2018 MB GLC 43 (M1 Euro 0W-40 UOA)

[CarbonSteel]

Gang,

I suspect the FF on my GLC was not 0W-40, but I think it was a xW-30 based upon the viscosity and I question whether or not it was Mobil 1 Euro based on the differences in the additives. I did another short OCI to flush out the remaining break-in metals, but am confused by the viscosity again (less than what it should be), but also by the oxidation levels. Anyone know if these 3.0L Twin Turbo engines are "oil shredders"?

 

[Snagglefoot]

Lots or iron. Still getting broken in.

 

[JHZR2]

Maybe it's not showing right on my phone, but I see no fuel.

Is 30wt acceptable for 229.xx oils that are specified for your car? If so, I wouldn't much worry about it.

Id be more concerned with understanding if dilution is an issue.

 

[zeng]

FF would've been a xW30 MB 229.5 .
Without fuel dilution, I don't see how an MB 229.5 oil could be sheared up to 25/30% in such low mileage really.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: zeng
FF would've been a xW30 MB 229.5 .
Without fuel dilution, I don't see how an MB 229.5 oil could be sheared up to 25/30% in such low mileage really.
It is an AMG so it should have been a xW-40 according to the owners manual as it states to only use 40, but I suspect it was a 30 because the second fill was ran longer and though the viscosity is down, it was nothing like the FF. I am with you on the shearing, it makes no sense.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Maybe it's not showing right on my phone, but I see no fuel.

Is 30wt acceptable for 229.xx oils that are specified for your car? If so, I wouldn't much worry about it.

Id be more concerned with understanding if dilution is an issue.
The fuel was 1.0% on the first UOA and 1.3% on the second. They were done by Polaris who accurately measures fuel dilution, so I do not think that was a factor. Very strange stuff and the additive packs do not align very well either between the two UOAs. I will try Pennzoil Euro 0W-40 on my next run.

 

[SatinSilver]

Are you using premium top-tier fuel in it?

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Are you using premium top-tier fuel in it?
Yes; it requires 91 octane as a minimum and I am running 93 from either Chevron, Valero, or Shell.

 

[4WD]

Break in … no “dots to plot” ... it will be lower next UOA regardless … and PP fans will light up the site …

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: 4WD
Break in … no “dots to plot” ... it will be lower next UOA regardless … and PP fans will light up the site …
It is not the wear metals which concern me, it is the viscosity and oxidation for such low miles as well as the difference in additive packs. 0W-30 and 0W-40 M1 Euro should not be that different?

 

[mbacfp]

2015_PSD, probably a newbie question - were the miles highway, short trips, idling? Nice ride.

 

[JAG]

Who knows what the factory fill was but it wasn’t M1 0W-40. The latest UOA looks just like M1 0W-40, including the viscosity loss and the oxidation. The oxidation on the virgin oil starts considerably above 0 due apparently to a little bit of esters and additives containing oxygen. The Russian oil site’s virgin oxidation for M1 0W-40 tested at 35. Overkill did a VOA and the oxidation value was in that same ballpark, if I recall correctly.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: mbacfp
2015_PSD, probably a newbie question - were the miles highway, short trips, idling? Nice ride.
Thanks. The first UOA was 100% highway--I drove from Salt Lake City to Houston. The second was 75/25 highway versus city.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: JAG
Who knows what the factory fill was but it wasn’t M1 0W-40. The latest UOA looks just like M1 0W-40, including the viscosity loss and the oxidation. The oxidation on the virgin oil starts considerably above 0 due apparently to a little bit of esters and additives containing oxygen. The Russian oil site’s virgin oxidation for M1 0W-40 tested at 35. Overkill did a VOA and the oxidation value was in that same ballpark, if I recall correctly.
Interesting on both counts. I know for certain the second UOA was M1 0W-40. The current run will go out a bit further, but I will be testing Pennzoil next and may try Castrol as well at some point.

