Used oil analysis Mobil 1 0W-30

Here is the used oil analysis for Mobil 1 0W-30 "Fuel Economy" after 18338 km and five and a half months in my 2007 Prius at 71167 total km: View attachment Bericht1213647Anonym.pdf

Now before anyone gets too excited, let me say that this oil was in service under very favorable conditions. Most of the time the outside air temperature was 15-25°C. Trip length was almost always over 25 km and around half of the mileage was over 100 km per trip. Speed was mostly around 85-95 km/h on rural roads.

 

Very nice Jayman. Fred, I could not open your attachment.

 

Untersuchungsdatum 29.09.2009

LABORNUMMER 1213647​

Nachfüllmenge seit Wechsel l 0​

Laufzeit seit Wechsel km 18338​

Datum Probenentnahme 26.09.2009​

Datum letzter Ölwechsel 09.04.2009​

Laufzeit gesamt km 71167​

Öl gewechselt Nein​

Maschinentyp: Prius NHW-20​

Hersteller: Toyota​

Probe aus: Benzinmotor​

Ölbezeichnung: Mobil 1 Fuel Economy 0W-30​

Ölmenge im System: 3,3 l​

Beschreibung der Prüfverfahren und Normen: OELCHECK GmbH - Öl- und Schmierstoffanalysen​

Gesamtbewertung normal​

ZUSATZTESTE​

BN mgKOH/g 9.05​

ADDITIVE​

Phosphor P mg/kg 729​

Schwefel S mg/kg 2128
Molybdän Mo mg/kg 71

Barium Ba mg/kg 0​

Kalzium Ca mg/kg 2322​

Zink Zn mg/kg 897​

Bor B mg/kg 110​

Magnesium Mg mg/kg 17​

ÖLZUSTAND​

Oxidation A/cm 8​

Nitration A/cm 5​

Sulfation A/cm 4​

Schmutztragevermögen % 98​

Viskositätsindex - 172​

Viskosität bei 40°C mm^2/s 58.94​

Viskosität bei 100°C mm^2/s 10.60​

VERUNREINIGUNG​

Kraftstoff % 0.83​

Wasser % < 0.10​

Glykol - negativ​

Natrium Na mg/kg 4​

Silizium Si mg/kg 16​

Kalium K mg/kg 3​

VERSCHLEISS​

Nickel Ni mg/kg 0​

PQ-Index - OK​

Blei Pb mg/kg 1​

Kupfer Cu mg/kg 2​

Eisen Fe mg/kg 15​

Aluminium Al mg/kg 2​

Zinn Sn mg/kg 0​

Chrom Cr mg/kg 0​

Diagnose der aktuellen Laborwerte​

Die Werte für Verschleissmetalle sind nur leicht angestiegen. Dieser geringe Verschleiss liegt innerhalb des normalen Bereiches. Falls noch kein Ölwechsel erfolgt ist, wäre eine weitere Verwendung des Öles bei ähnlichen Betriebsbedingungen unter Beibehaltung üblicher Wartungsarbeiten möglich. Die Analysenwerte zeigen: Ein Ölwechsel ist derzeit nicht notwendig. Ich rate Ihnen: Bitte senden Sie uns eine weitere Ölprobe nach ca. 5.000 km zur Beobachtung des Trendverhaltens.​

 

Youâ're welcome Jayman, and thank you for your comments.
Mobil 1 0W-30 Fuel economy is not very common here, but I have seen it in the store. It is easy to find, because I use the internets. I always have it sent to me in a four liter canister from my favorite little online shop in Munich.

Two years ago, before the first oil change, I also considered Castrol and a couple others. I don't remember exactly, but I think it was a close race, where the low viscosity and high TBN tipped the scale in favor of Mobil 1 for my mild driving conditions and desire for good mileage and long oil change interval.
Compared to Jayman,
I'm just a layman.
So please tell me your opinion. Does my reasoning make sense?

