I ran a Blackstone Lab oil analysis on my last 2003 ZO6 oil change.
Mobil 1 5W-30
Miles: 13,034
Miles on this oil: 6,245
Oil life on DIC: 4%
1 qt added since last oil change.
Some iron filings on the magnetic drain plug
Driven on average once a week + 2 hours on the track, driven only medium hard

Measured universal average
Aluminum 4 4
Chromium 2 1
Iron 37 14
Copper 155 41
Lead 12 7
Tin 3 2
Molybdenum 70 54
Nickel 2 1
Manganese 3 1
Silver 0 0
Titanium 0 0
Potassium 0 1
Boron 116 81
Silicon 33 9
Sodium 12 7
Calcium 3197 2227
Magnesium 0 441
Phosphorus 799 756
Zinc 987 903
Barium 0 0

Viscosity @ 210 o f 60.7 55-62
Flash point 445 >365
Fuel <0.5% < 2%
Antifreeze 0 0
Water 0 <0.1
Insolubles 0.3 <0.6

They interpreted this as normal due to new engine wear-in, but recommended the next change at 4,500 (or about 30% on the DIC).

Comment -- composition looks a little like my multivitamin.

 

Have you reached that milage within a year since the last change? That's amazing if you don't have a habit of driving 150 miles during one outing, considering that you're driving it only once per week. I change my oil every year (5200 miles).

 

Tom,

At the end of November Blackstone Labs sent me their analysis of my engine oil. I put 3,477 miles on it before I did my change. Here are their comments:

JIM: Nothing unusual showed up in the initial sample from this engine. Copper is high compared to iron, though this is a common find in new GM V-8s, and is not a problem. All other wear indicators read well below averages, which is a very good indication of normal wearing parts. The universal averages show normal wear after 3,500 miles on the oil. Insolubles were low at 0.2%, so your twin oil filter set-up is doing a nice job on filtration. No fuel dilution, water, or anti-freeze was found. The TBN read 9.2, so the oil still contained plenty of active additive. At 12,477 total miles this engine is doing very well."

I have noted with caution the claims my by other Forum members that say, "You don't need to change oil as frequently as every 3,000 to 3,500 miles. It is not necessary with today's oils and filters. You can go 5,000 to 6,000 miles between changes."

My Z06 is a long-term investment. Looking at your levels of wear, water, insolubles, etc., I think I will stay at my 3,500 mile change interval.


Merry Christmas everyone.

 

Here is my oil sample with some hard use.


I was a little worried that I was pushing this 5w-30 Mobil 1 to the limit. 4400 miles and 3 track days, 2 at VIR and one at Road Atlanta. The last 2 trackdays at VIR where 400 miles before the oil was changed. I used a UFP44 filter. The 2 added quarts where to keep the car 1 quart over for trackdays. The oil reached 290*f each session. I think there where a total of at least 13 session during these 3 days.

I bet that most of you are thinking that this oil is done.

See for yourself:

 

What kind of oil was this? Here is my oil sample from similar mileage and similar use. Your iron looks to be a tad high as is the copper, although the copper levels for this motor are very high for the first 50-60K miles.

 

You had the car on the track? I would change my oil after EVERY track or auto cross event. Maybe every 2 times out at the drag strip.

 

Really not trying to start another AMSOIL vs Mobil 1 debate here, just point out for the doubters that AMSOIL is an excellent alternative to Mobil 1.
Three Mobil 1 oil samples (32k and 50k on one report sheet) and one AMSOIL sample above. I know all three are different cars, different conditions, different drivers, etc. But there is still very interesting info here, notably that the AMSOIL iron readings of 12 is lower than all the Mobil 1 readings of 17, 16, and 37. That may be due to differences in the LS1 vs LS6, I'm not sure.

Mobil 1 readings at 6200 mi, 4500 mi, 5300 mi, and the AMSOIL at 5700 mi on the oil. So they are similar in overall length of use.

I've also read in numerous places that the high copper on the new LS1/LS6 is fairly normal. The tests above support that. The 13k LS6 with Mobil 1 has copper at 155, the 12k LS1 with AMSOIL is lower at 100, the 32k LS6 with Mobil 1 is 34 and the same 50k LS6 with Mobil 1 is only 16.

