Redline 5W-40 VW 1.9L 10015 miles on oil

[buster]

I think this is an excellent report. I'm with you in that oil analysis is more beneficial at detecting problems early more then anything. TBN is very strong and could probably go to 18k miles on this oil or more. Oil stayed in grade as well.

RL 5w-40 clearly seems to be the best 5w-40 out their.

 

[sprintman]

Figures like these and a coolant leak to boot!! RL 5W40 looks like the champion of oils at this point in time.

 

[buster]

quote:

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RL 5W40 looks like the champion of oils at this point in time

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I'd have to agree right now.

 

[sprintman]

I'd like to see a UOA of RL 5W40 in Patmans LS1. Or even a 50/50 blend of 5W30 & 5W40.

 

[hannaco]

Redline 5w-40
Cat SOS Lab
Miles on oil: 10015
Miles on motor: 100021


Vis @100C 14.2
Al 3
B 4
Cr 2
Cu 5
Fe 26
Pb 3
Mg 198
Mo 599
Ni 1
Si 8
Na 26
Sn 0
Zn 1438

Soot .25%
Water 0
Fuel 0
Anti-freeze trace
TBN 8.5

Note from the lab: Critical: Action required. Sodium level is high. Trace Glycol in oil. Monitor coolant usage/levels. Pressure test cooling system to identify source of leak (oil cooler, head gasket, etc.)

That is why I do oil analysis. The oil cooler was found to be defective, and replaced.

Car is driven about 90% highway and 10% creep and go on what we call a freeway.
This is the second full Redline oil change cycle. One more cycle is planned to get a good baseline.

Fuel Power was used during the period as a fuel additive. The soot load seems to be better controlled as a result.

OEM oil and air filters were used.

 

[tdi-rick]

quote:

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RL 5W40 looks like the champion of oils at this point in time.

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but is it cost effective ??

I don't know what it will cost here, but RL 15w-40 is A$485.00 for 18.9 litres.
Compare this to the A$183.00 that I paid last week for 20 litres of Delvac 1.

I'm not trying to justify my purchase, as I'd love to try RL, but at what price ?

Redline's gear oils are about 40% dearer than what I pay for Castrol Syntrans/Syntrax/SAF-XA, which I could justify, but their engine oils are in another price league altogether.

Rick.

 

[hannaco]

I live all of about two hours from the Red Line factory. So the price is about the same as Amsoil ($66.00/case of 12 quarts). Shipping is the real killer when it comes to price. If I had to have it shipped instead of pickup, the cost would go up by almost $1 per quart.

 

[sprintman]

Rick the gear oils are a no-brainer as the qtys are small but yes the engine oil is in a different league. But then my Outback has never achieved anywhere near the economy it did with RL 5W30 so the fuel savings cover the price IMO.

 

[TexasTDI]

quote:

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Originally posted by buster:
RL 5w-40 clearly seems to be the best 5w-40 out their.

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Has there been any UOA's of AMSOIL 5w-40 yet? If not, your statement is flawed.

Also, RL 5w-40 is only CF the last time I checked. AMSOIL 5w-40 is CI-4. CI-4 is the "best" choice for the EGR equipped TDI engine.

 

[FowVay]

Tex, these numbers blow your Amsoil 15W-40 analysis out of the water. Unless that AMS 5w-40 is more geared toward diesels than your 15W-40 then I think it's safe to say that this Redline product has worked wonderfully in the TDI.

 

[Terry]

Redlines formulation exceeds any API test in its current form, it may not have been submitted yet.


Terry

 

[TexasTDI]

quote:

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Originally posted by FowVay:
Tex, these numbers blow your Amsoil 15W-40 analysis out of the water. Unless that AMS 5w-40 is more geared toward diesels than your 15W-40 then I think it's safe to say that this Redline product has worked wonderfully in the TDI.

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quote:

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Originally posted by buster:
RL 5w-40 clearly seems to be the best 5w-40 out their.

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I never said the RL didn't work well here. What I said was you can't conclude it's the "best" 5w-40 on the market until you perform a UOA on ALL 5w-40 oils being used in the same situation, with the same amount of miles.

What does my UOA of 15w-40 have to do with this thread anyway?

But since you brought it up, my TBN was virtually the same and my soot levels were lower. And I'm chipped and running rich!

The rest of the numbers were well within the norm. I could have gone 20k miles on that oil with no problem at all. I'm very pleased with how my oil performed. BTW, my oil is CI-4, RL is only CF.

I did switch to AMSOIL 5w-40 when I changed the oil. And I'll be having it analysed as well. But I'll probably go 15k or maybe even 20k before I change it. I bet it'll hold up just as well as the 15w-40.

 

[FowVay]

I brought up your 15W-40 analysis because that particular oil is CI-4 rated yet this lowly CF rated oil seemed to perform better.

We keep forgetting that the TDI is not a heavy duty diesel and it really doesn't require a oil that was designed for that application. TooSlick has brought up some very interesting points relating to the amount of fuel consumed during a oil change interval and the TDI consumes just about as little fuel as anything on the road. Even with a chip and injectors you're still hard pressed to get your soot levels in the critical area.

If I lived in Texas I would continue to use the Amsoil 15W-40 over the 5W-40. It has been mentioned on several occasions that the 5W-40 is a similar chemistry to the 10W-40 and I think that Amsoils 15W-40 is far superior to the 10w-40.
However, you may be the first to offer any actual use data on the Amsoil 5W-40 and for that we all can thank you.