I have been using the M1 0W-30 Fuel Economy exclusively since the first oil change at 15000 km. To limit the variables, I plan to continue to use this specific oil exclusively, as long as it is still available. However, I have noticed that there is now a new formula called Advanced Fuel Economy, so I might have to switch to that if the old formula is discontinued.

Please try viewing the attachment again and tell me if it works for you now. It has a nice graph of the Infrared Spectroscopy.
Attachment 19154
I have a good impression of this oil analysis laboratory, but it is expensive. Don't ask.

My tentative plan is to leave the oil in the engine, and periodically analyze it until an oil change is absolutely necessary. Then I would decide on an oil change interval that gives me a good safety margin, and follow that without analyzing. Then I might do an analysis every 100,000 km or upon suspicion.

Fred

 

Thanks for the reassurance, Jay. And thanks also for many other informative posts throughout the forum.

I have the results from the next analysis. I drew the sample at about 25,000 km on the oil after a couple long drives of about two hours each. Since the first analysis, the ambient temperatures were down to around 0°C, sometimes down to -15°C. I am blocking all but the bottom one to two slits of the grill, depending on temperature, and I attached a seal to the underside of the hood around the edges. I was also doing some experimenting with a woven fiberglass blanket to insulate the engine. (gave up on that because of risk of entanglement in belt and fan, and possibly local overheating in the vicinity of the Exhaust manifold) I had the oil changed a couple thousand km after this analysis:

"Diagnosis of the current Lab Results:
Iron rose slightly due to wear or corrosion. There is significant oil oxidation, probably due to long service time and/or high operating temperatures. The nitration value is elevated. Possible cause: Higher proportion of blow-by gasses, usually from poor combustion, poor sealing between piston and cylinder wall, valve problems, or also fuel problems. Increased sludge formation is often a result. I recommend: Have another analysis done again soon for comparison. Otherwise you should change the oil."

Probenbezeichnung 2007 PRIUS
Maschinentyp Prius NHW-20
Hersteller Toyota
Probe aus Benzinmotor
Ölmenge im System 3,3
Ölbezeichnung Mobil 1 Fuel Economy 0W-30
Probe betrifft -
Untersuchungsdatum .......21.12.2009 .......29.09.2009
Probeentnahmedatum ......13.12.2009 .......26.09.2009
Datum letzter Ölwechsel ...09.04.2009 .......09.04.2009
Bh/km insgesamt .................77969 ..............71167
Bh/km seit dem Ölwechsel .....25140 ..............18338
Nachfüllmenge seit letztem Ölwechsel - -
Öl gewechselt .....................Nein ..................Nein

V E R S C H L E I S S
Eisen Fe mg/kg ....................21 ....................15
Chrom Cr mg/kg .....................0 .....................0
Zinn Sn mg/kg .......................0 .....................0
Aluminium Al mg/kg .................3 .....................2
Nickel Ni mg/kg ......................0 .....................0
Kupfer Cu mg/kg ....................2 .....................2
Blei Pb mg/kg ........................1 .....................1
PQ-Index - .........................OK ....................OK

V E R U N R E I N I G U N G
Silizium Si mg/kg ..................17 .....................16
Kalium K mg/kg .....................1 .......................3
Natrium Na mg/kg ..................3 .......................4
Wasser % ............................0,1 ....................0,1
Glykol - ...........................negativ ..............negativ
Kraftstoff % ........................0,42 ..................0,83

Ö L Z U S T A N D
Viskosität bei 40°C mm²/s ......62,75 ..............58,94
Viskosität bei 100°Cmm²/s .....11,09 ..............10,6
Viskositätsindex - ................171 ................172
Oxidation A/cm ....................40 ....................8
Nitration A/cm .....................19 ....................5
Sulfation A/cm ......................9 ....................4
Schmutztragevermögen % .....100 .................98

A D D I T I V E
Kalzium Ca mg/kg ...............2658 ..............2322
Magnesium Mg mg/kg .............21 .................17
Bor B mg/kg ........................101 ...............110
Zink Zn mg/kg ....................1004 ..............897
Phosphor P mg/kg .................851 ..............729
Barium Ba mg/kg ......................1 .................0
Molybdän Mo mg/kg ................80 ................71
Schwefel S mg/kg ...............2419 .............2128

