Oil Analysis - 2008 - 1 week - 870 miles

[hiremichaelreid]

I received my used oil analysis today. It covers 7 days from delivery (at 6 KM/4 miles) and 1400 KM or 870 miles; about 600 highway miles from 55 MPH to 75 MPH and 270 miles of city driving up to 45 MPH. This is factory fill oil which rumor indicates is 0w20 Synthetic. I believe build date was March 2008.

EDIT: I'll update this post with additional info as I learn about oil analysis.

Elemental Analysis: All show 0 except:
Sodium: 1
Zinc: 51
Phosphorus: 39

EDIT: I guess these are "wear metals", IE metals that get scraped off inside the engine. Lower numbers are better, of course, and units are in PPM (Parts per million).

Threads and links for related analyses:
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...88k-miles.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-te...-analysis.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...is-repots.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...-interval.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...is-report.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...1-0w-20-a.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...1-0w-30-a.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...is-report.html
http://priuschat.com/forums/care-mai...47k-miles.html
Oil Analysis - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

Comparing mine with these my Sodium is 1 and theirs ranged from 4-8. Their Zinc and Phosphorus ranged from 500-1000 or so and mine were 51 and 39. They had other elements but mine were all 0 (Don't know Toromont Cat detection thresholds; perhaps I should ask.)

In any case, my wear metals seem to be an order of magnitude lower than others who may have up to 50k miles on the car. I presume low levels like these are what you hope for when you have a new car.


FT-IR Analysis: All show 0 except:
Sulphation UFM: 16
Oxidation UFM: 10
Nitration UFM: 5

EDIT: Fourier transform Infra-red spectrometry:
WearCheck FYI - Infrared Analysis as a Tool for Assessing Degradation in Used Engine Lubricants
Fourier transform spectroscopy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

These are contaminants. I have 0 soot I seem to have reasonably low levels of Sulphate, Oxidation and Nitration.

Also I have no Anti-Freeze, Fuel or Water in the oil.

Recommended Action: Normal (green). IE all systems go

There is no TBN (Total Base Number) as I didn't keep any virgin mile 4 oil. I have about 200 milli-litres of oil still in the jar from the same day. I think I'll send it to Blackstone to compare their analysis numbers.

I'm currently planning to do another UOA each oil change. I'm thinking I will stick to Toyota oil and filter schedule, using Mobil 1 0w20 and OEM filter.

For anyone wondering, these analyses will help keep me informed of anything bad going on in the ICE.

To read the report, you may need to Right-Click and Save-As and/or run a viewer program and blow it up. It's a BIT fuzzy, but most everything can be read if you full-screen it.


..............................

[Patrick Wong]

Hi Michael,

Sorry, I can't read the thumbnail even after expanding it. In any event, it sounds like you don't have excessive iron or aluminum in the oil; hence no need for an early change?

Yes, I also have heard this rumor about 0W-20 synthetic; however, what oil viscosity grade is printed on your car's oil filler cap?

[Devil's Advocate]

That's nice, now what the hell does it mean?

[hiremichaelreid]

Originally Posted by Devil's Advocate

That's nice, now what the hell does it mean?

I don't know; that's why I posted it here in the Tech section.

EDIT: I'll update my first post with additional info as I learn about oil analysis.


AFAIK, only two others have posted results here at early mileage so I figured I'd start UOA now and see how it compares. I think I heard sulfur was rather high in the other cases.

In any case I'll read up on UOA myself, read the other threads and wait for any knowledgable observations. Now, back to "REAL work" for me, til tonight...