2006 Saab 9-3 V6 Turbo 10,140 mi. on Mobil 1 0W 40

[CosmicFlash]

Car is a 2006 Saab 9-3 SportCombi Aero that has the 2.8L V6 Turbo and 6 speed auto. Factory hp is 250 hp and 258 lb. torque however I "tuned" it and is now 295 hp and 340 lb. torque--lots of power.
Car was bought new in April 2007. First oil change was done in May 2007 with about 3700 miles on the oil but I didn't do an analysis.
10,140 miles on this change, 13,700 total miles.

Aluminum: 5
Chromium: 2
Iron: 36
Copper: 21
Lead: 5
Tin: 0
Molybdenum: 86
Nickel: 0
Manganese: 4
Silver: 0
Titanium: 0
Potassium: 6
Boron: 79
Silicon: 78
Sodium: 8
Calcium: 2649
Magnesium: 39
Phosphorus: 745
Zinc: 946
Barium: 0
Fuel: Viscosity: 65.4
Water - 0.0
Antifreeze - 0
TBN - 5.2
Insolubles - 0.3
Flashpoint - 385°F

Blackstone's comments:

"The high wear metals and silicon are not unusual finds in the oil from your new Saab. In fact, we would have been surprised if we didn't find them. The wear is high due to break-in of new parts, while silicon is from sealers and sand-casted parts. Universal averages show typical wear metals for oil from this engine after 5800 miles of use. We expect your engine will look that good after future oil changes. The TBN was 5.2, lots of active additive. 1.0 is too low. Try an ~5000-mile oil change to get rid of excess metals in the oil and check before trying to extend oil use."

These comments are pretty useless and generic it seems. Did they realize this is the second oil change? And what are they talking about universal averages of 5800 miles? Where do they come up with these figures? And extended oil use, factory interval is 10,000 miles.

And is it normal for all these wear metals to be so high after the second oil change? Extended break-in period I guess...

So what do you all think?

 

[shanneba]

For additional information on the Blackstone analysis:

UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS
UNDERSTANDING YOUR GAS/DIESEL OIL REPORT

Specifically on the "universal avgerage"
"This column shows the averages for all the samples we've seen from this type of engine or equiptment" The average OCI Blackstone has analyized for your type engine is 5800 miles.

 

[Blackplastic]

Why did you run your oil so long on a new engine?
What does your manual say for how long your oci's should be?

 

[CosmicFlash]

I changed the factory fill at 3700 miles then again at 10,000 miles. The car has an oil life monitor but goes no longer that 10,000 miles or 1 year. 03'-05' models went up to 18,000 mi. and 2 years. I went over 17,000 mi. several times and the engine was just fine (my UOA's are posted here).

 

[CosmicFlash]

I should also add that the Saabs require a full synthetic with the GM LL spec and come from the factory that way.
So you've got M1 0W40 or GC to choose from. Also, scheduled maintanence is free for the first 3 years/36,000 miles.

 

[Cutehumor]

10k is a good starting point especially with the OLM, tbn 5.2 shows plenty of life left in your driving conditions. Some of that iron is break in wear, but Mobil 1 is known for their higher iron wear metals too. If the iron bothers you, Amsoil would be a good choice or German castrol if you can find it. Thanks for posting.

 

[unDummy]

Another reason to practice a couple short OCIs on a new engine prior to running an oil to 10k. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the Fe/Cu is still basic wear-in metals. No need to slam the Blackstone generic comments. Some engines will shed metals during break in for several oil changes.

I would stick with ~10k OCIs. This UOA shows that there is life left in the oil. Unless there is a bypass filter, or the oiling system is overengineered, I wouldn't bother with >10k regardless of the UOA. Sorry, I've seen too many sludge monsters over the years. And, the owners were quick to quote the owners manual OLM.

Modding an engine eliminates the accuracy of the OLM and OE change intervals. Some of the Fe/Cu could be from the added stress on the engine. Was the engine modded for the entire 10k run?

And, since engine is modded, OE oil recommendations can also be ignored. Stick with a full synthetic 40wt. Consider 5w40 or 10w40 to reduce shearing.

