Amsoil SSO 0W-30, 1993 Civic, 3,007 miles

Awesome thread. Love how it took 20 odd pages to finally get OCI above 3-5k mark
lol.gif


Very clean car and engine bay too!
 
This thread rocks.

I like high-milage cars. They are not very common. Some old Benz or BMW or Volvo or Saab, sure, you can find these if you know where to look for them. Most of these then proudly show their miles. A high milage small car is rare. And a high-milage small car, that is in showroom condition is ... for lack of a better word, absurd. This thing should not even exist, yet it does. Great job.
 
This is a great thread. Learning a lot by this discussion,. Thanks Harry for all your posts. I've got to ask a question that all seem to take for granted. Why do you think there is an antifreeze leak? I saw Pablo's post about "?" and what it really means. But wouldn't the water level be nonzero since coolant is a mixture of water plus antifreeze?

Did Blackstone say something in the comment section?

Also, how does one interpret the ISO readings?
 
What the computer sense to adjust the idle speed? I always let the engine idle a minute or so before putting it in gear. I wait until the idle gets to a lower level then go. If I knew what it was sensing then my habit would be justified or not. Perhaps it just is set to idle high until oil pressure gets to a certain level? Thanks for the thoughts...

Jim
 
jfranks314, the level of antifreeze in the overflow container regularly needed refilling, a very good indicator that there is a leak somewhere. Blackstone told me that the oil needed changing often due to antifreeze getting in the oil. I am sorry I did not
post the entire report when I first started to post. Due to the heat of the engine, most of the water half of the antifreeze boils off.

The ISO readings give the total number of particles for a given volume of drain oil by saying the total number of particles at 2 microns or larger
(=>) is 2,222. the next one is => 5 microns. subtract the 5 micron particles from the 2 micron ones and you will get the number of 2 micron particles- and so on.

It can be said that the cleaner the oil the better, the ISO oil cleanliness code tries to measure the oils cleanliness or you could say the
number of contamination particles in the oil.
 
When you first start the car, a fast idle thermal valve located just below the throttle body is open (when engine is cold) allowing more air to enter the engine, thats why the idle goes high initially. it gradually closes when the engine starts to get hot then the idle air control takes over the idle duties.
 
Miles on car- 481,096
Miles on oil-7,747
Amsoil AZO 0W-30 oil
Amsoil Eao36 oil filter
Twin Filtermag CT3.2 oil filter magnet arrays
Golden Eagle magnetic oil drain plug
5 ozs Liquimoly


Blackstone Labs; This 4-cylinder looks great as you approach 500,000 miles. Aluminum
went up after a shorter run, but that's okay. 6 ppm is a perfectly normal amount of
piston/bearing wear for a D15B7, and we'd wager a little more stop/go traffic or short trips
caused the increase. The other metals are nice and low next to the averages, so it doesn't look
like any mechanical problems are looming. The TBN read 4.0, slightly stronger than last time. The
particle count is 19/17/15, fairly close to other samples youv'e sent in. Nice report.

Code:
[/code]

Aluminum-----------6 ppm------------------------------4 universal average based on a 3,500 mile OCI

Chromium-----------0----------------------------------1

Iron---------------11---------------------------------9

Copper-------------2----------------------------------3

Lead---------------0----------------------------------2

Tin----------------0----------------------------------1

Molybdenum---------316--------------------------------85

Nickel-------------0----------------------------------0

Titanium-----------0----------------------------------0

Manganese----------0----------------------------------0

Silver-------------0----------------------------------0

Potassium----------9----------------------------------4

Boron--------------49---------------------------------49

Silicon------------19---------------------------------11

Calcium------------3411-------------------------------2151

Magnesium----------21---------------------------------142

Phosphorus---------718--------------------------------712

Zinc---------------790--------------------------------833

Barium-------------0----------------------------------0

Code:
SUS Viscosity @ 210 F-----62.6------------------57-67 (should be)
cSt Viscosity @ 100 C-----10.94-----------------9.4-12.4
Flashpoint in F-----------390------------------->385
Fuel%--------------------- Antifreeze%---------------0---------------------0
Water%--------------------0--------------------- Insolubles%---------------0.3------------------- TBN-----------------------4.0------------------->1.0


Particle counts for ISO Code 19/17/15;

>=4 Microns--------------2979
>=6----------------------1103
>=14---------------------305
>=21---------------------118
>=38---------------------28
>=70---------------------2

The next oil change should be interesting, I just used the new formula AZO-2 OW-30 (ILSAC GF6, Dexos 1, Gen 2, API SP).

I also switched the Golden Eagle magnetic oil drain plug for the much stronger Dimple plug.

Stay tuned...
 
Over the last 3,000 miles the gas mpg has gone from and average of 33 mpg to 35.8. The only thing that has changed is the oil. I wonder if the seasonal gas reformulation has anything to do with it.
 
