Bobert, then you should read the reason whyit is so, here:
About Oil Tests
We at SynLube, Inc. receive many e-mails with questions about oil tests performed by various laboratories, and how to interpret them. This section should answer most of frequently asked questions, and help to understand the differences between conventional oils (both petroleum and synthetic) and our unique colloidal lubricants.
Specifics:
Iron = Fe
Conventional Petroleum or Synthetic oils will NOT show ANY Iron in FRESH OIL
SynLube™ however due to unique chemical formulation has typically 50 PPM in the INITIAL FILL OIL and about 75 PPM in the ADD OIL of Iron, because some of the ""sacrificial"" antioxidants contain Fe atoms in their chemical molecular make up.
Normally laboratories "Flag" Fe if PPM is greater than 100, although levels below 1,000 rarely translate into any mechanical problems or abnormal wear even in a Conventional Oil.
For practical purposes about 100 should be subtracted from the Lab report to project any "wear" and that is only simple rule.
Labs also usually test oils that are Frequently Changed, therefore oil that remain in the engine for over 10,000 miles will have much higher reading than oil that is changed every 3,000 miles.
The ONLY reliable indication of Relative wear is installation of TriMagnets onto the motor oil filter and replacing the oil filter at regular intervals (2 years or 25,000 miles). Cutting the filter apart with appropriate tool and inspecting visually the quantity and quality of the iron deposits that were trapped by the TriMagnet is much more reliable indication of wear since 80 to 90% engine wear is Ferro-magnetic.
Other less reliable method is taking the Fe reading from lab report, subtracting 100 PPM and dividing that by the miles on the oil.
Example: 114-100 = 14/12,000 = 0.00116
If the Fe value is LESS than 0.01 there is NO NEED for concern about the Iron reading.
Chromium = Cr
This is the ONLY wear element that is of concern in oil analysis of SynLube™, as NO Chromium is present in FRESH SynLube™ Lubricants.
Again Cr level in relation to miles on the oil is of importance and NOT the actual level, frequently
Some Chromium will be in the oil from the initial break in, and the level will remain constant over many thousands of miles or actually DROP with time and miles.
The Cr reading must be compensated for accumulated mileage.
Example: 11/12,000 = 0.0009
If the value is LESS than 0.005 there is NO NEED for concern about the Chromium reading.
Silicon = Si
Many OEM’s use Silicone Lubricant spray on engine components to prevent rust and to serve as initial break-in lube during engine assembly.
Readings of OVER 1,000 PPM are NOT uncommon on NEW engines, and as always some Silicone will remain even after several oil changes.
Silicone is usually interpreted by labs as Dirt, Dust or Sand if it is associated with "solids" in the oil test, however since SynLube™ has up to 33% by volume of colloidal solids, this rule can not be applied to SynLube™.
However SynLube™ uses silicone based anti-foam agents in most of the Lube-4-Life™ fluids, therefore silicone levels in 200 to 250 PPM are NORMAL for the formulations and can be as high as 500 PPM for ATF or PSF.
Tin = Sn
Chemicals that contain Tin Sn are component part of the INITIAL FILL OIL and readings of 55 to 67 PPM are NORMAL, the Tin level will actually decrease with the use of ADD OIL, and when it drops BELOW 25 PPM it indicates that either INITIAL FILL OIL or SERVICE FILL OIL should be used during NEXT OIL FILTER CHANGE, instead of the ADD OIL.
Molybdenum
SynLube™ oils contain Moly and therefore the Molybdenum levels will be in 3,000 PPM and above range, when level drops to below 1,000 PPM, INITIAL FILL OIL should be added instead of the ADD OIL, next time oil addition is needed.
Differing test equipment yields different Molybdenum levels from identical test sample, therefore data obtained from different laboratories can not be reliably compared.
Viscosity
SynLube™ Lube-4-Life™ is ISO 100 oil;
therefore the viscosity reading at 40ºC should be about 100 cSt.
SynLube™ Lube-4-Life™ is SAE 5W-50;
oil therefore the viscosity reading at 100ºC should be above 16 cSt and below 21.89 cSt.