Oil is 11.7cst. Shearing is pretty normal for wide spread oils 0w40. A 40wt needs to be >12.5cst. You should see less shearing with a 5w40 or 10w40. And, even a full synth 10w flows well enough for your winters.

With a TBN 5.2, your driving style isn't stressing the engine much. I can only assume that you don't take too many short trips, or the oil sump to engine size ratio is better.

Whats the oil sump capacity?
How many miles do you drive a year?

BTW, your transmission is on the hard end of your mods. You need to familiarize yourself with its requirements. To keep an auto happy, you need to maintain it. Filtration and cooling can be added to deal with the extra wear and heat produced by the modded motor.

 

[buster]

Nothing wrong here with this report other than what looks like break-in metals. Even with M1 showing higher Fe on avg, it's not a concern IMHO. This oil will thicken back up over time and if I read Dr. Haas's posted paper correctly the other day, the HT/HS will also rise with the viscosity.

 

[CosmicFlash]

Quote:

---

Another reason to practice a couple short OCIs on a new engine prior to running an oil to 10k. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the Fe/Cu is still basic wear-in metals. No need to slam the Blackstone generic comments. Some engines will shed metals during break in for several oil changes.

I would stick with ~10k OCIs. This UOA shows that there is life left in the oil. Unless there is a bypass filter, or the oiling system is overengineered, I wouldn't bother with >10k regardless of the UOA. Sorry, I've seen too many sludge monsters over the years. And, the owners were quick to quote the owners manual OLM.

Modding an engine eliminates the accuracy of the OLM and OE change intervals. Some of the Fe/Cu could be from the added stress on the engine. Was the engine modded for the entire 10k run?

And, since engine is modded, OE oil recommendations can also be ignored. Stick with a full synthetic 40wt. Consider 5w40 or 10w40 to reduce shearing.

Oil is 11.7cst. Shearing is pretty normal for wide spread oils 0w40. A 40wt needs to be >12.5cst. You should see less shearing with a 5w40 or 10w40. And, even a full synth 10w flows well enough for your winters.

With a TBN 5.2, your driving style isn't stressing the engine much. I can only assume that you don't take too many short trips, or the oil sump to engine size ratio is better.

Whats the oil sump capacity?
How many miles do you drive a year?

BTW, your transmission is on the hard end of your mods. You need to familiarize yourself with its requirements. To keep an auto happy, you need to maintain it. Filtration and cooling can be added to deal with the extra wear and heat produced by the modded motor.

---

Undummy,

Lots of good points here.

I understand your point on sludgemonsters but weren't they all designed for dino? This engine came with and is designed for synthetic oil with extended intervals. Are there any slugemonsters out there that had required a full syn from the start?

I modded it just after I changed the oil. The sump is 6.3 qts. I drive mostly highway and about 33,000 miles per year.

The tuner kept the tranny limitations in mind when developing. Surprisingly, they even reduce the torque output slightly for all upshifts when at full boost.
With that in mind I'll still probably change the fluid more frequently.

 

[TR3-2001SE]

We have seen most engines here take up to 30,000 miles to fully break-in. My own experience with my 2001 Miata is that break-in was past 25,000 miles. During this time extended changes should be limited. Good report on your Saab and will improve I am sure.

 

[JohnBrowning]

I think that the 0W40 is working just fine. I am impressed witht he TBN of 5.2 after that duration of an OCI. I think that the trend will keep comeing down slowly. I am fairly sure that if their were more shourt OCI's on this engine prior to this the UOA would look better. But I also think that it is not an issue and will continue to trend down it is just going to take a little longer witht he longer OCI's

 

[unDummy]

With 33k yearly driving, OCI's every 4 months would be easy.

A timer would be more a accurate of a way to measure distance here. 10k miles seems a lot but if it is only 250 hours, it is less harsh then the 300hrs I need to hit 3k miles in my city only driving. I may be the only one that doesn't look at 10k and see it as a long duration, but will also see a 2k-5k interval as too long. I wish engines came with timers. It would really assist all the UOAs here. The odometer is a lame way of measuring engine run time.