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2013-14 Shelby GT500
Reputable oil sampling companies for engine oil analysis
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<blockquote data-quote="JAJ" data-source="post: 16913747" data-attributes="member: 131874"><p>I've done oil analysis on my track cars now for about 15 years - two BMW M's and two Ford Mustangs. I've learned a lot about what an oil analysis can tell you and what it can't.</p><p></p><p>Top 3:</p><p></p><p>1. Oil analysis tells you about the condition of the oil (not the engine). If your engine is going to have a crisis - broken rod, failed oil pump, broken ring, etc - that can develop quite quickly between UOA's. Typically, you'll never see it coming. </p><p></p><p>2. All is not lost regarding engine health, however. If you do UOA's regularly - every change, every 6 months or a year, etc - after a year or two or 30,000 miles or so, you'll have trending information that's reliable. THEN, if you see your lead level, which has always been between 5 and 10 ppm suddenly rise to 15 for two or more tests, it's possible you have an impending failure somewhere inside the machine.</p><p></p><p>3. Every time you switch motor oil types, or the manufacturer changes the formulation, you'll have one, maybe two, questionable UOA's. "Questionable" means "take the readings, particularly on wear metals, with a grain of salt". What happens when you switch oils is that the new type or brand of oil will have different detergents in it, and stuff the previous oil didn't catch will get cleaned up by the new one. In fact, if you've got a scrap of OCD in you, you might want to switch brands every few changes to take advantage of different cleaners in the different oils to keep the engine extra clean.</p><p></p><p>As an example of what I was talking about in 3. above, I did two UOA's on Motorcraft 5W-50 on my GT350. When I switched to Mobil 1 FS X2 5w-50, I had a spike in lead reported for the first UOA. Second one was right back to normal. Nothing to see here. I just switched back to Motorcraft, so I'll probably get a bump the next UOA as well. BTW - the reason I switch is cost - sometimes I get a great deal on MC, sometimes on Mobil. They're both great products.</p><p></p><p>As for who I use, I've used Blackstone and Dyson in the US, but for the last decade I've been using Caterpillar Labs. One of the things I learned over the years is that Nitration and Oxidation matter when it comes to oils creating varnish or sludge. Now, modern oils are vastly better than oil even just ten years ago, so it's not such a big deal. Nonetheless, I like CAT because they test for both routinely (no extra charge) in samples of gasoline engine oil. Blackstone doesn't test for either, although you can probably get it done for an extra fee.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JAJ, post: 16913747, member: 131874"] I've done oil analysis on my track cars now for about 15 years - two BMW M's and two Ford Mustangs. I've learned a lot about what an oil analysis can tell you and what it can't. Top 3: 1. Oil analysis tells you about the condition of the oil (not the engine). If your engine is going to have a crisis - broken rod, failed oil pump, broken ring, etc - that can develop quite quickly between UOA's. Typically, you'll never see it coming. 2. All is not lost regarding engine health, however. If you do UOA's regularly - every change, every 6 months or a year, etc - after a year or two or 30,000 miles or so, you'll have trending information that's reliable. THEN, if you see your lead level, which has always been between 5 and 10 ppm suddenly rise to 15 for two or more tests, it's possible you have an impending failure somewhere inside the machine. 3. Every time you switch motor oil types, or the manufacturer changes the formulation, you'll have one, maybe two, questionable UOA's. "Questionable" means "take the readings, particularly on wear metals, with a grain of salt". What happens when you switch oils is that the new type or brand of oil will have different detergents in it, and stuff the previous oil didn't catch will get cleaned up by the new one. In fact, if you've got a scrap of OCD in you, you might want to switch brands every few changes to take advantage of different cleaners in the different oils to keep the engine extra clean. As an example of what I was talking about in 3. above, I did two UOA's on Motorcraft 5W-50 on my GT350. When I switched to Mobil 1 FS X2 5w-50, I had a spike in lead reported for the first UOA. Second one was right back to normal. Nothing to see here. I just switched back to Motorcraft, so I'll probably get a bump the next UOA as well. BTW - the reason I switch is cost - sometimes I get a great deal on MC, sometimes on Mobil. They're both great products. As for who I use, I've used Blackstone and Dyson in the US, but for the last decade I've been using Caterpillar Labs. One of the things I learned over the years is that Nitration and Oxidation matter when it comes to oils creating varnish or sludge. Now, modern oils are vastly better than oil even just ten years ago, so it's not such a big deal. Nonetheless, I like CAT because they test for both routinely (no extra charge) in samples of gasoline engine oil. Blackstone doesn't test for either, although you can probably get it done for an extra fee. [/QUOTE]
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Reputable oil sampling companies for engine oil analysis
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