Amsoil SSO 0w-30 9,000 miles 14 months 2006 Camry

[Built_Well]

14-month OCI (from May 31, 2010 to July 25, 2011).
Toyota OEM air filter and oversized Mobil 1 M1-209 oil filter were used.
39,475 total car miles on Camry.
9,000 miles on oil (actually 115 miles short of 9,000 miles).

This was my first fill with Amsoil SSO 0w-30. I had previously used RLI BioSyn 0w-30, Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30, Mobil 1 5w-30, and Valvoline Dino.
Easy to moderate driving on roads in St. Louis, Missouri. The highest RPM this oil might have seen was probably somewhere between 2,600 and 3,200 rpm. I'm not sure I even drove once at 3,200 RPM so if I did, it was a rare, rare occurrence for a second or two.

Probably 80 percent was city driving with most trips averaging somewhere between 15 city miles in length to 30 miles.

Highway speeds usually were between 55 mph and 70 mph. On very, very rare occasion 80 mph.

On the actual day of the oil change, in order to get the oil hot just before changing the oil, I drove the car about 55 miles, much of it on the highway.

Although my manual calls for 4 quarts of oil when changing the Denso oil filter, I have always put in 4.25 quarts with that filter. Right now I'm probably adding a little more than 4.25 quarts because I now use the oversized Mobil 1 filter and I place some oil inside the oil filter itself before attaching the filter to the car (thanks for that tip).

This is Toyota's 2.4L 2AZ-FE engine, an inline 4 cylinder.

Blackstone-Labs results:

Miles on oil: 8,885
Miles on engine: 39,475
Sample date: 7/25/2011 ; Report date: 8/1/2011
Makeup oil added: 0

First number = Amsoil SSO 0w-30 (9,000-mile OCI over 14 months)
Second number = Bio-Syn 0w-30 (7,500-mile OCI over 9.75 months)
Third number = PP 5w-30 (4,920-mile OCI over 6 months)
Fourth number = Universal Averages for this engine over about a 5,000-mile OCI

Aluminum 3 , 2 , 3 , 3
Chromium 1 , 1 , 0 , 0
Iron 23 , 15 , 7 , 12

Copper 2 , 1 , 1 , 2
Lead 4 , 17 , 3 , 2
Tin 0 , 0 , 0 , 0

Molybdenum 2 , 10 , 53 , 80
Nickel 1 , 0 , 0 , 0
Manganese 0 , 0 , 0 , 1

Silver 0 , 0 , 0 , 0
Titanium 0 , 0 , 0 , 0

---------
Potassium 2 , 3 , 2 , 1
Boron 10 , 11 , 28 , 43
Silicon 30 , 16 , 17 , 17
Sodium 14 , 6 , 4 , 33
---------

Calcium 3713 , 2511 , 2795 , 2354
Magnesium 19 , 14 , 15 , 86
Phosphorous 681 , 733 , 714 , 706
Zinc 836 , 953 , 860 , 833
Barium 0 , 1 , 1 , 0

MY Amsoil SSO 0w-30 RESULTS // MY Bio-Syn 0w-30 RESULTS // My PP 5w-30 RESULTS // WHAT VALUES SHOULD BE

SUS Viscosity @ 210* F = 57.9 // 62.4 // 59.3 // 57 - 67
cSt Viscosity @ 100* C = 9.63 // 10.88 // 10.03 // 9.4 - 12.4
Flashpoint in * F = *375* // 415 // 400 // > 385

Fuel % = 0.5 // < 0.5 // < 0.5 // < 2.0
Antifreeze % = 0.0 // 0.0 // 0.0 // 0.0
Water % = 0.0 // 0.0 // 0.0 // < 0.1
Insolubles % = 0.3 // 0.3 // 0.2 // < 0.6

TBN = 3.2 // 2.0 // 4.7 (Amsoil // RenewableLube // Pennzoil Platinum)
TAN = 5.4 // 8.5 // 0.9 (Amsoil // RenewableLube // Pennzoil Platinum)

 

[Turk]

Jump in Iron.

Uh, what was Blackstone's comments??

 

[HTSS_TR]

PP numbers are very good, I would use PP for low cost and easy to find anywhere.

 

[Built_Well]

True, PP's numbers were awesome, but please keep in mind that the PP OCI was for just 6 months and 5,000 miles. Amsoil went more than double that at 14 months and 9,000 miles.

 

[Built_Well]

Originally Posted By: tpitcher
Uh, what was Blackstone's comments??


Tpitcher, I'll post Blackstone's comments in a couple days after I hear the group's comments. I don't want Blackstone to influence the group. Blackstone could be wrong after all.

 

[chubbs1]

Pennzoil Platinum @ 9k runs! Those are My comments. RLI and Amsoil are just unnecessary for that particular vehicle.

 

[tinmanSC]

Thank for you posting, but the rules for this forum say, specifically, not to post your data like this. Please consult the sticky at that is the first post on the UOA forum.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2155469#Post2155469

 

[Built_Well]

Tinman, thanks for your comments. The posting guidelines have changed over the years. For example, the current guidelines in the sticky you mentioned don't ask that the Oil Name appear in the subject line, but in the past, the oil name was asked for.

Here's the sticky's current instruction for the subject line:

"Please post vehicle, miles on oil, and total miles in subject line."

Notice that Oil Name is left out.

Kindly don't be so nit-picky TinmanSC.

