Castrol Syntec 5w-50 / 8,040mi. / '96 Nissan Maxima

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UOA is from my daily driver, '96 Nissan Maxima 3.0 V6 (VQ30DE) auto w/ 250k miles. Commute is about 70 miles per day, about 80% highway miles. This OCI took me from April to September, mostly hot summer weather. Pretty normal summer here (lots of days high 80's / low 90's, nothing too extreme). Oil used was Castrol Syntec 5w-50 I had from an Autozone clearance a couple winters ago. Oil was in use for 8,040 miles and was changed at the time of the sample. No make-up oil added (car holds 4.25 quarts), sump was roughly a half quart low when the oil was drained. Oil filter was a 'Filter Pro" brand in the PH3593A size. Chinese filter from Rockauto that resembles a Denso filter in external appearance.


Last UOA (also in image) showed abnormally high lead, which seemed to improve some this time around, though there's too many variables to say what, if anything, might be helping. Last UOA I was using Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0w-40, the Dodge SRT branded stuff. Went with Quaker State Defy 5w-30 for the next run.

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I would be dropping an extra half quart in it on fill up with that low capacity. 3.7 quarts to covering a SOHC V6 is brave, probably not helping lead count.

Pennz SRT is not meant for extended interval (99% sure).
 
Also, pretty cool that you're paying for UOAs with all this oddball oil. Interesting to see.
 
Neat to see a UOA on this oil, don't see it very much.

Love how stout the add-pack is on this oil, but it did shear a bit out of grade. The Pennzoil sheared, but stayed in grade (just).
 
Definitely good to go with a High Mileage oil like you're changing to. Seals must be hammered on this old engine.
Lead comes from babbit material in the crank/rod bearings. They don't last forever. Switch to walmart's Fram Ultra (cheap, but very good) oil filter to keep it cleaner in there.
 
I am rather impressed with the add-pack- the bottle had some text about extra zinc; clearly it wasn't lying. Nice they added some extra Phosphorus. Curious whether the mg/ca blend is an improvement over straight calcium that's present in a lot of oils. TBN retention seems great for an oil of its type.
 
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