AMSOIL AFF0w-40 5064 miles 2011 Acadia

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Here are two UOA's on our 2011 Acadia. This has the direct injection.

Looks like it is getting better and the AFF0w-40 did a great job. This is with

and EaO18 oil filter on both UOA's. Running Exxon regular fuel 99% of the time.

The second sample was taken after a second run of the ALF, then I switched to the

AFF.



OIL AFF0w-40 ALF5w-30

MILES IN USE 5,064 5,170

MILES 28,000 17,100

SAMPLE TAKEN 01/26/13 08/06/12



ALUMINUM 2 5

CHROMIUM 0 1

IRON 15 19

COPPER 4 6

LEAD 0 0

TIN 0 0

MOLYBDENUM 54 63

NICKEL 0 0

MANGANESE 34 1

SILVER 0 0

TITANIUM 0 0

POTASSIUM 1 0

BORON 8 55

SILICON 14 18

SODIUM 2 5

CALCIUM 3012 2477

MAGNESIUM 34 9

PHOSPHORUS 1000 562

ZINC 1108 713

BARIUM 0 0



INSOLUBLES 0.2 0.2

WATER 0 0

FLASHPOINT ºF 370 390

SUS VIS 210ºF 62.2 53.5

cSt @ 212ºF 11.4 8.34

Fuel% 2.3
Antifreeze% 0 0

Water% 0 0

TBN 3.43 1.3
 
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The 30-weight ended up as a 20.
The 40-weight ended up as a 30.
I think it would be better to stay with the 40, and maybe go to 6k miles for the OCI. The 40 had more TBN at the end than the 30, and still had the viscosity of a middleweight 30. Higher Phosphorous in the 40 is good for wear resistance.

Which engine does it have?
 
Manganese in the sample? Where is that coming from?
Edit: Upon further inspection it seems I momentarily lost my mind and should be subject to a rather vigorous flogging. Please disregard.
 
Terry said to take it to 6 maybe even 7k, just have to take a sample then and see how it does. The fuel dilution didn't help any. This has the 3.6l direct injection engine.
 
Originally Posted By: randomhero439
Interesting Amsoil AFF is a snowmobile/ATV oil...


Is this the yellow cap stuff. I've got 15 quarts of it in my basement. It's the only oil that lasted as long as rotella in my shared sump bikes. But cost 3 times as much.
 
Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: randomhero439
Interesting Amsoil AFF is a snowmobile/ATV oil...


Is this the yellow cap stuff.


Yes
 
Thanks for posting this voa. I'm surprised it meets JASO with moly in it. Not that my honda's are high powered enough to slip the clutch.
This stuff is SL iirc too.
 
I was wondering when someone would try out 0w40 in these direct-injected GM engines. Seems like a perfect fit. Nice improvement in TBN and viscosity versus the 5w30. Wear metals are slightly better. Both are very good compared to some of the other DI GM engines we have seen around here.

7K might be doable, 6K for sure.

Nicely done.
 
The difference in the two UOA's is the one is from Terry and the other is from Blackstone. I'm under the impression that they do a different test than Terry but I could be wrong. If this oil continues to give good results I have no issues on using it, especially if I can go up to 8k miles eventually.

I was going to use the the EFM European 5w-40 but Terry thought the AFF 0w-40 would be a better choice.

This vehicle is supposed to be using a dexos1 5w-30 oil, well so much for using that.
smile.gif
 
5k mile OCIs?
Considering a s-t-r-e-t-c-h to a mind-bending 8k miles?
Wow - really pushing the envelope, aren't we?
At that limit, even a dino oil would probably do fine.


And don't flame me for Dexos being "requried", because by using AFF (only rated up to API "SL" which would not cover a 2011 vehicle nor GM Dexos applications), it's clear the OP isn't overly concerned about warranty coverage. And, BTW, Amsoil would not cover a warranty claim for this application either, because they do not specify AFF for Dexos applications; allow me to quote directly from their written warranty certificate:
"Failure of equipment when AMSOIL lubricants are not used in strict accordance with either the written recommendations of AMSOIL INC. or the OEM for warranty coverage."
They would only have to warrant the use of (according to their site data) ASL, XL, or OE lubes; not AFF.


Is the engine in fine shape; yes - it seems so, and frankly I don't know why it wouldn't be. But the wallat is taking a pounding here. What a huge waste of synthetics.
 
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^^^Agreed it is at best an under-utilization of what appears to be a great choice of oils for the GM DI engines.

With a longer interval I'm sure it would become more cost effective, but perhaps engine care is higher on his list that cost factors?
 
To infer that his "care" for his vehicle is superior to others who choose to not use synthetics for specific applications is a tainted viewpoint, IMO.

To really debate that point, we have to define what "care" means.
To him, it might mean using the most expensive lube he can find, and run short OCIs; clearly he subscribes to that mantra.
To me, "care" means setting an acceptable level of performance, then finding the least cost alternative that meets the level, relative to the highest ROI.
If his "care" using synthetics offers no "better" results (no lower wear), then the performance is a wash, and then cost is in play as the sole deciding factor.
Cost factors into it, but only if there is a huge disparity in performance that can justify the expense; only if the syn returned a grossly differnt wear result.