I think out of every thread on BITOG this is my favorite one. Harry, keep on keeping on. You motivate me to ride my 2009 Scion xB to at least 500k-milestone. As of now, I'm slowly creeping onto 110K. I used to drive the car for Uber for some time while I was looking for a new job, and during that time the miles racked up pretty quick. Don't know why - but accelerated odometer count made me happy. Makes me wanna go out and ride the car more and more and more... High mileage cars have stories to tell.
 
Originally Posted By: harry j
Over the last 3,000 miles the gas mpg has gone from and average of 33 mpg to 35.8. The only thing that has changed is the oil. I wonder if the seasonal gas reformulation has anything to do with it.


That's odd, my mpg according to the on board reading typically heads down this time of year. Did you air up the tires? I usually have to air up the tires this time of year a few pounds. Over the years I found airing up tires can have a noticeable difference in mpg, more so than changing oil, but anything is possible I guess.
 
demarpaint, I have the nitrogen in the tires checked every month and have been doing that for many years.

I don't think a pound or two would make a noticable difference in mpg.

If it's not the gas reformulation, the only other thing it could be is the oil.

To say it's odd in on the money. I am waiting for the mpg to go back down, but it's held steady now for 3,000 miles.

If anyone else using the Amsoil 0W-30 AZO-2 notices a mpg increase, please post the before and after mpg.
 
Originally Posted By: ltslimjim
It's probably the weather change.


I have not experienced such a large mpg increase in years past. 10% IS A LOT. The weather always has an effect on mpg.

That's why I waited for 3,000 miles to post my results. Please try this for yourself, Amsoil 0W-30 AZO-2.

I'm wondering if all the new oils formulated to meet the new specification Dexos 1 generation 2 will have the same results.

(The AZO-2 is what I call it, it is not Amsoils designation)
 
Vlad, I am pleased that you like this running blog. Use a good synthetic oil and you could very well attain your goal.

I have been using The Amsoil 0W-30 since 118,000 miles. That's when I first found out about it. I have seen it go

through four reformulations since then, but none compare to the latest one. I have a complete mpg record going back to when

I first got the car in 2000 with 64,000 miles on it. I can scan the latest results, but I am not sure how to post it.

It boils down pretty much to this, if you like the car and care for it, it can virtually last for a very, very long time.
 
Originally Posted By: harry j
demarpaint, I have the nitrogen in the tires checked every month and have been doing that for many years.

I don't think a pound or two would make a noticable difference in mpg.

If it's not the gas reformulation, the only other thing it could be is the oil.

To say it's odd in on the money. I am waiting for the mpg to go back down, but it's held steady now for 3,000 miles.

If anyone else using the Amsoil 0W-30 AZO-2 notices a mpg increase, please post the before and after mpg.



FTR I'm not disputing your claims. I just find it odd considering in two of my vehicles I lost 1+ mpg as calculated by the EVIC. I attribute it to the change in season and winter gas. Your results are impressive. I will continue to follow this thread as I have in the past. Thanks for sharing.
 
Originally Posted By: harry j
demarpaint, I have the nitrogen in the tires checked every month and have been doing that for many years.

I don't think a pound or two would make a noticable difference in mpg.

If it's not the gas reformulation, the only other thing it could be is the oil.

To say it's odd in on the money. I am waiting for the mpg to go back down, but it's held steady now for 3,000 miles.

If anyone else using the Amsoil 0W-30 AZO-2 notices a mpg increase, please post the before and after mpg.



Harry,it is the oil and not the reformulation. AZO 0W30 is their premium base stock and it is a little bit more money over the other SS oils for that reason.

I too just came off of an oil change using AZO 0W30(old formula) and did see a 2 plus mpg gain over a 10k mile oci. I sent you a pm of two years worth of data showing that it was not a fluke. Last month I changed the oil going to their SS 10W40 for an experiment to curtail fuel dilution in a Direct Injected engine known for FD. So far,2000 miles into the oil change,I lost that 2 plus mpg gain.

By the way,for me,that 2 plus mpg gain over 10,000 miles pays for the oil via savings at the pump.

Keep up the great work!
 
After 1,002 miles and 27.075 gallons, I got 37 mpg.

This latest "fillup" pushed the average for the last 4,000 miles to 36.1 mpg.

It isn't the weather, it isn't the winterized gas, I believe it is the new Amsoil AZO-2 0W-30 oil.

The 1993 Civc is supposed to get 35 mpg on the highway. I am not exactly sure what the

breakdown is, but it is the neighborhood of 70% highway and the rest local driving.
 
For 14,000 miles before the latest oil change, the

Civic averaged 33.1 mpg. Now the average mpg over the last 5,000 miles is 36.2

A gain of 3 mpg by just changing the oil?
 
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