Great used oil analysis! AU Forte 4.0. What oil do you use?

19jacobob93 · 20-05-2015, 09:45 AM

Got a used engine oil analysis done on my 2000 AU2 forte 4.0 I6 with 210,000km on the clock.
Oil was Valvoline Engine armour 10w30 run for 7,500km and driven very hard occasionally.
Wear numbers that came back were excellent!
The average wear particle number for Iron should be 100ppm (parts per million) or below. The test on my AU returned just 4ppm!
Copper was also at 4ppm
Lead was only 1ppm
Aluminium was 2ppm

Sodium was high because that's what Valvoline uses in all their oil's add packs.
Silicon (dirt/sand) was a little high cause near the end of this interval I found the crankcase breather hose was off drawing unfiltered air into the engine.

All in all it really surprised me how good it turned out! Mine doesn't use a drop of 10w30 over 7.5k so goes to show you don't need to use a thicker oil just because your engine has 'some kays' on it... Not unless you have low oil pressure anyway.

Made me interested in what oil everyone else is running and in what car?
Cheers

Bourbon Ute · 20-05-2015, 08:38 PM

What do these guys charge, and whats the turnaround time? Was thinking of doing a sample of my ute. Sorry for the hijack.

19jacobob93 · 20-05-2015, 08:50 PM

No worries bud it cost me $32.50.
They send the email within 48 hours of getting the sample, took mine about a week because there was an issue but I emailed them and I got it the day after

Bourbon Ute · 20-05-2015, 08:53 PM

Ah cool sounds good, will do on my next oil change.

GTBenny · 20-05-2015, 09:41 PM

Here is the oil sample data for my GT over the last 6 oil changes. I've been analysing the oil samples since it's first oil change at 3000ks.

Benny.

19jacobob93 · 20-05-2015, 10:43 PM

What company was that done by? Very thorough test with a lot of useful information I'm after. How much did it cost?
Results are pretty good and it's certainly different seeing someone use a 20 weight down here, I know the engine was specced a 5w20 im the US but most people here like their 40s and 50s haha

Maka · 21-05-2015, 08:56 AM

Nice result with the oil analysis, congrats! Ive happily used Valvoline Engine Armour 15/40 in my Au Futura i6 for years with good results. Ive never had a analysis done on my engine oil but with 321,xxx on the clock now, my Au uses minimal oil between changes & the engine is pretty quiet too.

cheer's, Maka

19jacobob93 · 21-05-2015, 09:01 AM

Thanks! I have tried pretty much every name brand and settled with Valvoline which seems so make my engine run the quietest, and the test shows they make a damn good oil too!
I had a slight knocking that sounded like the bottom end which only happened sometimes on a cold morning start. It's only for about 30 seconds and then it doesn't come back until the morning after or a few mornings after. Clearly isn't casing any wear issues though so I'm not overly concerned

Maka · 21-05-2015, 09:42 AM

Hey Jacob, maybe consider going up to 15/40 to stop the slight cold startup knock? Just a thought!

cheer's, Maka

19jacobob93 · 21-05-2015, 09:47 AM

I was thinking that but the only time I get the knock is when the engine is stone cold - when the oil is at it's thickest! Every time after that when the engine is warm and the oil has thinned out it is silent, that's the confusing part haha
Maybe I have a dodgy oil filter with a broken anti drain back valve? This would cause the oil to drain out over night and the engine to start dry for a few seconds in theory

GTBenny · 23-05-2015, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 19jacobob93

What company was that done by? Very thorough test with a lot of useful information I'm after. How much did it cost?
Results are pretty good and it's certainly different seeing someone use a 20 weight down here, I know the engine was specced a 5w20 im the US but most people here like their 40s and 50s haha

The company is Oil Test. Cost was $35. 5W20 is used here mainly for fuel economy targets.

Benny.