 

[Stevie]

I think that you are using M1 0W-40 Euro as am I, if you look at my UOA compared to yours.
I think that these Mercedes Turbos are very rough on Viscosity

mine at 4500 miles is cSt Viscosity @ 100°C = 9.65, should be 11.1-14.3
I have switched to Castrol Euro 0W-40, maybe that Titanium will hold up better.
I'm surprised that Mercedes recommends 10k mile oil changes. I would never go over 5k miles as I usually drive short trips

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[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: Stevie
I think that you are using M1 0W-40 Euro as am I, if you look at my UOA compared to yours. I think that these Mercedes Turbos are very rough on Viscosity. mine at 4500 miles is cSt Viscosity @ 100°C = 9.65, should be 11.1-14.3 I have switched to Castrol Euro 0W-40, maybe that Titanium will hold up better. I'm surprised that Mercedes recommends 10k mile oil changes. I would never go over 5k miles as I usually drive short trips.
I was wondering about them being a "shredder". The viscosity was low in my opinion for the equally low OCI. It would not seem feasible to go 10K if the viscosity keeps dropping. I have quite a bit of Pennzoil Euro in my stash that was had fairly cheaply (some of it was less than free after the rebates) so I will not feel too bad if I need to keep the OCI at 5K or so. Let me know how the Castrol works out--it has the highest virgin viscosity versus M1 and PP and may be something I look into as well. Thanks for the information.

 

[JAG]

The polymer VIIs get broken mostly during the first few thousand miles, dropping the viscosity, and then that process mostly ceases. Fuel dilution reaches steady state quickly too, assuming driving conditions stay steady. Then the oil reaches the relatively constant viscosity phase for very many thousand miles. There are still plenty of unreacted antioxidants. Then roughly somewhere between 7.5k and 12k miles (depends on many factors) the viscosity starts to rise because antioxidants have become too depleted, causing oxidation/nitration reactions to have ramped up. That increases the viscosity because those reaction products are larger molecules. Detergent and dispersants get more and more tied up holding onto particles, preventing them from being able to prevent agglomeration of smaller particles that form larger particles, also increasing viscosity.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: JAG
The polymer VIIs get broken mostly during the first few thousand miles, dropping the viscosity, and then that process mostly ceases. Fuel dilution reaches steady state quickly too, assuming driving conditions stay steady. Then the oil reaches the relatively constant viscosity phase for very many thousand miles. There are still plenty of unreacted antioxidants. Then roughly somewhere between 7.5k and 12k miles (depends on many factors) the viscosity starts to rise because antioxidants have become too depleted, causing oxidation/nitration reactions to have ramped up. That increases the viscosity because those reaction products are larger molecules. Detergent and dispersants get more and more tied up holding onto particles, preventing them from being able to prevent agglomeration of smaller particles that form larger particles, also increasing viscosity.


Thanks, as I started reading this post that's exactly what I was wondering. Our 2.3L EcoBoost seems to shear the viscosity rather quickly to a 20 wt using Motorcraft 5W-30 in "normal" driving conditions ~50% highway in even lowest reading. I know that Blackstone's fuel dilution readings can be somewhat dubious. But since the flash points were still good I assume that fuel dilution is not a big factor in my case causing the viscosity shearing.

Whimsey

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: JAG
The polymer VIIs get broken mostly during the first few thousand miles, dropping the viscosity, and then that process mostly ceases. Fuel dilution reaches steady state quickly too, assuming driving conditions stay steady. Then the oil reaches the relatively constant viscosity phase for very many thousand miles. There are still plenty of unreacted antioxidants. Then roughly somewhere between 7.5k and 12k miles (depends on many factors) the viscosity starts to rise because antioxidants have become too depleted, causing oxidation/nitration reactions to have ramped up. That increases the viscosity because those reaction products are larger molecules. Detergent and dispersants get more and more tied up holding onto particles, preventing them from being able to prevent agglomeration of smaller particles that form larger particles, also increasing viscosity.
While I generally agree with your thoughts, I believe this can vary widely depending on a number of conditions--not the least of which is engine design and operational style and though fuel dilution may remain constant, its affect on viscosity will "crest over the hill" at some point particularly in the case of direct injected engines. There are great of number of "it depends" to be considered for these conditions to be universally applied to all engines.

 

[JAG]

Yeah, that’s why I said it depends on many factors and stated such a large range of miles. Extreme cases may even fall outside of that range. Your engine appears to be a good one. It’s nice that it’s not fuel-diluting like crazy like some new engines are doing.