Oil Report, what do you guys think?
06-29-2014, 09:54 AM
#1
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Oil Report, what do you guys think? Sent my oil off to BlackStone labs and here's what I got back.
Mobil 1 5w/30 6,516 on oil
I don't think I'm alarmed at this point. Do these blocks have steel inserts for cylinder walls?
It's tough to say whether 35% life left is "correct." It's like whether 35% battery life left on your phone is
correct. That 35% could last minutes or days. In this first look at your CTS-V, we're seeing high levels of aluminum and
iron next to universal averages. Those averages are based on ~3,900 miles, so perhaps the longer oil run could explain
some of the metal. But these metals could also indicate a bit of piston scuffing. We'll watch trends. Sodium could be
coolant or residual additive from a past fill. The TBN was fine at 3.2, but use 6,500 mi to monitor.
Mobil 1 5w/30 6,516 on oil
I don't think I'm alarmed at this point. Do these blocks have steel inserts for cylinder walls?
It's tough to say whether 35% life left is "correct." It's like whether 35% battery life left on your phone is
correct. That 35% could last minutes or days. In this first look at your CTS-V, we're seeing high levels of aluminum and
iron next to universal averages. Those averages are based on ~3,900 miles, so perhaps the longer oil run could explain
some of the metal. But these metals could also indicate a bit of piston scuffing. We'll watch trends. Sodium could be
coolant or residual additive from a past fill. The TBN was fine at 3.2, but use 6,500 mi to monitor.
06-29-2014, 12:16 PM
#2
TECH Fanatic
I know most swear by oil testing but I've never seen the point. When your **** starts missing and knocking get another motor lol. Cylinder liners are iron but the pistons are aluminum. The lifter bores are not lined so they are machined aluminum.
Do you have an LS6? Maybe the sodium could be from one of your sodium cooled exhaust valves leaking into the motor?
J/K about the sodium. Treat the analysis as the gimmick that it is and enjoy your V.
Do you have an LS6? Maybe the sodium could be from one of your sodium cooled exhaust valves leaking into the motor?
J/K about the sodium. Treat the analysis as the gimmick that it is and enjoy your V.
06-29-2014, 12:40 PM
#4
I feel like its probably useful to compare results from the same car if you change oils or change intervals or something. Or get it done once every 20k miles just to monitor changes, but I'm not sure a single analysis tells you very much other than you're not totally screwed right this second.
06-29-2014, 01:41 PM
#5
While my car isn't "missing or knocking," it was using quite a bit of oil, so I sent it off for analysis and my aluminum, iron, and chromium were high, indicating piston/cyl wear. I decided to switch from Castrol Syntec 5w30 to Rotella T6 5w40 and my oil consumption has dropped to almost zero. Sure, I didn't fix my motor and it makes no difference, but at least I know that I probably need to *plan* for a new motor sooner than I was. Getting a heads up is worth the price of an analysis, I think.