There are Many differing testers that measure viscosity, and although when using viscosity standard calibration fluid, they can all be calibrated to show the SAME viscosity, this applies ONLY to Newtonian fluids.
Non-Newtonian fluids like SynLube™ will result in differing readings in different equipment design even if the calibration is the same, this sometimes can vary by as much as 200% at low temperatures and about 20 % at 100ºC to 150ºC range.
Therefore viscosity CHANGE between different oil tests is MORE important than any single viscosity reading, which is both temperature and equipment specific.
API considers oil fit for service even if viscosity of USED oil increases by 375% when compared to fresh oil.
Therefore unless ISO viscosity is above 400 cSt, SynLube™ by that standard is still OK.
We recommend oil change or addition of SERVICE FILL OIL when viscosity exceeds either 320 cSt @ 40ºC or 50 cSt @ 100ºC.
TBN
Total Base Number
As long as TBN is above 0.5 there is no need to change SynLube™, and even if TBN becomes NEGATIVE (TAN) then only small addition of 4 to 8 oz of TBN additive that is available from SynLube,Inc. will drastically increase TBN readings (sometimes OVER 10).
TBN is generally ONLY concern in some Diesel Engines that have sensitivity to oil which turns acidic.
TBN is not relevant in Gasoline fueled engines that utilize Unleaded Gasoline.
Most transmission oils are intentionally acidic as this helps with adhesion of anti-scuff additives onto gear faces and teeth.
TBN of SynLube™ also varies greatly with different tests, quick Electro chemical testers often yield false results because colloidal Graphite contained in SynLube™ is electric conductor and that affects the reading.
The ONLY reliable TBN determination is by laboratory titration and this test is time consuming and expensive, therefore unless specifically requested it is NOT performed during typical low cost oil test.
Solids
Unless inspection is done under 100X to 400X microscope, there are NO reliable automatic tests that will correctly indicate presence of Dust, Sand, Dirt, Soot and wear particles in the SynLube™ lubricants. SynLube™ contains as much as 33% by volume of colloidal solids (Graphite, PTFE – Teflon, Moly). Therefore these sub-micronic solids that are present in SynLube™ will not yield correct values for "contamination" tests, since they usually compare wear or impurities to conventional lubricants which contain NO SOLIDS when FRESH and solids only accumulate during their use.
Summary
Low cost oil analysis can be ONLY used for plotting of wear trend or oil viscosity change trend, any single test can not be used to indicate or predict equipment or oil quality.
There always MUST be comparison to FRESH oil analysis of the oil BEFORE it has been installed, as well as Oil that has been in the engine for about 200 miles or 5 hours.
This is because it is NOT possible to drain 100% of any previous lubricant from most mechanisms and values of slightly used oil may vary by as much as 20 to 50% when compared to FRESH UNUSED OIL.
Oils will undergo chemical changes when exposed to heat, which exceed 200 F.
During oil formulation and production conventional oils are not exposed to temperatures over 90º F and synthetic fluids seldom are produced at temperatures that exceed ambient or room temperatures of 70º F
To determine statistically meaning full trend based on OIL ANALYSIS following would have to be done:
Sample USED oil that was previously in the Engine.
Sample FRESH oil prior installation.
Sample Low Mileage USED oil (about 200 miles)
Sample High Mileage USED oil (about 25,000 miles)
Sample High Mileage USED oil (about 50,000 miles)
Only the variation between the TWO high mileage tests can be used for a meaningful wear trend or oil deterioration projections, the other tests only serve as base lines to which initial oil composition can be made.
Any SINGLE oil test will yield data that if compared to conventional petroleum or synthetic lubricants will result at best in "ABNORMAL" values or "FAIL" condition.
Since SynLube™ is unconventional long-life lubricant conventional oil test standards can not be applied to predict wear or oil condition if the FIVE-test plan shown above is not followed.
Since SynLube, Inc. has extensive experience with colloidal lubricants and of course with all SynLube™ products, we can either perform any requested or required oil analysis for our customers, or properly interpret results that are obtained from independent oil test laboratories.
