Originally Posted By: HKPolice
Valvoline synpower is a decent oil, but it had nothing to do with the wear numbers on this report.
The 3MZ-FE is 1 of the lowest stressed engines made by Toyota. It's a port injected 3.3L V6 that only pushes ~200HP and has a timing belt. This means no timing chain to shear the oil, no fuel dilution to thin the oil, not many HTHS areas in the engine at all. Couple that with the fact that it's a V6 so it runs @ lower RPMs than a typical 4cyl and you'll always get low wear numbers regardless of what oil was used.
In addition, the OP lives in Florida where it never drops below freezing so the oil is always thin enough to provide adequate protection during every single cold start. I bet you'll get similar wear numbers per mile even on the cheapest bulk dino oil.
Very true!
The UOA results are real good, BUT it has very little to do with the oil.
If you have an engine that shears or contaminates its oil, choose one that has both Moly and Boron anti wear additives. It also helps if you select an oil with lots of detergents like Calcium and Magnesium if you get blowby contamination.
The oil in question looks a bit like cheap Castrol GTX, as it uses Sodium additives that can confuse UOA results as it looks like anti freeze, although some types also contain Potassium.
If you use a genuine German standard full synthetic (A group 4 synthoil), rather than a dinosaur or cooked up and filtered dinosaur oil (HC synthetic), the oil might not need Moly, BUT it should still have Boron.
In general terms I'm only fussy about which oil I use in turbo charged engines, then I only use German Synthoils OR GTL base stock oils like Ultra AND I beef up their add packs with Liqui Moly Ceratec if the engine is subject to severe service issues, like running out of oil, overheating from coolant loss, cracked HG, off roading or short tripping.
PS: The OCI could be extended a long way, BUT the TBN is low enough at present, so if it is extended a lot, I would use an idle flush additive just before the oil & filter change AND check the max oil filter change interval. Might be better to use an extended life oil filter if extending the OCI in some cases.