I seriously doubt the wear protection of this AFF lube is 4x+ "better" than a lowly API SN lube used for 5k miles.
AFF retail cost is $11/qrt. Is it THAT much "better" than a SN from Walmart at $2.50/qrt?

In fact, I'll put my money where my mouth is!
I'll offer a contingent wager ...
I'll pay two OCI's of Walmart ST SN 5-30 lube based on a few conditions:
1) two ST OCIs are run back-to-back at 5k miles; one to flush, second to test
2) he pays for the UOAs and filters (a cost he would bear anyway)
3) if the second OCI does not result in a substantial statistical shift in wear data, showing tangible inferiority of a dino lube in this application, then I'll pay for both OCIs of ST
4) if the second OCI shows less than 3-sigma variation (typical of "normal" performance), he pays for it all
5) use Blackstone database for macro-analysis
6) true statistical macro analysis will be used to judge the results of wear; not some emotional, arbitrary feel-good numbers
7) the full report would be made directly available to me as well as the OP via Blackstone
8) I will send the funds to a mutally agreed member here to hold the money in escrow until the testing is complete; the money will either be returned to me or forwarded to the OP


What about it?
 
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Wow, didn't expect to see such replies.

I'm not trying to prove much, didn't mean to make it seem that way. As for cost, this is a hobby for me. Consider what the average person that, hunts, fish, golfs, rides ATV's, drinks beer/alcohol, gambles, smokes, non of which I do, I think I'm in the ball park of what they spend by doing this maybe even less.

Our 08 Acadia was worse than this on the oil. This 2011 is much easier except for the fuel dilution. For some reason our 08 was high as well and it wasn't a DI engine. I guess it is the nature of our driving style.

I'll go ahead and switch over to ST 5w-30 next oil change just to see how well it does. Will run 5k and change out and then run it again and take a sample. I will use Dyson Analysis since he has helped me over the years and provided me with great customer service.

No need to offer to provide compensation, like I said this is my hobby. I was running RLI for the longest time but since I'm an AMSOIL dealer I figured I have an inventory I can choose from and test accordingly to see what the results are of using different grades plus I pick up at the distribution center so shipping isn't a cost factor.

I'm not worried about warranty work. Not much out there in the world today when it comes to a lubrication break down failure. Just don't see it happening.

It is interesting that GM programmed the OLM in the 2010 and newer Lambda platform vehicles to basically make it so that it is 5k miles when it gets down to 10% oil life. Before this our 08 would go to almost 10k before it got down to 10%.
 
Excellent attitude! I commend your open-minded approach.

What I most appreciate is your candor in that this is just for fun; it's a hobby. Absolutely nothing wrong with that approach. And in that manner, cost can be "written off" as a variable that is paid no mind. But there are folks that don't have that kind of money, and don't "need" a syn for such application. That is what I try to get across. You obviously understand the difference and I thank you for the clarity of your statements.


Looking forward to the results.
Please keep us informed.
 
Originally Posted By: dnewton3
To infer that his "care" for his vehicle is superior to others who choose to not use synthetics for specific applications is a tainted viewpoint, IMO.

To really debate that point, we have to define what "care" means.
To him, it might mean using the most expensive lube he can find, and run short OCIs; clearly he subscribes to that mantra.
To me, "care" means setting an acceptable level of performance, then finding the least cost alternative that meets the level, relative to the highest ROI.
If his "care" using synthetics offers no "better" results (no lower wear), then the performance is a wash, and then cost is in play as the sole deciding factor.
Cost factors into it, but only if there is a huge disparity in performance that can justify the expense; only if the syn returned a grossly differnt wear result.

I seriously doubt the wear protection of this AFF lube is 4x+ "better" than a lowly API SN lube used for 5k miles.
AFF retail cost is $11/qrt. Is it THAT much "better" than a SN from Walmart at $2.50/qrt?

In fact, I'll put my money where my mouth is!
I'll offer a contingent wager ...
I'll pay two OCI's of Walmart ST SN 5-30 lube based on a few conditions:
1) two ST OCIs are run back-to-back at 5k miles; one to flush, second to test
2) he pays for the UOAs and filters (a cost he would bear anyway)
3) if the second OCI does not result in a substantial statistical shift in wear data, showing tangible inferiority of a dino lube in this application, then I'll pay for both OCIs of ST
4) if the second OCI shows less than 3-sigma variation (typical of "normal" performance), he pays for it all
5) use Blackstone database for macro-analysis
6) true statistical macro analysis will be used to judge the results of wear; not some emotional, arbitrary feel-good numbers
7) the full report would be made directly available to me as well as the OP via Blackstone
8) I will send the funds to a mutally agreed member here to hold the money in escrow until the testing is complete; the money will either be returned to me or forwarded to the OP


What about it?


Ballsy.
Dnewton knows his stuff. He has mountains of data to back up his posts.
I'd like to see this.
 
Thanks for posting this, very interesting choice of oil that we don't hear much about.

I'm really surprised Amsoil doesn't fiddle with this oil a bit, and go after M1 0w-40 whole-hog. This oil has real potential to be more than just a powersports oil....
 
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