Blackstone Oil Report - 3rd Oil Change (@ 10,273 miles)

[bb vign]

Here is my latest report:

[Borg54]

how much did the analysis cost?

[bb vign]

how much did the analysis cost?

$22.50 unless you prepay:

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free_test_kit.html

[lookaught]

how much did the analysis cost?

And the last time I bought a 6-pack of tests they were $19/each with the discount.

Worth the money, there's no guessing if you analyze your oil regularly. I test everything I own except my leafblower and racebike, because they are two-strokes.

[Jack Foulard]

So why is the aluminum, copper and silicone so high relatively?

So what information are you gaining from this test and what are you changing? Driving style, frequency of oil changes, adding MOAs?

Thanks

[beenief]

I am very skeptical, seems like a waste of time

[bb vign]

So why is the aluminum, copper and silicone so high relatively?

My understanding is that as the engine breaks in, the wear numbers for Aluminum, Copper, Iron, Lead and Silicon per 1K miles should should decrease. When these flatten out, that tells you when the engine is fully broken in, and gives you a baseline for future comparison.

Aluminimum and Silicon come primarily from the cylinder walls, although there are also Aluminum bearings in the engine.

Aluminum and Silicon are steadily decreasing, as would be expected. These curves will flatten out after about 15K miles on the engine. At that point, any changes in the silicon you see is because of poor air filtration.

So what information are you gaining from this test and what are you changing? Driving style, frequency of oil changes, adding MOAs?

Given I purchased this vehicle with the intention of keeping it (at least) five years, this will help me understand when the engine is fully broken-in as well if anything is amiss. On a related note, being able to determine if switching oil brands actually does anything could be important. Having real information to determine if increased oil change intervals are warranted is helpful but adding a TBN analysis (http://www.blackstone-labs.com/do_i_need_a_tbn_.html) would be necessary to provide all of the information to make such a decision. Overall, keeping tabs on the "health" of my engine is important to me. Simply stated, if you owned the car outright or were considering buying the vehicles, wouldn't you want to know how the engine is doing?

[bb vign]

I am very skeptical, seems like a waste of time

Everyone is entitled to their opinion but I have a number of buddies who are car enthusiasts who swear by oil analysis (either Blackstone or Dyson, the latter being much more expensive but likely more accurate on fuel dilution).

[Jack Foulard]

I didn't realize that the columns left to right are organized from recent to old test-I thought it was the reverse.