'05 civic si, Rotella T6 (5w40). 10k interval.

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Hey guys, another boring k-series oil analysis:

- Stock k20A3, currently 106,000 miles.
- No oil consumption/makup.
- Rotella T6 5w40, 10,000 interval, (aprox. May - late August in the northeast US).

CroppedT6result.jpg

The results column on the right of the "Unit Locations Avg" block are previous results: 10k interval, Pens. Platinum (5w30), car had 53k miles.

The column to the left of the "Unit Locations Avg" block are the present results. :thumbup:
 
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Very nice run indeed but why the thick 5w40? I think the previous run with PP 5w30 was good.
 
Your two runs look about equal.
Given that, I'd probably go with the thinner PP over the thick T6.
The T6 is much thicker than the PP at lower temperatures, so I'd certainly prefer PP for a New York winter.
What these two UOAs do show is that thicker vs thinner is not a serious debate, since you had basically the same results with both oils.
 
Heck, the PP is probably a better looking OCI if done in the summer time like the T6.

Without racing it at high speed or super-modding no reason to go above a 5w-30 for this engine.

That said, both seemed to generate good results.
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The thick crowd win this time. 5W40 has 30% less iron than 5W30.

Kidding aside, the K20 engine is known to be easy on oil, especially your driving condition is ideal, when you log about 3k miles a month(mostly highway miles ?)
 
Nice report.....What filter did you use?

For NYS winters.....you might try M-1 0w30....or the highly acclaimed (by many BITOG'ers)....M1-0w40. I'm sure you can do 10,000 OCI with it easily.
 
Extremely nice wearing engine (as are most Honda 4 cyls). Nothing but praise here.

Clearly the OCI can be extended; with wear and insolubles like that 15k miles is not a great stretch, perhaps more? I'd push it out a bit each time, and UOA along the way at each interval for confirmation. That's the only way to get your value out of the fluid. Frankly, many quality dino oils can do this well in 8-10k miles. Push it out; be daring. Why not really show the benefits of syns?

As for the wear metals specifically, you cannot look at singular UOA data points and make determinations as to any one fluid being better or lesser than another. Also, the std dev of wear metals is anywhere from 50% t0 150% of the UA depending upon metal and engine family. So variance is normal and small ppm shifts are expected even from the same brand/grade. What this UOA shows is that the engine really doesn't care, generaly, what grade it's run on. More data would enable us to make far more inciteful declarations, but this generality is reasonable. This UOA, and others like it with variance of grade (5w-30, 5w-20, 5w-40, 10w-30), make this conclusion palatable.

Between the fluid choices, I'd say buy whathever is cheaper; the engine will not care, but your wallet will.
 
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Looks great. run which ever weight you want your engine doesnt seems to care!

Tho in this snapshot the T6 does technically have better wear numbers
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:p
 
Thanks for the info guys. The filter was a regular purolator for both samples. This is the 3rd T6 oil change.

The vast majority of miles are semi-congested highway miles (for locals, the LIE & NS Parkway). Lots of full throttle lower/mid rpm driving, mixed with extended-time partial throttle cruising around 3.5k rpm.

I got several gallons of T6 from a friend who sold their car, so I'm going to stick with it for a while. Besides, there's many high-mile/stock oiling system k20 owners out there who run 'thicker' oils year-round in similar climates with no accelerated wear issues.

Also sticking with the 10k interval which is honda's non-severe service interval; if only for ease in selling the car (the general public's minds are still set on that 3k mile interval).
 
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Yeah, the only thing adversely affected using T6 over a 30 SAE multi-grade is fuel economy in your app/conditions.

I agree with dnewton3, extend your interval out.

IMO, the PP did great and is the thinnest 5w-30 at operating temp; among anyway, thinner than M1 0w-30.

In any event, use it up. I would like to see your next UOA, especially if it includes a good portion of the winter months. If you don't extend your interval any with the extra T6 you are using; then at least stick to what you are doing.

Nice job.
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Thanks for posting - nice to see a straightforward 10k run with RT6 in a gas engine w/o additives or top-offs to see how it does at just extended drains. Looks good, I'd push to 12-13k.
 
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