Z U S A T Z T E S T E
BN mgKOH/g ........................7,69 ................9,05
Feste Fremdstoffe Gew.-% .....0,0083


For the oxidation I have four possible explanations:
1. Inaccuracy of the measurement. Evidence of this is the increase in additive concentration, although there was no measurable decrease in oil volume on the dipstick (besides the missing oil due to sampling). Also the reference oil plots on the FTIR graphs are scaled differently and have a very slightly different shape on the two samples, when the reference ought to be the same for both samples. But then again, maybe the computer algorithm that processes the data did it correctly, and only the picture of the graph is messed up.
2. Oxidation due to condensation water from the cold weather starts, which didn't show up on the analysis, because the long drive before taking the sample boiled it off.
3. Local overheating where my experimental engine blanket covered the exhaust manifold together with the cylinder head.
4. Contamination from using the same tube to draw the sample. Although I flushed it with oil from the crankcase before taking the second sample, the tube may still have had some oil from the first sample in it which may have oxidized in the mean time.

I think probably a combination of a little of the first three.

The dirt carrying ability (Schmutztragevermögen) was still very good, so if I interpret that correctly, there was no imminent danger of sludge formation, but because of the increased oxidation there soon could have been.

From the wear metals, I don't see any evidence of increased wear or corrosion. I am assuming that the higher Iron is due mainly to accumulation of ultra fine particles suspended in the oil, rather than an increased rate of wear or corrosion.

(ZDDP. Very important for flat tappets and cams. Long story. Made short: Educated guess based on initial Zinc, operating conditions, wear metals and FTIR: Was still enough. Large uncertainty. Start new ZDDP Thread?)

It looks to me like this is about the point in the oil life that I was aiming for. At this point the oil shows definite signs of degradation, but is still functioning well, and could still be used for a while without any negative effects on the engine. So I think that in the future I could change the oil every 25000km without further testing and still have a safety margin.


Regarding the "Fuel Economy" vs. "Advanced Fuel Economy" Formulations:
I found the following under the FAQs at the Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy page:

"Haven't you been offering Mobil 1 0W-20 and Mobil 1 0W-30 already? What's different about Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy?

They are the same formulations as the products marketed prior to 2008. As the importance of fuel economy has increased, we felt it was important to communicate to consumers which products in the Mobil 1 family offer the greatest potential for improved fuel economy. Mobil 1 Advanced Fuel Economy oils are engineered to deliver outstanding engine protection while improving fuel economy."

But looking at the spec sheets, the "Advanced Fuel Economy" (AFE) formula has a much lower TBN (8.5) than the European "Fuel Economy" (FE) (11.4). So much lower, that my used FE oil still had a higher TBN after 18000 km than virgin AFE Formula.

There are also the "Extended Performance" formulas. Mobil doesn't list the TBN for them in the spec sheet, but after a bit of digging, I found a VOA report that lists it at 10.0.

Spec Sheet Mobil 1 0W-30 Fuel Economy (Europe)
http://www.ingelbeen.be/UserFiles/File/Mobil 1 Fuel Economy 0W-30.pdf

Spec Sheet Mobil 1 0W-30 Advanced Fuel Economy
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil_1_0W-30_Advanced_Fuel_Economy.asp

Spec Sheet Mobil 1 Extended Performance
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil_1_Extended_Performance.asp

VOA Mobil 1 5W-30 Extended Performance
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=754137

Now, after rechecking, I have also noticed that the FE formula is no longer listed on the US web site. However, it is still widely available here in Germany. From the code on the bottle I see that it was made in France, so maybe it is a separate European formula independent of the American AFE formula.

 

Thank you Jayman, for taking the time to review my analysis again!
Sorry to hear that you don’t have so much time for Priuschat, but glad to hear that you don’t have too little work.

I wasn’t really aware until now that the cold weather would be quite so hard on the oil. So now I will also be careful to not push the oil change out too long in the winter.

Fred