You can also clearly see the differences in philosophy of the two oils when you look how much higher the Mobil 1 boron is compared to the AMSOIL, and how much more phosphorus and zinc (anti-wear additives) that AMSOIL uses.

Thanks to all the posters. Appreciate the info!

 

Same here,

 

Please see my above report........

Blackstone even said that the track time does not seem to be affecting my oil after 3 days of 290*f oil temps and 4400 miles.

Would like to see some more reports with this kind of driving on the oil.

 

For comparison, here is a 5000 mile interval in my car with German Castrol 0w30:

Iron 8
Lead 1
Aluminum 3
Copper 2
Chromium 0
Nickel 0
Titanium 0
Tin 0
Silver 0
Vanadium 0
Silicon 7
TBN 6.2

This run had lots of full throttle driving, including quarter mile runs and 10 dyno runs too. I've got a K&N oil filter and air filter on it too.

From what I've observed in numerous oil analysis reports, Mobil 1 5w30 and 10w30 shows higher engine wear in the LS1 than German Castrol 0w30. The better choice if you want to stay with Mobil 1, is to use their 0w40. It will protect your bearings better at high oil temps, so that you don't see 12 ppm of lead in only 6000 miles. That is almost 12 times more bearing wear than I'm getting!

 

Yep, that is going in my car tomorrow. I will be doing another Dyson Analysis on the oil currently in the car, and should have results in about a week or two. This oil change includes 18 runs on the dyno

 

To be honest with you, I really dont care what the report says. IMHO, I would STILL replace the oil after a hard day at the track. Cheap insurance.

 

By the way, what kind of air intake is on this car? There is a lot of silicon in the report, which could be dirt, so there could be an air leak with that air intake system.

 

A couple of days ago I posted a "which oil is better" thread, got the consensus that Mobil 1 was the one to use, now I hear German Castrol is better. Where can I find it? Is it fully synthetic? I plan to keep my car for a llloooonnnngggggg time!

BTW - bobistheoilguy.com has great info on oil!

 

I'm an amsoil dealer, and the key is to understand grades of oil... You can argue all day long with someone that brand X is better than Brand Y, but neither really matters that much until you start getting into GRADES of oil... Group 3 oils (Of which Mobil1 is and of which AMSOIL and Castrol make as well) is by far better than conventional stuff from dino days... But group 4/5 oils are the way to go (and I don't care which brand you go with, you'll have to test for YOUR application) when talking THESE cars and their intended use...

I'm running Series 2000 Amsoil 0W30 and have had it tested AFTER a track day and 3000 miles of use... The motor had 100K miles when I swapped it over, and the results were very impressive... However, I didn't keep the sheet at the time, because it told me all I need to know... Im not switching from the group 4/5 oil I'm using... The results were very similar to Silver06Vettes! The group 4/5 stuff is worth the $6+ per quart price, because it fits my personal plan for use... However, Your mileage may vary!

Again, the key here isn't "AMSOIL", as I'm not one of those Amsoil religion nuts, but GROUP 4/5 oils. We need to re-educate ourselves to think about GRADES of oils, just like we do GRADES of FUEL... No different...

Hope this helps!
Mike

 

Mike,
Thanks for the info.

For those that are interested, here is the product info on the AMSOIL Series 2000 0w30 to which Mike is referring:
AMSOIL Series 2000 0w30

Free AMSOIL Catalog
AMSOIL Preferred Customer Program

 

I have run Amsoil with great success, the only thing I don't like about it is that it thickens out of grade to a 40 weight every time I use it. I could use some lube control to keep this from happening, but elected to go the German Castrol route instead. I do have Amsoil in the tranny and the rear though. I still believe Amsoil to be a very good product.

 

I love the comments where you assess the facts and agree with them and then someone says they are still changing their oil every 3500 miles, blah, blah...makes me think there is something wrong with the science education American's get. Or they missed the class on logic...

 

You did see the movie called "As Good as it Gets" with Jack Nicholson, right?

Mike

 

No kidding!

Look at the 14,000 mile results (bottom of page) for oil viscosity. Fron 5w/30 to 15w/40!

http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/s.../oil-life.html