UOA Super Tech 15w40 18,308 miles in Volvo D11

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This uoa is of the very oil used for my recent voa post. Super Tech is on Volvo's VDS4 approved list so I gave it a try. My wallet was extra thin at time of purchase so it made sense to try it.

This oil is API CJ-4/SN

In use 1/4/14 thru 2/23/14 running mostly the northern tier of the U.S. from Maine to North Dakota this oci. Lots of very cold starts and lots of idling, too. Not to mention many hours of stop and go in Boston, NYC, Chicago and even in the middle of nowhere because of bad weather accidents. I stay loaded to near 80k lbs.

Engine miles/hours = 301,644 miles / 7,780 hours

Oil miles/hours = 18,308 miles / 567 hours

When idling in the cold the ECM adjusts the variable geometry turbo to maintain decent heat in the engine. The colder the air the more manifold pressure it made. During long idles in temps of -20°f or colder it would show a good 10 psi of pressure and maintain 185-193°f oil temp (depending how bad wind was blowing).

---------------------uoa-------voa-------universal averages (17,700)

Aluminum----------( 4 )-------( 1 )----------------( 4 )

Chromium----------( 0 )-------( 0 )----------------( 0 )

Iron-----------------( 9 )------( 1 )-----------------( 10 )

Copper--------------( 8 )------( 0 )-----------------( 5 )

Lead----------------( 0 )------( 1 )-----------------( 2 )

Tin------------------( 2 )------( 0 )-----------------( 3 )

Moly----------------( 50 )-----( 41 )

Nickel---------------( 1 )------( 0 )

Manganese----------( 0 )------( 0 )

Silver----------------( 0 )------( 2 )

Titanium-------------( 0 )------( 0 )

Potassium-----------( 4 )------( 1 )

Boron----------------( 7 )------( 3 )

Silicon---------------( 3 )------( 5 )

Sodium--------------( 6 )------( 3 )

Calcium------------( 1217 )----( 1103 )

Magnesium--------( 794 )------( 820 )

Phosphorous-------( 953 )-----( 1026 )

Zinc----------------( 1260 )----( 1203 )

Barium---------------( 0 )---------( 0 )

SUS visc@210°f ----( 69.6 )------( 77.7 )

cSt @100°c ---------( 12.86 )----( 14.95 )

Flash point °f -------( 410 )------( 455 )

Fuel %---------------( = 0.5 )-----( 0.0 )

Antifreeze-----------( 0.0 )-------( 0.0 )

Water---------------( 0.0 )--------( 0.0 )

Insolubles-----------( 0.2 )-------( 0.0 )

TBN-----------------( 4.6 )-------( 10.1 )

TAN-----------------( 6.6 )-------( 4.0 )

Blackstone thought the tbn/tan was out of wack so they retested and got same result twice. Considering the VOA numbers the UOA look good. Very good tbn retention, or so I think.

I should have titled this " confessions of a former oil snob". I have always thought it had to be delo, delvac, or rotella oil in my engine. I think I'm past that now....
 
I always forget something...

Sump holds 38 qts

Air filter had just over 80,000 miles at sample time

Using Fleetguard filters everywhere (two full flows, one bypass for oil)
 
Yet more proof that good quality house brands can and will perform right on par with brand name products.

All you metals are "normal" and well within expected deviation. This is a typical as one could ever expect!

After 18k miles, your metals are all still in single digits for goodness sake! Contamination is very low (insol, coolant, fuel at crazy low). TBN good and acid not out of hand. Vis, FP. Air filtration is excellent; leave it alone. It's all good!

You are nowhere near any condemnation limits. I realize that TAN has crossed over, but clearly the net result is that nothing happened whatsoever in that regard. Folks often tout the concept of dumping oil when TBN dips below TAN, but to what end? That is only a predictor for what may happen to wear. It's not a reason to condemn oil in and of itself. So it crossed over; can someone please point out the obvious detrimental effect here from that circumstance? If you cannot show the effect of something undesirable, then the obvious conclusion is that nothing bad happened! TAN crossed over and the wear went totally unaffected. So did Vis and insols (soot/oxidation). TAN surely didn't attack the bearings as many folks fear; look at the low metals! All wear is within one standard deviation for variance. Crossover is not a reason to freak out; it is only a cautionary marker to pay closer attention to wear.

Not only did this do a great job, but you could likely push the OCI out way further; there is no sign of danger here. With such a large sump, I'd think that a sample port would be beneficial. Much cheaper to UOA than OCI; extend and get the value out of the lube! EXTEND THE OCI! There is nothing to fear here.
 
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Hey dnewton...no argument on anything you said. My typical oci is around 23k and this oil was certainly good for that...probably much more as it wasn't stressed too bad.

I do have a vacuum pump from blackstone for early sampling. My excuse for early oci was I had $60 discount (toward an oil change) that I had to use by 2/27/14 and the timing was right. May have been just as good to loose the discount for a couple more weeks of use on this oil but wasn't thinking that way at the time.

I think the ST oil did fantastic. The tbn/tan was in good shape and it sheared less than delo 400 with similar miles in the past. Some day I'll piece all my reports together in a code block.

Again, I agree i dumped good oil. My dealer recommends 20-25k oci to protect my warranty under my usage. If anyone wonders why I don't run an aftermarket bypass and greatly extend, it is because volvo does not accept that while warranted. After warranty is up, I can decide if I want to do it or not.

Thanks Dave for your analysis!

I would like to run again for multiple oci's including the more stressful summer use. My discount I mentioned required bulk oil use at the truckstop shop so I currently have delo 400 in the truck again.
 
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Originally Posted By: Texan4Life
looks great dusty!

hard to argue with good results.


Thanks! I agree and while this oci wasn't the toughest use, it still shows great tbn retention. My engine also seems to chew up (shear) oil pretty bad so I believe it did pretty well there as well.
 
Can't argue with staying in warranty compliance, especially on such an expensive investment.

Given your warranty-imposed limitations, I'd say use the least expensive CJ-4 you can find. The ST certainly has availed itself here!
 
Last year I sent an email to Warren Performance Products (WPP) asking for info about their walmart supertech 15W40. Here is the spec sheet they sent me. I still live in the stone age so I'll type it out here, skipping the ASTM test procedure numbers. I stumbled across it in my files today, forgot I had it.


Gravity °API ................ (31.09)
Specific gravity @ 60°F (15.6°C)........... (0.8703)

Visc @ 40°C cSt............. (113)
Visc @ 100°C cSt........... (15.23)
Visc index....................... (141)

Pour point....................... (-30°c/-22°f)
CCS cP............................ (4691 @ -20°c)

High Temp/High Shear @ 150°C cP.......... (4.2)
Noack volatility, % loss............. (11)
Color..................................... (2.5)

Zinc, weight %..................... (0.1287)
Phosphorous, weight %.......(0.115)
Calcium, weight %.............................. (0.12)
Magnesium, weight %........................ (0.083)
Moly, weight %....................... (0.0045)
Sulfur, weight %......................(0.308)

Sulfated ash, weight %...........(0.99)
Nitrogen, weight %.............(0.11)

Pumping visc, cP............... (23,700 @ -25°C)

TBN............................... (10)
 
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