This is a customer of mine that has all his vehicles and recreational vehicles on Amsoil. A couple things stood out on this report to me. First, the Silicon levels. They arent bad nor really all that note worthy, but higher than I would expect since he is running an Amsoil air filter. So I recommended that he clean it and re-oil it. Secondly the viscosity has gone to the very low end of a 40W oil. His wife drives the car mainly though he does as well on occasion. They do some short trip driving on this vehicle, though they also get it on the highway quite a bit as well. So Ive done two things. First I recommended that he go to a 10W30 on the next oil change. Its a more stable oil and will be fine for the Oklahoma summers and winters we have here. Secondly, I gave him a product I have been using/testing that is designed to keep viscosity in check so I have given him some of that to try out. I havent used this on my Series 3000 oil yet as I havent run an analysis on it, but if it shows a viscosity spike I will try it out with that oil as well. Thirdly, I recommended that he change the oil filter which will refresh the oil some.
His TBN is a little lower than I though it would be but an oil filter change will help that out some. His Oxidation and Nitration numbers, though not excessive, were a bit off to me so I recommended that he change out his PCV and that should bring that down a bit.
His additive package is pretty much holding up. The Iron levels I dont consider high since this is a V8 motor and if he can drop the silicon numbers down a bit then iron should follow. The viscosity is not an issue at this point, I just would like to keep it in check. And either the additive I gave him will do that or switching to a 10W30 will, either way its not a major issue at this point.
Im finding more and more that for the central plains region a 10W30 oil is a better choice overall because it is more shear stable in the heat here and has the temp. range to handle the winters here. I have one customer that was burning oil using Amsoil running the 5W30. Switched him over to a 10W30 and it has pretty much stopped the oil consumption.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
One of the comments I'd really like to focus on here for those that aren't totally into this whole Oil Analysis stuff. The point that a region warrants a change in viscosity to allow for a more stable lubrication with less chance of breakdown/sludging
What many people don't take into account are the weights and the effect that the temperatures can have on the viscosities.
Just because you've 'always run' a 10w-40 in your cars before, doesn't mean that's what would be best for your newer car or in your car based on the weather conditions and driving conditions.
I'll post my results when I change out my filter this month prior to my road trip. I'm running the 0w-30 Series 2000 in my ZX3.
____________________ Get in, Sit down, Shut up and HANG ON!
Good point Chelly. One thing to note is that a 5W30 and 10W30 are still a 30 weight oil. Whats different is the 'Winter' number or the 'W' which has no bearing on its weight or viscosity. It does affect its temperture range and in most cases a 10W oil is going to be more shear stable than a 5W oil. However since most of Amsoils have a pour point of somewhere in the neighborhood of -50 degrees F, you can run either one year round, where as with a conventional oil you will find many will use a 5W30 in the winter and then go to a 10W30 in the summer, with synthetics in general, this isnt necessary unless you find that the 5W30 isnt holding up in the summer time which is possible with either conventional or synthetic.
____________________ My car is a synner! It uses Amsoil Synthetic Lubricants.
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
It whines a lot, but I like it
