Used Oil Analysis Results - Amsoil 5W20 - 8748 miles

[Amsoil_Dealer]

Here are the used oil anlysis results on XLM 5W20 at 8748 miles.

Unit - 2002 Crown Victoria
Oil - Amsoil XLM 5W20
Make up oil = 1 qt Amsoil ASL 5W30 @ 4051 miles
Miles on unit 43854
Miles on oil 8748


Fe 22 ppm
Ch 1
Pb 0
Sn 0
Cu 4
Al 6
Ni 0
Si 49
B 10
Mg 299
Ca 3910
Ba 0
Ph 1054
Zn 1336
Mo 2

Visc @ 100C 9.45 Cst. Equivalent to a very light 30 wt.
H20 0
Glycol Neg

Oxid 14.0
Nitr 11.0
TBN 7.57

"No corrective action required – Oil is suitable for continued use."


This oil is rated at 7500 mile intervals but at 8748 it is just geting started. Wear metals are comparable with Dino 5W30 at 4500 miles. Oxd, Nitr are the same as 4500 mile dino. TBN retention is far better. Amsoil at 8748, TBN = 7.57. Dino at 4494, TBN = 4.64.

The car burned 1 qt per 4100 miles.

After reviewing these results I wish I had not "enhanced" this oil with the ASL make up oil. I am fairly certain the XLM would have stayed in grade over this 8748 miles. The 1/5 ratio 30 wt./20 wt. pushed it slightly over the 20/30 wt threshold.

It is pretty clear to me the XLM could endure 10000 mile intervals in my car without too much trouble.

With these results I feel much more comfortable recommending XLM for 7500 mile, street driven drain intervals for your Marauders.

Don

[DEFYANT]

Ten...Thousand....miles?

Oh I see it now:

Seven....Thousand....Five.... Hundred... miles...... between oil changes.

[RF Overlord]

Once again, Don, thanks for the info...

For those who are skeptical of the longer drain intervals Don mentioned, be aware of 2 things:

1). In Europe, most vehicles are spec'd for MUCH longer OCIs than in the US...even on the same engine. I believe BMW specs 15,000 mile intervals for many of their cars. This is, of course, using high quality synthetic oil, not cheap-o dino.

2). 3,000-mile oil changes are no longer valid...30 years ago, there were no synthetic oils and dino oil was all Group I, some of it very shoddy indeed, and was full of viscosity index improvers that broke down rapidly. Using leaded fuel exacerbated the issue, hence the short intervals. Today we have a plethora of excellent synthetic oils and most dinos are Group II or even III. Big Oil, along with the quicky-lube industry, WANTS you to change your oil more often, for obvious financial reasons...It has been demonstrated by many, including respected members of this very board (Amsoil Dealer and Metroplex), that synthetic oil is good for at least double or triple the usual change interval...I've been using 5,000-mile OCIs for the last 3 changes and the analyses I've had done on 2 of those showed the oil was still perfectly good, and capable of many more miles...the only reason I haven't gone longer is that the car is still under warranty...once I get to the magic 36,000 mile mark, I'm extending the OCI to probably 7,000 miles with another analysis, to see what the oil's doing at that time...

[DEFYANT]

Where do you get your oil tested? This sounds very interesting. Just think of the time and money saved.... Do you just send in a sample to be tested? What is the costs?

[MM03MOK]

Blackstone Laboratories

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

$20.00 per Regular Analysis
Oil Collecting Kits are Free

[CBT]

Interesting Don, thanks. I had an 81 Z-28 street/strip terror that I ran Amsoil in, and the oil never changed color even with all the abuse I gave that car. I remember having to set the idle back 350 rpm's when I first put Amsoil in the car because it lubed it so well. Can you send me ordering info? The guy I used to by products (air/oil filters, oil, intake cleaner) from moved back to Texas, lost touch with him.

[ADE 1000]

Once again, Don, thanks for the info...

For those who are skeptical of the longer drain intervals Don mentioned, be aware of 2 things:

1). In Europe, most vehicles are spec'd for MUCH longer OCIs than in the US...even on the same engine. I believe BMW specs 15,000 mile intervals for many of their cars. This is, of course, using high quality synthetic oil, not cheap-o dino.

.

Don't forget that most of the Europeans (and GM) increased their sump capacity at the same time they increased the change interval. This is as much of a factor as the synthetic oil. Most European makes offer free scheduled maintenence for the first 3 years, the longer drain interval affords them to do this.

My parents have a 2003 Mercedes E500 that required its first change at 12,000 miles according to the oil life monitor in the car. And at that point, the Mobil 1 that was drained looked horrible. I agree that the 3,000 mile change interval is a thing of the past, but I am not convinced anyone can go over 10,000 miles without a careful study of how your oil degrades with your driving style. I still change the oil in my Marauder at 3000 miles, for $27.99 at my local LM dealer its cheap insurance. I do the same with my Corvette, which runs Mobil 1.

[RF Overlord]

I am not convinced anyone can go over 10,000 miles without a careful study of how your oil degrades with your driving style.

You're absolutely correct, ADE...no one should attempt an extended OCI without ^^^what you said^^^ and the best way to do this is with multiple oil analyses taken at reasonable intervals (say 4,000 and 8,000 miles) to ensure the oil is still viable.

[Amsoil_Dealer]

Blackstone Laboratories

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

$20.00 per Regular Analysis
Oil Collecting Kits are Free

Here is an alternative. Same $19.95 but included a TBN test which is critical in my opinion. I believe Blackstone charges another $10-15 for TBN test.

http://intershop.amsoil.com/cgi-bin/...4/Catalog/1183

Don

[Amsoil_Dealer]

Interesting Don, thanks. I had an 81 Z-28 street/strip terror that I ran Amsoil in, and the oil never changed color even with all the abuse I gave that car. I remember having to set the idle back 350 rpm's when I first put Amsoil in the car because it lubed it so well. Can you send me ordering info? The guy I used to by products (air/oil filters, oil, intake cleaner) from moved back to Texas, lost touch with him.

Color - "never changed color even with all the abuse I gave that car." Did you start with a fresh clean rebuilt engine? Much of the color in oil comes from cleaning of old sludge in the engine. The other and source is crud that develops from gasoline blow by. If you had a tight fresh drag motor that you ran the p*ss out of, you never gave the oil any opportunity to get black.

"Can you send me ordering info?" Right here . www.lubedealer.com/dstevens. Buy the "preferred customer" package. for the $10 per 6 month invetsment you get 20-25% off retail.

Thanks,

Don

[CBT]

Hey thanks for the info. By the oil not changing color I mean it retained that nice redish hue forever. Other oils would go from like golden brown to black after awhile. I used that to judge when I should change it, but with Amsoil it never changed.