Originally Posted by SubieRubyRoo
Originally Posted by jbutch
The engine is not as quiet as it was with the Rotella 5w-30 or Mobil ESP 5w-30 but the UOA should tell me more.
Just curious, what exactly do you think the UOA will tell you, other than viscosity, fuel dilution, and insolubles? Any other inferences you "think" you can make from a UOA is just a guess, since trying to use a UOA to assess wear is like trying to use a bottle rocket to achieve a space launch... it's not the right tool for the job.
If you wanted to get a better idea of actual wear and what is going on in your engine, you'd need a test like analytical ferrography or filter debris analysis, both of which are prohibitively expensive for a machine that most likely will go to a scrapyard within 10-12 years of its manufacture, and probably over 90% of vehicles scrapped AREN'T because of engine oiling problems or engine wear, it's due to rust, accidents, or some non-engine mechanical failure that's too expensive to fix based on the vehicle's worth.
I mostly want to know how the viscosity held up in my engine.
I do agree that oil related engine failure isn't what the most common problem that ends up in a scrap yard. I still want the best for my engine and turbo.
Turbos usually fails before the engine and I do believe that an oil that stays in grade will protect more the seals and prolongs the turbo's life.
Also, a UOA that has less wear materials in the oil tells me less regular wear is occuring (maybe not major issues, but that is another story). Less wear also means that maybe the engine might not consume oil for a longer time.
In the multiple UOA I have done, there is a trend, GF5/RC oils shears down a grade and has more wear materials than the C3 and E6 oils I have tried that stayed in grade.
In the UOA for the Euro LX, I want to know if the oil could stay in grade even in cold canadian winters with short trips.
I'm not an expert by any means, I just like hanging out on these forums and I must admit I like doing UOAs. Numbers and trends do not lies.
What I'm saying is that it is only my opinion and I could be wrong