? My latest 8/3/02 report has only a 0.05 value again. I don't do the samples really cold or "hot", I let the engine warm up a bit just to mix up all the oil so I don't get a misrepresenting analysis report.

A 56ppm AND 34ppm values for iron are high? My 8/3/02 report shows only 29ppm for iron.

I've done flushes after THESE two reports, but not my latest one because around that time it seemed the general consensus was that AFTER already using a high quality oil, it's unnecessary to do a flush. I've been recommending Auto-RX to everyone I see it could benefit after Terry Dyson's first post about it in Noria, and then doing more research about it. But it seems after that product people are saying the $3 can of Amsoil engine flush will also ruin your engine? So I've done neither cuz $25 is a lot to me on top of the oil/filter/analysis, and if the flush isn't going to be doing much for now anways there's no point to even buy a $3 can of Amsoil flush and its risks.

jjbula, the oil looks just about the same as it always does when I've drained it, just really dark. Above what level is a "so worn out" value for OXD and NOX? My latest 8/3/02 report shows:

OXD: 33.3
NOX: 62.9
TBN: 5.8
Viscosity: 15.7

Are these OXD/NOX values alright? And TBN? The only thing I've really been concerned about is the viscosity since apparently an SAE 30 oil shouldn't go above a 12.5 level. Oh and I changed my filter halfway through each drain interval as recommended, and top it off with another quart of fresh oil to make up for what came out of it.

So how do these results look for the usability of nitrous? I was planning a 50-shot, not that it's a small amount but compared to 100-200 it would be. Or are my results skewed from my drains being too long and/or the possiblity of an EGR related issue raising certain values?

 

[jjbula]

quote:

---

Originally posted by TomL:
[QB
jjbula, the oil looks just about the same as it always does when I've drained it, just really dark. Above what level is a "so worn out" value for OXD and NOX? My latest 8/3/02 report shows:

OXD: 33.3
NOX: 62.9
TBN: 5.8
Viscosity: 15.7

Are these OXD/NOX values alright? And TBN? The only thing I've really been concerned about is the viscosity since apparently an SAE 30 oil shouldn't go above a 12.5 level. [/QB]

---

I was focusing on the 70%+ numbers I saw for oxidation and nitration on the report. I'm not really sure how close to 100% is too close. Just haven't seen numbers that high before. A TBN of 4 or greater looks o.k. to me as well. I don't know how much thickening is too much. 15+ for a 30 weight did seem VERY thick to me.

Technically I don't know the effect of pushing oxidation, nitration, TBN, or oil thickening. Can't tell you 'when' its too late. Maybe you changed it at the perfect time and got maximum use out of the oil.

For engine cleaning do a board search on Schaeffer "Neutra". People who use it really like it. It's cheaper than Auto-Rx

Go to the Auto-Rx site for more info, I've used it and really like it. Does what it says it will.

Disclaimer: This is all my humble opinion.

 

[jjbula]

BTW, $3 engine flushes scare me.

I don't want an aggressive "5 minute" solvent flush in my engine unless I pull the oil pan.

 

[TooSlick]

Toml,

With the mods and the nitrous, I'd go to a 10,000 mile max oil change interval in this case, even with Amsoil. You are getting too much oxidation/nitration which leads to engine deposits.
You'll also get better wear numbers with the shorter drain interval ....

The Amsoil engine flush works fine and is fairly mild - I have used it on dozens of engines over the years with very good results. Make sure you put on a clean SDF oil filter - not some cheap $3.00 piece of junk - before running it in the engine. I typically fast idle the engine @ 2X the normal idle speed for 20-30 minutes, depending on how dirty the engine is. It will thin out the old oil a bit, which is why they don't recommend running the engine under load with the flush in there.

TooSlick