Oil Analysis: Proof is in the results

[Night Wolf]

How do you go about sending oil sample to Blackstone and how much does it cost?

I wish I did that with my '93 Coupe DeVille 4.9 w. 120k before it got stolen, that engine was as clean inside as brand new.

I'd just be interested to see what the 2.6 I4 in my Isuzu is doing... that enigne is very clean inside too, I was glad to see that.

[noahsdad]

Rick - just go to their website and order a free test kit.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

They'll send you a small plastic bottle and a mailer. You simply capture some oil during drain and mail it in. The Post Office accepts it, and if they balk, Blackstone sends a letter that demonstrates that it meets codes. It costs $20 for a trace metals/contaminants analysis, and for an extra $10 they'll test the viscosity and additives package in your oil to tell you how your brand is holding up, plus give you a total base number, which compares your used oil to virgin oil of the same brand/weight.

In about 4 days, they email you a pdf of the results.

[Night Wolf]

$30 isn't all too bad really.

Right now I run Castrol GTX High Mileage 10W-30.... maybe I'll run this for 3,000 miles in my daily driving, send a sample in, then switch to Mobil Delvac 15W-40 and compare... stuff like this is interesting to me.

[noahsdad]

Originally Posted by Night Wolf

$30 isn't all too bad really.
... stuff like this is interesting to me.

I consider it cheap insurance. And I look forward to the reports!

[Night Wolf]

I'd be interested to check out whats going on in the 307 in my moms '89 Brougham. Car has well over 200k on origanal engine and still runs (slow) and strong. Someday when I get the car and do an oil change, I'd like to see.

[C66 Racing]

Originally Posted by Night Wolf

$30 isn't all too bad really.

Right now I run Castrol GTX High Mileage 10W-30.... maybe I'll run this for 3,000 miles in my daily driving, send a sample in, then switch to Mobil Delvac 15W-40 and compare... stuff like this is interesting to me.

To try and keep things as even as possible when comparing, try to minimize other variables such as the air and oil filters. For a really fair comparision, you'd keep the same brand/type of air and oil filters, and start each test with a clean new air filter and obviously a new oil filter.

[Night Wolf]

This is my 2nd oil change on the Isuzu.

I drained out the old oil, that was old looking... ran the GTX high mileage in, it was in about 2,000 miles, I did an oil change. Before draining the oil, I got a can of high mileage engine cleaner you add to the oil then run it for 5mins and drain... when drained, the oil was like water. I use a Purolator PureONE filter (as was in it when I got it.... great filters for the money) This oil change has the same oil and PureONE filter... 5qts fills it up. The air filter is a regular Purolator that I repalced the night I got the truck, it's still pretty clean, but when it is dirty, I am just buying a K&N drop in... not that I want to make my 4cyl Isuzu truck a hot rod, but these standard filters are $10 a pop, the K&N is $40.... do the math... plus I have my K&N cleaning kit that has about 40-50% life left (cleaner/oil) cause I had a K&N panel filter in the DeVille. I dunno when I'll get the K&N, whenever this filter gets dirty enough for me to change it seems to be.

[noahsdad]

Now that I figured out how to convert a pdf file to a jpg, the Blackstone results are posted on the blog: http://www.cadquest.blogspot.com

[Rod04]

There are a whole lotta labs that do legit oil analysis. Large truck fleets and operators of large industrial engines tend to do oil analysis on their engines. When I had an airplane and did a lot of work as a vendor for a number of Caterpillar dealers, I used one of my dealer customers for my oil analysis. They were not affiliated with any specific lube oil producer and were quite competent and, to my way of thinking, very trustworthy. Also, I could stop in and talk with the lab techs who were employees of and located at the Cat dealer.

I was using aircraft Mobil1 in the plane and got excellent feedback from the labs. Seeing as how the engine specs called for oil changes every 25 hours regardless of oil type, I had a lot of data after a coiuple of years. As it is hard to find a place in the sky to pull over and park in the event of engine trouble or failure, I thought oil analysis was an invaluable tool for staying alive longer. Giiven he cost of non-warranty work on today's cars I feel almost as strongly about doing oil analysis on any car today.

