Castrol GTX 10W-30, 5000 miles Honda 3.5

[jmsbntz]

This is from a friends 2007 Pilot and it is only the second time he has exceeded a 3k OCI on any of his vehicles!
The first time was when I told him not to drop the factory fill out of this one until 5k.
I actually had to bet him that I would pay for the UOA and the oil change if the UOA was abnormal at 5k.
The factory air filter and Wix oil filter were used. His wife does most of the driving with many trips less than 10 miles.

Blackstone had the usual break-in comments and suggested he try 6k next time.

Code:
Oil Castrol GTX

Grade 10W-30

Miles on oil: 5,000

Miles on Car: 10,000

Make up oil: 0 qt

Universal AVG 5,600 miles

Aluminum: 8 4

Chromium: 2 1

Iron: 19 12

Copper: 36 28

Lead: 2 1

Tin: 1 0

Molybdenum: 44 80

Nickel: 1 0

Manganese: 1 1

Silver: 0 0

Titanium: 0 0

Potassium: 0 1

Boron: 12 45

Silicon: 28 11

Sodium: 8 19

Calcium: 2039 2156

Magnesium: 9 49

Phosphorus: 624 659

Zinc: 760 793

Barium: 1 0



Should be:

Sus Viscosity at 210F: 56.3 59-65

cSt Viscosity at 100C: 9.15 9.9-11.9

Fashpoint in F: 380 >375

Fuel Percentage:
Antifreeze: 0.0 0.0

Water: 0.0
Insolubles: 0.5
TBN: 1.8

 

[Audi Junkie]

Sheared to a 20 weight and low TBN at 5000 miles. Nothing to be proud of on Castrol's part. 5000 is the new 3000. I know the Honda V6 sheds copper, but dang. Just seems like a poor oil/engine match. I'd be annoyed if I had to change oil at 5000 miles.

 

[ThirdeYe]

It's still breaking in... It'll be interesting to see the next UOA!

 

[INDYMAC]

Looks like lots of break-in noise here. I'm sure there was probably about a quart of residual OEM fill here too. Although the fuel dilution isn't helping anything, I don't see anything wrong with this engine. I'd say after about another 10K miles, we'll see this engine fall right into the norm for other Honda V-6's.

 

[Pablo]

Still breaking in. Tell him to repeat.

 

[Jaymus]

It only has 10,000 miles on the engine. 5,000 when he put the Castrol GTX in. The oil is doing great.

 

[MC5W20]

I've gotten excellent results from Castrol GTX 10w30. If next UOA shows a drop in numbers then that will confirm what everyone else is saying. I would stay away from going 6k until a trend is established. Just my .02

 

[dnewton3]

I'd say the wear metals are likely the remnants of break in, and might even continue a few more thousand miles. As long as they're coming down in magnitude from sample to sample, no worries at all.

Regarding the oil itself, kind of disappointed in the TBN, vis, and insolubles (which include oxidation residuals factored in). I've got to say this is not a very strong showing for GTX; not much life left in this at 5k miles. I would think Blackstone's comment to run up to 6k miles would be the absolute edge of any trial; 5k would be my comfort range.

Curious; any reason a 5w-30 or 5w-20 wasn't used? It's a new vehicle. What does manual/warranty state to use?

 

[jmsbntz]

Baby steps guys, baby steps.
It almost killed him but I got him to do these two 5k OCIs, a UOA and his current fill is PP 10W-30! I explained the UOA to him including how it sheared to a 20 wt.
Now I'm trying to get him to go 7.5k on this OCI, repeat the UOA and refill with PP 5W-30.
The final phase of my plan is PP in Honda's recommended 5W-20.
I may fail that endeavor because he's always used 10W-30. Honestly with our very mild South Texas winters I don't think we would see much difference in UOA wear metal levels.

 

[sunfire]

I noticed a huge difference in my 05 Corolla's lowend responsiveness going from PP 10W-30 to PP 5W-20 (Toyota's manual recommends 5W-30 but 10W-30 can be used and 5W-20 was approved through a TSB).

Should always use what the manual calls for while still under warranty. He might be losing a little HP by using the heavier oils.

 

[2oldtommy]

jmsbntz-- Tell him to observe the OLM. i find that the OLM runs out to about 6500-7000 miles on my 07 Accord. I have been using MC 5-20 with good results. IMO a full synthetic is not warranted while the car is in warranty and can not take advantage of an extended drain interval. You did not indicate what % oil life was left on the OLM when the oil was changed. Definately get him to change to a 5-20 in the future. Honda knows more about viscosity and their engines than he does. FWIW---2oldtommy