Valvoline 5W-30. 5,003 miles, 2010 Traverse DI

[rbarrios]

40,578 on the engine.
5,003 on oil.
Oil Life Monitor @ 51%
Filter used- PF-48
Oil used-Valvoline Premium Conventional 5W-30 ILSAC-GF-5(Dino oil).
Removed 4.6 quarts (out of 5.5)
I asked for a TBN extended oil use just for the info.
But not interested in going too much past 5000.

Its interesting that they note the way the vehicle is driven. For this oil sample- I did take 3 trips up the mountain- and 3 trips Down the mtn- where I used gears 1-3 (out of 6) to keep the RPM's high going up--- and then used engine braking to come down the mountain- Each trip consisted of 6 or 7 people on board.
Vehicle is also my daily driver in Los Angeles.
The vehicle is Remote Started every morning.


The oil in the previous 3 UOA was the older- ILSAC-GF4 Valvoline

Note: the 3rd UOA with Iron of 9- was 4200 miles-Los Angeles to Florida-and back to Los Angeles in 4 days. The last 903 miles were my typical morning and evening rush hour traffic- along with combined city/hwy travel

 

[Rand]

Really TBN FINE AT 1.3????
try going 1/3 longer????
are they smoking the bad stuff?

 

[rbarrios]

I did ask for an extended oil usage /TBN for my info.
Thus their comment.

 

[OVERKILL]

Definitely not an extended drain lube. Looks like ~5K is your limit.

 

[rbarrios]

This being the ILSAC GF-5- TBN being lower than the GF4 samples- at TBN of 2...
shouldnt this oil have handled it better? Or did the mountain drives get to it?

I would also suspect that if Id done no Mtn driving- with 6-8 on board- iron would have been lower....?

And yes- being a Direct injection- 5000 miles max intervals is fine with me. (which just happens to agree with the new updated OLM on the 2011's and up- and the updated software on the 2009's.

 

[Old Mustang Guy]

I have the 09 Acadia with the same motor. I am doing 5k intervals on QSUD, haven't done a UOA. Agree with Rand, sometimes thier comments are nonsense. I just don't want to push my luck on a DI motor.

 

[zeezee]

It's widely believed that the majority of wear can occur early after the oil change. I'm not entirely sure the oil would be "used up" for at least another 1k of conservative driving. Base TBN on this oil is around 7 to 7.4.

Frankly, I wouldn't personally have a problem with running it to 6k considering the base TBN and how used the oil is. But that's just my personal opinion.

Note that the wear is lower than it is in the first two oil analysis numbers, yet the TBN is also lower. It's not consistent, indicating slightly different formulations (which doesn't appear to be the case) differences in driving, or cold weather operating conditions. But that probably can't even be it since you are in California.

 

[Turk]

Let's see:

- No Moly
- Very low Magnesium
- Low-med Calcium
- Lots of Sodium
- Low TBN

It's a low-medium grade oil that doesn't have a lot of cleaning or protective additives. It does a basic job, but that's about it.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Almost suprising. Stayed in grade, low fuel good copper - looks good. The higher moly oils without the Bo would be chewing on the soft metals. There are new, SOTA non-metallic compounds that may be in there and dont show on the UOA. Or not

 

[zeezee]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Almost suprising. Stayed in grade, low fuel good copper - looks good. The higher moly oils without the Bo would be chewing on the soft metals. There are new, SOTA non-metallic compounds that may be in there and dont show on the UOA. Or not

Agreed. And this would have no bearing on TBN. So I frankly wouldn't be worried about it. People treat TBN and mineral additives like they are religion. It honestly looks fine.

 

[REDDOG]

People put WAY too much stock in old metallic technology that shows up in VOAs.

I've been paying close attention to these engines for a while and the Valvoline conventional is a consistent performer here. If I had one of these I would be doing exactly as rbarrios is doing here.

Thank you, rbarrios for sharing your UOAs. I would keep on with this oil at 5k intervals and I think you are doing as well as possible with these engines without spending a fortune for as good or worse results! In fact I recommended this oil to another Traverse owner just the other night and told him not to rely on the OLM.

Thanks again,

REDDOG

 

[ltslimjim]

Originally Posted By: ARCOgraphite
Almost suprising. Stayed in grade, low fuel good copper - looks good. The higher moly oils without the Bo would be chewing on the soft metals. There are new, SOTA non-metallic compounds that may be in there and dont show on the UOA. Or not

Moly needs boron or it eats at bearings? Did I understand that right? Never thought of that before, but I don't know additive chemistry well yet.

 

[Maxima97]

Typical oil for 19.95 oil change in fastlube shop. They still put 3000 OCI stick on your window. You oil is already out lived by 2000 miles. You loaded 6,7 people in this car up down the mountain at 3,4 gear. I think this oil is good enough for this type of driving at 5000 miles.

 

[Turk]

Originally Posted By: Maxima97
Typical oil for 19.95 oil change in fastlube shop. They still put 3000 OCI stick on your window. You oil is already out lived by 2000 miles. You loaded 6,7 people in this car up down the mountain at 3,4 gear. I think this oil is good enough for this type of driving at 5000 miles.


Yep, good oil for 5000 miles.

 

[mongo161]

Thanks for your Post and sharing your results!

Very Good results for a solid 5K mile oil. Can't get much better for your type of driving and your engine. VWB seems to be the ticket for a 5K mile OCI. Some run full synthetic for the same mileage, or less, with comparable or similar results and a much lighter wallet to show for their efforts.

 

[rbarrios]

Originally Posted By: REDDOG
People put WAY too much stock in old metallic technology that shows up in VOAs.

I've been paying close attention to these engines for a while and the Valvoline conventional is a consistent performer here. If I had one of these I would be doing exactly as rbarrios is doing here.

Thank you, rbarrios for sharing your UOAs. I would keep on with this oil at 5k intervals and I think you are doing as well as possible with these engines without spending a fortune for as good or worse results! In fact I recommended this oil to another Traverse owner just the other night and told him not to rely on the OLM.

Thanks again,

REDDOG



Thank You RedDog

 

[rbarrios]

I do need to mention- that I bought about 45 quarts of this oil about 1 yr ago- on sale- @$2.40 a quart...

 

[KCJeep]

Typical Valvoline, very low wear and it resisted shear well in an engine type known for diluting oil. There's a lot more to oil than cheap VOA's will tell you, and here's a good example, again.

Rbarrios you've got it nailed for that vehicle, stick with what you're doing and the 5k OCI's seem about perfect.

 

[Brons2]

Even going up and down the Grapevine, LA is a pretty easy environment for an engine. VWB is sufficient, nothing more.

 

[mongo161]

I have 14+ Gallons of VWB, 5w30, 10w30 in my stash at home, compliments of the Kmart clearance extravaganza.

I plan on blending the VWB with NAPA full Synthetic 5w30 a 50/50 mixed blend. Both Ashland products blended should make some fine OCI, for neighbors, family and friends back in Coney Island.