Ikester

I recently sent an oil sample from my motor to Blackstone Labs.

Status of oil that was sent: (viewer discretion advised )

Miles on oil: 5000
Time: 5 months old
Motor: H/C 346 built by ECS
Oil Weight: Amsoil Synthetic 10W-30

I would like to add that this car is not a garage queen. By that I mean each time im out with it, I drive it hard. Motor sees 5K rpm shifts regularly on 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear. These miles come from the weekend cruises I attend here with the NE crew. This oil interval also included a full day HPDE track event at Watkins Glen. (90 deg weather, four 20min sessions on the road course )

I used to be one of the brainwashed guys who thought oil needs to changed every 3k miles or 3months whichever came first. I was proven wrong as the results below speak for themselves.

The one value that jumped out at me was the viscosity rating after 5000 hard driving miles. Its still well within range. Thats the kind of oil I want protecting my motor.

I would have kept the oil in longer but it got cold here in NJ. I swap to 5W-30 for winter months.

Just wanted to share! enjoy!

My report:

1%r

Are we gonna see you on Sunday?

cmb396

Good info to know!! I have planned for a while now to use Amsoil in my next oil change!!

C66 Racing

Ike,
Considering you had a DE on that sample, those are great results, thanks for sharing!

P.S. I'd like to post those on my dealer website. If you are interested, (and I would remove personal info), please drop me an email at c66racing@hotmail.com.

vms4evr

Nice report! Looks very good. Unfortunately we can display these "real facts" from an oil report all day long. People that change their oil at real low mile/time intervals will just not listen. Shame really. The 3K myth has been dispelled time and time again...

I ran RP 10w-30 in my 02 Z06. Sent in a sample to Blackstone with 4,600 miles on it. I had a couple of autocross weekends and a couple of track weekends on it. The track weekends were in summer with ambient temps in the 90s. The last track event was with Chin and you get twice the time with them. I logged about 5hrs on track. So I figured the oil would be spent with close to 4K street miles and the track time. The oil report came back excellent and there was more miles left in the oil.

Like you I also got a higher copper reading. The engine had 22K on it at the time of the sample. According to Blackstone that is part of engine break in with GM LSx engines. Apparently GM uses a lot of copper gasket material. So it is supposed to taper off as I get more miles.

blackc598

im glad i run this in my car!! awsome product

vettephysician

You mean to say that with 22K on the engine it is still in a "break in" mode??? That's interesting!

Ikester

Thanks, now that you mentioned it, when they did the h/c they used a copper head gasket for a stronger seal. I wonder if thats where the findings came from.

Yeah, if it wasnt for winter season, Id keep that oil in there year round and change it once a year.

Wicked Weasel

I changed my thoughts after I got my BMW and the oil change was 15K miles. I figured that BMW knew more about it than I did.

I am even stopping changing the oil before HPDE events as much as I use to. It seems the oil is not breaking down and others that have sent in samples back that thought.

In 07 I have plenty of track days scheduled so I am going to do tests across a larger spectrum to see how long I can actually go.

At $4-5 per quart for oil I can see a good savings here.

Thanks Ike...

Alex1217

Great post Ike!

Today's oils, coupled with cleaner burning engines has really put the 3k oil change interval into question.

vms4evr

Ike, I was guessing from your sig that the H/C install caused the increase in copper. That is exactly where I would bet it came from. New copper head gaskets. According to Blackstone it takes a while for the copper in the head gasket to settle down. So add about 20-30K miles to your H/C install before the copper number falls off.

Graham

vms4evr

According to Blackstone all the LSx family reads higher on copper and it is based on their use of copper gaskets. The copper shedding on the gaskets should taper off between 20-30K according to Blackstone.

So yeah from that standpoint the engine is still under break in. Heck on my C4 - 92 LT1 I swear that motor got stronger all the way up to 50K miles on it. Then ran like that to 125K when I sold it.

vettephysician

Thanks, vms4evr, I've learned some more facts about the vette from your posts. Mine just hit the 20K mark. I plan to put another 100K on her if all goes well, maybe more.

Ikester

Your car would be a great test with all the track time you do.

0EG@EnglandGreen

Awesome report Ike. Thanks for the heads up

Now let's see how Amsoil holds up to 18 psi of boost

mph1972

Very good info! Thanks for the outstanding post!

Ikester

Yeah one less thing to worry about. We have to focus on other things like keeping our vettes from going sidways!

Ikester

oh yeah!!!!

NYC Vette

Two things:
1. I change my oil every 1,800 - 2,000 miles (primarily because my cousin has a shop, and it's free). However, I'll give it a shot and wait for about 3,000 miles before my next oil change. Thanks for taking the time/effort to investigate.

2. You need to get laid!

Vetteman Jack

Good report on your car. Like you, I don't change my oil at the old 3K mile threshold. No use wasting money when you don't have to.