Used oil analysis at 15,556 miles

[gilberttribe]

Below is our second UOA. We do about 70/30 percent highway/city driving and we live at about 7800 feet. All other pertinent information is below.

I think the results look good. Most of the numbers are lower even though the miles on the oil was more than doubled. Next time should look even better.

I would like to see the insolubles lower so I plan to change the oil filter every 3750 to see what difference that makes. To me, this points to the fact that the oil filter size is inadequate. Why do they use such a small filter? This filter is about a third of the size of the filter on my truck that has only a slightly larger engine. I guess I'll see if my assumption about filter size is correct. If the insolubles don't go down next time with the extra filter change, then something else is the culprit.

Please feel free to ask questions or comment on the results. I did a quick search of this site and didn't see any other oil analysis reports. Are there any?

[Sunday Rider]

Thanks for sharing Gilberttribe. You bring up a good point about the filter. I guess the other points to consider are:
1. Other "premium" filter models keeping same interval

2. Wondering about the Dino oil comparison, but I guess that is a whole different issue on top.

The results look good though.

I have seen threads (many) on the oil choices but not sure that anyone sent off the oil for analysis.
Thanks,

[FamilyGuy]

Yes, thanks for sharing. How much does this service cost you, including the cost of shipping the oil sample, etc, if I may ask?

[RipRocK]

gilberttribe, thanks for sharing this with us. I agree with you on the rather small OEM oil filters Honda's got the dealers using on our Pilots. I thought even the ones they were using before were too small for a vehicle like the Pilot.

[john802]

gilberttribe - Did you option for TBN (Total Base Number) analysis of your oil? I ask this since you were running a extended oil use intervals. Does Blackstone Lab still charges $20.00 for oil analysis w/out TBN?

Thanks,
-john

[TheWorm]

Thanks for posting your UOA; the oil looks to be holding up quite well despite the insolubles and some of the wear metal numbers (long interval right in the tail-end of break-in, IMO).

There might be one or two other UOAs on the board, but I don't recall specifically. I know there are a handful (max) on the MDX site (same engine; exhaust/cam profile/ECU programming are different, though). A search for UOA or oil and analysis will yield the threads, should they exist

My most recent UOA on an '01 X running M1 5w30 is here. Our driving is very different than yours: 6k/yr, soccer-mom-mobile, lots of short trips and stop & go.

I'll be interested to see how your next UOA fares...I'd guess your copper and iron should drop significantly next time around.

[AlH]

Aren't most insolubles typically way smaller than a typical standard automotive oil filter will remove? A depth type bypass filter might do it.

Al

[thomasj2]

Good looking numbers for an 8000 mile oil change interval. Copper is high, but that seems to be the norm for the Honda V6's.

Here are my results at 10,000 on the clock, 5000 miles on the oil, OEM filter and a 50/50 mix of 0W30 and 5W30 M1 synthetic. No makeup oil and I used the larger old style OEM filter. My mileage is 80% highway and 20% city.

I had my oil tested by oilguard for $9. I'll give the truck another 5000 mile OC and then go with an extended interval based on the results of the next test.

visc100 11
water 0
Soot 0
fuel 0
glycol 0
FE 20
CR 1
PB 2
CU 66
SN 0
AL 1
SI 30
NA 17
MO 65
K 0
NITR 0
OXID 11.3
SAE 30
SYN 0
TBN 8.1

[john802]

thomasj2 - Nice test result!!! You could have extended the oil change interval for another 1500 miles w/ a 8.1 TBN.

[gilberttribe]

Thank you for your comments.

I believe the test cost was $20 without TBN. Shipping was less than $2. I don't remember asking for TBN, but I must have. I won't ask for TBN next time given that the oil had plenty of additive left, and I won't be extending the change interval any further.

thomasj2, thank you for mentioning OilGuard. I may use them next time.

AlH, you may be correct. Insolubles may be too small to be filtered with a full-flow filter. In that case, changing the filter between oil changes should make very little difference. Insolubles should not climb any higher than they are now, and I certainly hope they decrease between now and the next change.

[pilotnc]

This my latest oil analysisi
JOHN: Nice improvement in iron and copper. This oil was run 250 miles longer than last sample, yet
both of these metals dropped significantly and they are at the lowest levels we have seen. All other
wear either increased slightly or read the same and this is a very good indication of normal wearing
parts. The oil was still in good shape as well. The viscosity was normal for a 5W/30 oil and we found
no fuel dilution, moisture, or anti-freeze. The low insolubles show good oil filtration and no excess
blow-by. At 42,000 total miles, we think this engine is doing very well.
PILOT
C42952
EQUIPMENT MAKE: Honda
EQUIPMENT MODEL: 3.5L V-6
FUEL TYPE: Gasoline (Unleaded)

OIL USE INTERVAL: 6,500 Miles
OIL TYPE & GRADE: Castrol Syntec 5W/30
MAKE-UP OIL ADDED:
6,500 6,250 6,600 5,000

Doen by Blackstone also.

[why2kmax]

Here is mine
this was mobil 1 5/20 oil with a Mobil 1 Oil filter. The oil has 3,000 miles on it but has been in about 4 months. Prob 80% city driving and 20% highway. Blackstone did the analysis. I changed it with 5/30 Mobil 1 this time and am going to go 5,000 miles to see how that turns out. This was done at 15,300 on the pilot. Its an 04 EX-Lres

Sorry its not bigger. Can anyone tell me how to post the PDF file or make it an image?


[IMG][/IMG]