As for posting the data in a code block, the sticky's guidelines state that the code block is a preference, not a requirement.

The sticky is more worried about folks posting jpeg images of reports whose links might be lost in the future.

 

[tinmanSC]

True, i misspoke. Recommended, not required. But it's still hard to read.

Why did you move to AMSOIL? were you unhappy with the others or just experimenting?

 

[JOD]

well, 3 different UOA's, one three different oils, each used one at a time... Anyone coming up with a recommendation on which oil 'did better' is a heck of a lot smarter than I am--or omniscient...

They all appeared to do well. Given the limitations of the data, about the only conclusion you can reach is that they're all good oils, and your car is doing fine.

That said, looking at the FP, TBN and TAN of the SSO, I don't think I'd be comfortable going over 12K with it--with your car and your driving conditions. So if overall value is a concern, PP @ 7.5K (or a little longer) seems like the way to go.

5 different oils in 5 different OCI's probably isn't the best way to determine any useful trends, IMO. It's certainly not going to have a detrimental effect on the engine, but for establishing how the oil is performing via UOA, I just don't think it's the best practice.

 

[Built_Well]

Something that disturbs me is the high TAN of 5.4. I would have expected a better number from Amsoil SSO.

They say you should change your oil before TAN exceeds TBN. Here the TAN exceeded TBN by a lot: 5.4 TAN to 3.2 TBN.

What do you think might have happened? I'll probably try Pennzoil Ultra next after my second, current run of Amsoil comes to an end next year.

And I think I'll stick to a strict 12-month run with this Amsoil, not 14 months like the above OCI.

 

[INDYMAC]

I think the question you have to ask yourself is "how much acid is organic to the formula?". The answer will help you make better decisions. You should ask yourself the same question about any of the oils you use, especially RLI products.

 

[Built_Well]

Virgin RLI has a high beginning TAN, but the virgin Amsoil SSO is probably lower. Saw a virgin TAN of Amsoil AZO of 3.6 .

 

[odie]

Didn't find it that hard to read . Thanks for the results .

 

[ltslimjim]

...and you have to consider that you put Amsoil into the engine with some remnants of RLI as well as a 'more apparent' acidic engine environment(harmless acids or not etc).

That is why it is generally recommended to establish several OCIs with one oil to establish a verifiable 'norm'; actual trending, instead of changing oils out each time, since the vehicle will respond differently on the initial OCI of a 'different' oil. To see how 1 oil works in your engine, use it for 2-3 consecutive intervals.

EDIT: 3 is a number I'm comfortable with given that most are trying for extended OCIs, others may disagree.

 

[Built_Well]

Itslimjim, you make a great point that there's probably half a quart of RLI's Bio-Syn oil still in the car, as I think my car retains about a half of quart of the preceding oil during an oil change. So the oil analysis was of a mixture of 4.25 or 4.35 quarts of Amsoil and about 0.5 quarts of used RLI Bio-Syn.

Part of that 0.5 quarts was of used Bio-Syn that ended with a very high TAN, according to my previous Blackstone analysis. That very high TAN Bio-Syn probably amounts to roughtly one-tenth of one-tenth or 1 percent [ (0.5 / 5 quarts) * 1/10 ]. And the remainder of that 0.5 quarts of Bio-Syn was of a fresher, shorter second run of Bio-Syn that I didn't get analyzed.

So roughly 1 percent Bio-Syn from OCI Number 1, and 9 percent Bio-Syn from OCI Number 2, and 90 percent Amsoil from OCI Number 3. Of course, I'm not counting the other OCI's involving Pennzoil Platinum, Mobil 1, etc.

 

[FZ1]

I'd forget the Bio Syn and run one of the other 2 oils. Is that tan accurate for PP?

 

[Built_Well]

Originally Posted By: FZ1
I'd forget the Bio Syn and run one of the other 2 oils. Is that tan accurate for PP?

Yes, 0.9 is the figure that Blackstone gave me for the PP TAN.

What do you all think about the 0.5 percent fuel found in the Amsoil over 14 months?

 

[ltslimjim]

I'd say expected and within tolerance(the previous reports noted the noise already), given that they car saw the oil for well over a year. If fuel dilution increases, I'd start to be concerned. Do you use any fuel system cleaners etc?

PS: I believe this UOA was great more or less, by the way, and you'd be perfect for 1 year intervals(not quite this long time-wise just my personal preference) or 10,000 miles in this app unless driving habits became more severe. Your Iron went up to 2.55 or so ppm per 1,000 miles, over 2 ppm for the RLI, this slightly up from the PP run. Still within norms and what is considered 'noise' level for totals. Keep silicon down and use good filtration for long intervals. Otherwise, I'm thinking another year interval on the latest AZO would yield better results than the first.

 

[Colt45ws]

Im going to guess that the Amsoil has around 2% fuel in it.
Why do I think that?
Well, Blackstone uses that 385 minimum number as a base line and every 20F below that is 1% fuel on the report. Hence, since you are at 375F that is 10F below their baseline so they show an even 0.5% fuel.
My issue is that the 385F number is low for a high quality syn. Amsoil specs 435F. Thats the new formula so Im using my standard 420F baseline when I look at other synthetic blackstone reports. Just as arbitrary as their number, yes, but I believe its closer to what an actual fuel test would show.
I believe this is why you have higher iron here even considering the longer run.
I think this should be backed off to closer to 7500 miles.