I had a plan to drive my car a bit farther on an oil change, then do an oil analysis.
I have been looking for an oil analysis mailer, or whatever one needs, and so far the car parts places don’t even know what I am talking about.
I did find on the Web, three kits for $55, but I don’t want three nor to pay that much.
Any ideas on where to go?
Thanks.
bob is the oil guy dot com
Google “Blackstone Labs”. I had mine done there and was very happy with the thoroughness of their report.
oil changes are cheap car insurance…take the cost of these test kits and apply to the cost of oil/filter…
That is the reason I have never done oil analysis. The reason I want to do this is because of all the conflicting information on synthetic oil. Some jokers even insist synthetic oil is exactly the same as conventional oil, just cleaner. And, a lot of people say that synthetic oil serves no better than conventional oil.
Frankly, I do not believe that for one minute. However, I decided to find out for myself just how well my Mobil-1 EP holds up.
And, that is also the reason I only want one kit, I do not plan to do this regularly. As you say, in most cases, just spend the money on oil and filter.
I ordered the free mailer kit from Blackstone. I will check the current price when I come back. Now the only worry is the post office if they object to mailing it. Thanks for tip.
Blackstone is $22.50. I used to eliminate an internal engine/transmission issue on my motorcycle (trying to find annoying vibration)
I am curious,How did a oil analysis help in identifying a vibration (I am not saying it couldn’t)
Irlandes; if you live in a hot and dusty part of Mexico, be prepared for a high silicon reading on your oil analysis, whether dino or synthetic. If your car does not overheat, and you change oil at the recommended time and mileage, I also predict that with respect to viscosity, carbon, and wear metals, there will be virtually no difference in the readings between dino and synthetic.
If you increase the mileage interval by 50% and use the viscosity recommended, I also predict there will be very little difference between the readings of dino and synthetic. The report will show what your readings are and what the “normal readings” are.
However, if you overload the vehicle, drive very fast in hot weather, pull a trailer, or have a turbocharger, the synthetic will show less soot (carbon), less wear metals, and the viscosity will be closer to the new oil. The dino viscosity will increase.
I’m sticking my neck out a country miles, but since you are doing this with a non-turbo V6 Japanese vehicle??, I stand with my prediction.
Good luck and let us know how you make out.
It did not help identify the problem per se, but eliminated engine damage/wear as the cause (in my mind anyways)…but at least I know it is not an internal bearing …oil analysis showed normal amounts of trace metallic particulate. (Probability a fuel injection issue)
That is exactly what I want to know. As you know over the years, any discussion of synthetic vs. natural produces answers all over the spectrum, directly contradicting each other. So it will cost me little to find out at least some useful information.
No, it is not hard driving, nor especially hot at 5700 feet. The only real problem is, we live in a quarry town, very dusty at times, travertine marble, which is not really marble but that’s what it’s called. So, I sort of cheated by installing a new air filter to attempt to eliminate dust as a major problem. I don’t think the old one was that bad, but decided to do it anyway.
I note that the company says for an extra $10 it will report on how much of the additives are left. Since this is a one-time thing, I may decide to add that on.
I may in fact not learn anything useful. That’s how it is when you experiment. Thanks for the tips.
If your goal is to prove the superiority of synthetic oil, wouldn’t you need to do at least two tests (one with each type of oil)? A single test would not prove that conventional oil doesn’t work just as well.
By all means, get the additive depletion figure; that is one of the main reasons fleet operators use oil analysis so they can optimize the oil change interval. In normal driving, the viscosity does not change much if the engine is in good tune, and the Total Acid/Base Numbers (TAN/TNB)also don’t change much if the fuel has no sulfur. It’s the additive depletion that mostly drives the oil change interval in normal driving.
Car manufacturers try to leave some margin of safety in the additive depletion, so many intervals are conservative for highway driving.
Some jokers even insist synthetic oil is exactly the same as conventional oil, just cleaner.
Chemically…that is EXACTLY what synthetic oil is. Dyno oil and synthetic oil both contain the same atoms. The difference is Synthetic hydrocarbons are constructed and much more uniformed. Conventional oils contain small amounts of sulfur, wax, and asphaltic material that can promote detonation as well as varnish and sludge buildup. (thus the cleaner). Both have Hydrogen and Carbon atoms as it’s structure.
Those clean and uniformly shaped molecules provide better “lubricity” and load bearing capability through better film strength. It allows a lighter grade to do the same job, resulting in more power and better fuel economy under carefully monitored laboratory tests. An EXXON friend of mine advised the Corvette racing team on using a very thin Mobil 1 to get more power without burning out the bearings. He does not recommend this for your family car.
Using such very light oil under normal conditions is risky, but using the regular grade synthetic under adverse conditions, (temperature, bearing loads) proves the superiority of synthetic as an extreme application oil.