2004 TL, MC Blend 5w-20/MLEP, 4,454 Miles on oil/8,730 on the car
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Disappointed by this test, especially the MLEP
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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
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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.
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#3
04 A-TL 6MT SSM/E N/Navi
Originally Posted by Michael Wan
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Disappointed by this test, especially the MLEP
![Frown](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif)
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
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#4
Originally Posted by Michael Wan
Disappointed by this test, especially the MLEP
![Frown](https://acurazine.com/forums/images/smilies/frown.gif)
All comments are welcome,
Michael
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
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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
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
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Originally Posted by JackSprat01
I'd also shorten the drain to correct the fuel dilution!
Originally Posted by JackSprat01
I'm not ready to blame that on the MLEP though.
I hope that my previous post has cleared up a few discrepancies,
Michael
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Originally Posted by ChuckDu
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? TIA
Originally Posted by ChuckDu
Are you disappointed because it seemed to have thickened the oil more than you would have estimated prior to the 1% fuel dilution?
Originally Posted by ChuckDu
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?
Originally Posted by ChuckDu
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?
Originally Posted by ChuckDu
Besides changing the driving conditions/style or changing out the oil sooner, what can be done to reduce fuel dilution?
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
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Originally Posted by Michael Wan
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
Michael
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!!
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