Valv Durablend 5w20 4321 miles, 04 Vue 3.5L 87k

[Blue_Goose]

Have not run a UOA on my wifes 2004 Saturn Vue for a bit and I am I bit impressed with the 1.95 closeout Durablend I ran in it. This engine seems to agree with any oil I put into it however anything Pennzoil it seems to drink a little...not enough to have to ever add any but can notice it on the dipstick

Wish I bought more at that price. Will probably see a steady diet of Maxlife from here on out.

This Vue has been a great vehicle...only thing we have ever needed to do to it in 90K is new front rotors and pads. Creaks and groans and rattles but I'll take that

Goose

 

[ThirdeYe]

Wait, why's the chart say Honda?
Edit: Wow, I didn't know those had Honda motors. Nice.

 

[Cutehumor]

where's the copper that these 3.5L honda engines are known for?

 

[Blue_Goose]

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where's the copper that these 3.5L honda engines are known for?

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She gets usually 27-28 mpg also...go figure



Goose

 

[Bill in Utah]

WOW!

Thats one impressive UOA Goose!

I'll have to get my dads two UOAs from his Honda powered VUE and post, but.. His are NO where close to yours. (double digit Copper)

Have you posted the previous UOAs? I don't remember seeing them..

Nice. Another KEEPER!

Bill

 

[Bill in Utah]

Quote:

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Quote:

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where's the copper that these 3.5L honda engines are known for?

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She gets usually 27-28 mpg also...go figure



Goose

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My dad gets the same average mpg and best of 31 mpg on a trip.

I hope my Subaru can do the same... (I was going to by a 2007 Vue, but about $4k more than the Subaru ...)

Bill

 

[Blue_Goose]

The other 2 UOA's were with Havoline 5W20 dino oil...TBN's were 2.3 and 2.1...both had lower viscosity than normal but Blackstone said no problems detected. The Durablend seems like it held up a bit better than the Havoline.

I can repost them if you would like to see them Bill. Havoline is back in there again for this run. Like I said for some reason this engine is a wee bit thirsty with the Yellow bottle. Have 5 quarts of that left from the Home Depot clearance so I may use it for a shorter OIC.

Thinking of Maxlife for the next few changes unless I can get some of the Havoline Syn Blend or full synthetic in 5W20 at Big Lots.....although Maxlife seems to be the real deal


Goose

 

[Blue_Goose]

oh...filter used and in again this time is a Wally SuperTech

Goose

 

[Bill in Utah]

I think once my dad is done with his case of Castrol GTX 5w-20 (he ran Pennzoil for the first 30-40k miles) I may put his Vue on Halvoline 5w-20.

All of the UOAs listed above are excellent. If it was me, I'd go with what is the cheapest (of course

) because lets face it, with any of the oils avail today, all are good!

Thanks and no need to repost Goose! Thanks for the offer though.

Bill

 

[Jim 5]

Very nice engine goose. I would like to achieve UOA's like this with my wife's 3.2TL.

Sorry for all the questions, but I would appreciate knowing:
- What kind of air filter are you running, and how often do you change it?
- have you changed the spark-plugs, if so, what kind are you running?

Your honda engine doesn't seem to exhibit the fuel dilution and high copper that many honda's do.

What's your secret?

 

[Bill in Utah]

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oh...filter used and in again this time is a Wally SuperTech

Goose

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You mean the garbage ones..

After reading on the oil filter forum, anything that does not have the letters Eao in it is garbage it seems..

I'm sure they are good filters, but do you really need a $15 filter to get excellent service to 300k+ and beyond?

I never have..

Thanks for proving my point here!

I'll stick with the Supertechs unless another filter comes in with a better price point. $2.46 every 5k is working for me.. (esp when I bought most of my stash for $1.97)

Bill

 

[Blue_Goose]

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Very nice engine goose. I would like to achieve UOA's like this with my wife's 3.2TL.

Sorry for all the questions, but I would appreciate knowing:
- What kind of air filter are you running, and how often do you change it?
- have you changed the spark-plugs, if so, what kind are you running?

Your honda engine doesn't seem to exhibit the fuel dilution and high copper that many honda's do.

What's your secret?

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I'm pretty sure that I have Purolater Air Filter in there now...if I'm not mistaken this is the 2nd or 3rd air filter the car has seen in 90k....honestly

It is a pita to change even though it is right on top...I can never get the darn thing closed right without being Superman

Original Spark plugs....I was serious when I said pretty much all we have done with this vehicle is change out the front brakes. This spring we will have the tranny serviced to make sure it is all squared away. Oh tires...it is on it's second set.

I used LC20 for the first UOA but stopped after that because I was not noticing any distinct reason for using it

Tis a mystery on the copper.....nothing special being done...Vue is driven a minimum 70 miles a day r/t commute...sometimes she gets stuck in rush hour traffic but for the most part it is all clear sailing on the highway


Goose

 

[Blokey]

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where's the copper that these 3.5L honda engines are known for?

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With nearly 88K I think the Cu would have settled by now (even at 61K).

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

IMPRESSIVE! That engine has another 500K left in it!

 

[Jim 5]

Quote:

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Tis a mystery on the copper.....nothing special being done...Vue is driven a minimum 70 miles a day r/t commute...sometimes she gets stuck in rush hour traffic but for the most part it is all clear sailing on the highway


Goose

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I suspect the 70 miles a day return is why you have low copper. I have observed that fuel dilution (especially the trademark Honda fuel dilution) usually accompanies higher copper. My wife does short trips in a cold climate (no more than 5 miles to work/shoe stores). By contrast, your wife's commute sounds like it gives the engine the opportunity to burn off any fuel that might have made its way into the sump due to honda's overly rich warm-up fuel map.

I am going to try the air filters you are using (if they make one for the acura). Terry Dyson recommends the plain old fram air filters for honda's changed frequently. Unfortunately, Fram doesn't make an air filter for my wife's acura.

 

[Blue_Goose]

If you look at Fram's, Purolaters, STP's Brand X or whovever you'll notice that they are all pretty much the same filter just a different box. At least thats how they are for my Matrix...

Goose

 

[Blue_Goose]

Oh I wanted to add that this engine pretty much saw a steady diet of Motorcraft 5W20 from 30-60K


Goose

 

[Jim 5]

I keep hearing about Motorcraft oil in the 5w-20 or 5w30 variety. I want some of this, but the only place you can get it in Canada is at the ford dealer. There are no bargains there....so it will be my next shopping target for when I'm south of the border.

My wife shops for clothes, and I look for oil bargains, and other things I can't get in Canada like Techron and VSOT.