Rotella T5 10w-30, 10,538 miles, 05 Grand Am

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sdan27

Joined
Jun 7, 2009
Messages
486
Location
Michigan
Last two oil changes. Mostly a 20 mile one way drive to work and 8 mile one way for groceries. Have a different vehicle for winter driving. Using a Fleetguard LF3554 filter. Will probably stick with 10k oil changes as I got about the most out of it as I could have.

Veh Miles 111027, 121565
Oil Miles 8093, 10538
Iron 23, 26
Alum 4, 6
Copp 8, 11
Lead 6, 11
Tin 2, 3
Sili 13, 12
Sod 35, 44
Pot 3, 3
Moly 13, 8
Anti 1, 0
Mang 0, 1
Bor 19, 10
Magn 29, 11
Calc 2321, 2282
Bar 1, 0
Phos 927, 893
Zinc 1116, 1113

Soot H2O Visc 12.0, 11.8
TBN 3.06, 2.03
Oxid 17, 26
Nitr 20,14
 
Good job, good report, HDEO indeed.
smile.gif
 
Wondering who did the analysis...

Looks good though, this sample came at the perfect time; I just switched to this oil today!
 
Very good presentation,thanks! Interesting,lead almost doubles with an addl 2500 miles.
 
Its a V6, I think its like a 3.5L, maybe. Used Polaris Labs for the analysis. They mentioned my TBN was getting low and my oxidation was starting to go up. The previous sample they noted how high the nitration was and someone suggested I change the spark plugs so I did that, which hadn't been done before, and seems to have brought the nitration down pretty good. The change oil light came on around 8,000 miles but from my previous sample I figured I could push it a little further.
 
Did the lab give you a set of universal averages?? It's difficult to interpret UOA results without knowing what is normal. It also helps to have a VOA to figure out how much Sodium is in it.
Rotella is a good oil, but the Lead, Sodium and Copper need to be compared with both the averages and VOA (There might be one in the VOA section) figures. It might be worth trying Rotella 5/40 considering the engines age, assuming it is recommended in the Shell oil finder etc.
 
Originally Posted By: skyship
Did the lab give you a set of universal averages?? It's difficult to interpret UOA results without knowing what is normal.


Lead is not normal here. Way too high.
 
Kinda thick for wintertime in Michigan, no? 12.0 cSt in a car that calls for 5w30, of which most are closer to 10.0 cst.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: skyship
Did the lab give you a set of universal averages?? It's difficult to interpret UOA results without knowing what is normal.


Lead is not normal here. Way too high.


1 PPM per 1K miles. I have to disagree. Not a bad report IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: skyship
Did the lab give you a set of universal averages?? It's difficult to interpret UOA results without knowing what is normal.


Lead is not normal here. Way too high.


1 PPM per 1K miles. I have to disagree. Not a bad report IMO.


You realize we talk about lead and not iron, right?

90+% of UOAs here have lead at 0 regardless of miles.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Lead is not normal here. Way too high.


I too, have to disagree. What I see here is normal wear after 10k miles. Nobody would complain if they saw 2ppm for five consecutive 2,000 mile intervals.

What the OP didn't mention was how long the oil was in use. We see miles, but no sign of longevity (unless I missed it). If that lead measurement showed up in 10k of highway miles, I would be concerned and would certainly be motivated to try a new oil/filter combination.

On the other hand, if it were in use over say 8-12 months, presumably with a lot of cold starts, then I wouldn't worry. We know HDEO's tend to err on the thick side of a given viscosity number (this oil is no exception) and don't flow particularly well when cold, so the difference in wear metals between 10k of highway driving, and 10k of short trips could be substantial.

So unless the OP were to come back and say the oil was used for 3 months with cross country trips from Florida to Oregan and back, I'd chalk the seemingly elevated wear metals up as completely normal for an extended drain, and very good results overall.

I see no reason to use anything thicker, in fact I've always had better UOAs on GM pushrod V6's using thinner oils. Nearly all the 30 weights I'd used were sheared to a thick 20 weight during use, and results were outstanding. No need to fear thin oils unless you're trying to combat oil consumption or low oil pressure. Terrific motors these are, as long as they live past the gasket issues they are plagued by.
 
Originally Posted By: 92saturnsl2
What I see here is normal wear after 10k miles. Nobody would complain if they saw 2ppm for five consecutive 2,000 mile intervals.


Fine, show me all those normal UOA that show 1ppm Pb/1000 miles. All mine showed 0ppm/1000 miles. Is that abnormal?
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: skyship
Did the lab give you a set of universal averages?? It's difficult to interpret UOA results without knowing what is normal.


Lead is not normal here. Way too high.


1 PPM per 1K miles. I have to disagree. Not a bad report IMO.


You realize we talk about lead and not iron, right?

90+% of UOAs here have lead at 0 regardless of miles.



You realize that the universal average for lead is 4ppm on a 5.5K OCI for this engine? Or did you forget, I can help you with your math if you like.
 
Originally Posted By: friendly_jacek
Originally Posted By: 92saturnsl2
What I see here is normal wear after 10k miles. Nobody would complain if they saw 2ppm for five consecutive 2,000 mile intervals.


Fine, show me all those normal UOA that show 1ppm Pb/1000 miles. All mine showed 0ppm/1000 miles. Is that abnormal?


Yes. A jump from 0 to 1 is not a reason to cry the sky is falling IMO.
 
Originally Posted By: dave1251

You realize that the universal average for lead is 4ppm on a 5.5K OCI for this engine? Or did you forget, I can help you with your math if you like.


Where was it stated if I may ask?
BTW, you should control you aggression just a bit.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Cardiobuck
Liqui Moly 5w-30, 5,011 miles, '18 Audi A4
2
Replies
27
Views
7K
Deleted member 89374
J
  • Locked
Mobil1 5-30 AP, 14,500 miles, Toy FJ Cruiser 4.0L
Replies
17
Views
4K
SR5
W
  • Locked
Mobil 1 HM 5W/30, 5,336 miles, 2003 8.1L Suburban
Replies
5
Views
2K
ZZman
dnewton3
  • Locked
Rotella 10w-30 T4; 11.5k miles; 2006 LBZ Dmax 53k miles
2
Replies
21
Views
6K
dnewton3
D
  • Locked
Rotella T5 10W-30, 10746mi, 06 Duramax
Replies
7
Views
4K
dnewton3
Back
Top