SodaLuvr

Disappointed by this test, especially the MLEP .

I would have rather used Havoline 5w-20 SM/GF-4—more moly (406ppm), and no oil thickening. However, the Havoline starts out at around 8.3 cst, so it would have probably thinned out to a low to mid 20wt in this case.

A lot of fuel dilution was found, and greatly lowered the flashpoint. I’m betting that the MLEP thickened the oil into a mid 30wt, since the 1.0% fuel dilution caused the oil to shear significantly. Alvon needs to find the cause of this fuel dilution, could it be from lots of city driving?


If he can't change his driving style because of the fuel dilution, we'll have to see how the wear is with a 5w-20 once wear-in is complete. If its unsatisfactory, moving up to a thicker oil such as Havoline 5w-30 SM/GF-4 maybe necessary.


Car is currently running the same filter with Mobil Clean 7500 5w-20; alvon was planning on running the next fill out to 7000 miles, but I’ll tell him to shorten the drain to 5000 miles until the wear metals drop.

All comments are welcome,

Michael

JackSprat01

I'd also shorten the drain to correct the fuel dilution! I'm not ready to blame that on the MLEP though. I suspect quick trips to the liquor store or something like that.

A-TLvic882

I wona see RR coments on this oil test.

ChuckDu

I've been poking around a bit trying to learn about UOA, but your post seems like the perfect opportunity to help put things in perspective...

Does your disappointment lie in the amount of additive pack left after 4500 miles? Assuming you are familiar with MLEP's composition, what would you have expected after this many miles?

Are you disappointed because it seemed to have thickened the oil more than you would have estimated prior to the 1% fuel dilution?

If you had to venture a guess, what total effect did the MLEP have on the oil weight prior to fuel dilution? 5W-35? 15W-35? Something else? Is this amount of increase in viscosity bad for the engine?

Would this amount of fuel dilution shear other oils (Havoline, Mobil 1, etc.) as much? Or do all oils of the same weight respond about the same to this amount of fuel dilution?

Besides changing the driving conditions/style or changing out the oil sooner, what can be done to reduce fuel dilution?

TIA

SodaLuvr

Folks,
I apologize that I was unclear about my impressions of this analysis in my first (original) post.

What I had meant to say was that I was disappointed by the overall effect that the MLEP had on this analysis. I inadvertently stated earlier that I was disappointed by the ENTIRE test, which is not true.

I’m disappointed in the way that the MLEP has affected the analysis and that there are better alternatives. The MLEP gave the oil a good thickening, probably up to the mid-30wt range. The significant 1.0% fuel dilution caused the oil to shear significantly. The owner, alvon, would’ve been better off starting out with a high moly oil, such as Havoline 5w-20 SM/GF-4 or Havoline 5w-30 SM/GF-4 instead of adding the MLEP to MC Blend 5w-20.

Also, I’d like to say that I’m not exactly “disappointed” about the fuel dilution, just not pleased with how it has affected the oil. It just needs to be taken care of, or else switching to a slightly thicker oil such as Havoline 5w-30 SM/GF-4 maybe necessary.

Michael

SodaLuvr

The fuel dilution has more to do with the driving conditions.

Well, the only thing that I blame it for is thickening up the oil into a 30wt. In addition, this could have been avoided if the alvon had simply started out with an oil containing a high moly content such as Havoline 5w-20 SM/GF-4, which has even more moly than this oil.

I hope that my previous post has cleared up a few discrepancies,
Michael

SodaLuvr

No, I'm not disappointed in the additive pack remaining. This oil seems to have held up quite well. I'm just disappointed with how the MLEP has thickened up the oil and that this could've been avoided if alvon had simply started out with using Havoline 5w-20 SM/GF-4, which has over 400ppm of moly.

Yes, it thickened the oil more than I'd like it to.

I'd say about 0.5-1 cst. So it boosted the high 20wt into a low to mid 30wt. No, this is not bad for an engine. It simply is unnecessary and could've been avoided by using a different oil, thats what bugs me. Such a slight increase in visco

Conventional oils with a greater spread would be more prone to shearing because of the greater usage of viscosity improvers. Full Group IV synthetics such as M1 would be more resistant to shearing than conventional oils and probably would have sheared very little or none at all. However, just because an oil sheared does not mean it cannot do its job. Even if this oil sheared down to a low 20wt, it probably would not have significantly increased the wear.

Driving style is mainly the issue here. What can be done to reduce some of the fuel dilution would be to take the car on a long freeway drive at least 30 miles in length once-a-week to warm-up the oil to its normal operating temperature, which would "burn off" most of the fuel.

In cars with more miles (30K), sometimes the spark plugs/spark plug wires can be to blame. Or sometimes, a car maybe running rich.

However, in avlon's case, his car is so new that the reason is probably because he does a lot of short distance driving where the oil never gets warmed up to the proper temperature. Simply taking the car for a longer drive on the freeway once-a-week would really help this problem.

I'd also have a question for Avlon: Did you take this sample when the vehicle was cold? I just noticed the TR of condensation in the oil, which is common if you did not warm-up the car enough prior to changing the oil and taking the sample.

Michael

alvon

The sample was taken after the car had warmed up for about 3 minutes, so the oil was warm but not hot. I didn't want to change when the oil and the pipes are hot. I'll let it warm up more next time.

As for the driving habbits, my daily commute is 11 miles each way, 28-30 MPH average (according to the computer), so not exactly short trips. Usually not driven over the weekends. Also, since it was new, I was driving it very easily, and was shifting early (it is a 6MT), ie, low RPM (although I occasionally REDLINE it.) I suspect that was the cause of the fuel dilution. I'll see if the next UOA will show anything different since I am shifting it at higher RPM.

Thank you for all your comments!!

JackSprat01

No worries, I expect LOTS of fuel in my next drain! lol