[noahsdad]

Originally Posted by Rod04

I thought oil analysis was an invaluable tool for staying alive longer. Giiven he cost of non-warranty work on today's cars I feel almost as strongly about doing oil analysis on any car today.

Right you are Rod04. My brother is a service instructor and tech writer for Caterpillar, and he used to supervise their oil testing procedures in the Great Lakes region. Oil analysis is a great tool for understanding what's going on inside an engine long before it tells you out loud.

[HiTechOilCo]

Originally Posted by N0DIH

It would be interesting to see a side by side of the major synthetics (Mobil 1, Amsoil, Royal Purple, Redline) and see how they stack up side by side in real world testing. Then, at the end, or in the middle between each synthetic, go back to a std petroleum, say Halvoline (in Amsoil's testing, Havoline 5W30 had a better wear scar than Quaker State Synthetic and Syntech synthetic....) and see how it compares.

LONG term testing at best.

Oil analysis testing used to try to compare oils of differing brands is not a valid method to use. Why? Because there are no controlled parameters and far too many variables in affect to draw any kind of valid conclusions. Time, temperature, load, speed, etc., etc., all not controlled and all introduce variables into the test results. Simply not a valid way to compare oils.

The best way to compare oils is to compare the test results from the SAE and ASTM standard oil industry test results found on the Product Data Sheet of an oil. This information can be had from any oil company on any of their products and a head to head comparison is then very easy to do.

Steve

[HiTechOilCo]

Originally Posted by Night Wolf

This is my 2nd oil change on the Isuzu.

I drained out the old oil, that was old looking... ran the GTX high mileage in, it was in about 2,000 miles, I did an oil change. Before draining the oil, I got a can of high mileage engine cleaner you add to the oil then run it for 5mins and drain... when drained, the oil was like water.>>

The engine cleaner thins out the oil. Normal.



<< I use a Purolator PureONE filter (as was in it when I got it.... great filters for the money) This oil change has the same oil and PureONE filter... 5qts fills it up. The air filter is a regular Purolator that I repalced the night I got the truck, it's still pretty clean, but when it is dirty, I am just buying a K&N drop in... not that I want to make my 4cyl Isuzu truck a hot rod, but these standard filters are $10 a pop, the K&N is $40.... do the math... plus I have my K&N cleaning kit that has about 40-50% life left (cleaner/oil) cause I had a K&N panel filter in the DeVille. I dunno when I'll get the K&N, whenever this filter gets dirty enough for me to change it seems to be.

Before using a cotton gauze air filter, hold it up to a strong light and not all the clearly seen light beams you can see through its, "filtration media". If you can see light beams that easily, how then also is it easy for engine wearing grit and dirt to flow through those holes and straight into your engine?

Steve

1999 Cadillac Eldorado ETC

[N0DIH]

No one yet would do it, that is the problem. Probably not enough significant wear reduction to prove one brand is better than the next...

GM has some killer long term drive cycles. The LS1 has far exceeded the normal life of any other GM engine tested on it. Use that as a baseline. GM, Ford, ChryCo, Toyota, Nissan, etc all have a engine test cycle that would simulate real world driving conditions.

Now, we need a significant statistical sample. 18 engines running each brand of oil. Now, we need 6 control engines running a petroleum oil.

Run the drive cycle (simulate 300K miles or so), then once completed, tear down engines and measure wear.

It can be done, just no one is willing to spend the $$ to do it, it would be quite expensive in our dollars. To the car companies, a drop in the bucket.... But that wouldn't benefit them... So why bother?

Originally Posted by HiTechOilCo

Oil analysis testing used to try to compare oils of differing brands is not a valid method to use. Why? Because there are no controlled parameters and far too many variables in affect to draw any kind of valid conclusions. Time, temperature, load, speed, etc., etc., all not controlled and all introduce variables into the test results. Simply not a valid way to compare oils.

The best way to compare oils is to compare the test results from the SAE and ASTM standard oil industry test results found on the Product Data Sheet of an oil. This information can be had from any oil company on any of their products and a head to head comparison is then very easy to do.

Steve

[dkozloski]

I'd split a sample, send half to Blackstone, and half to:
Analysts, Inc.
2910 Ford Street
Oakland, Ca.
They've been in the business longer than Blackstone and have an enviable reputation among aircraft operaters. What are the odds that the testing results would match?