I tried scanning the doc, but my pos computer isn't in the mood.

The first oil analysis is my 08 vette.

Amsoil 0w30 SS synthetic
8550 miles on the oil.
10,050 miles on engine.
OLM at 20%
Amsoil Eao 47 oil filter.

Blackstone Lab Comments:
We didn't find anything in this sample that we wouldn't expect from a new engine undergoing wear-in. The wear is high due to break-in of new parts, while silicon is from sealers and sand casted parts. Universal averages show typical wear metals from this type of engine after ~3,500 miles oil use. We suspect this engine will look that good, if not better, in two or three more oil changes. No contaminants were present, and the TBN was fine at 2.5, so the oil wasn't out of active additive. It was a good time to change the oil though, it was abrasive.

First column is actual, second column is "universal averages" for the LS engines. Elements in ppm.

Aluminum.......20.........5
Chromium.......14.........2
Iron..............90.........24
Copper..........210.......48
Lead...............20.......10
Tin..................0..........1
Molybdenum.....16........69
Nickel...............1.........0
Manganese........9.........2
Silver................0.........0
Titanium............0.........0
Potassium..........6.........2
Boron................9........65
Silicon..............49........26
Sodium...............9.........8
Calcium...........3597....2263
Magnesium..........15......180
Phosphorus.........648.....755
Zinc...................865.....886
Barium..................1.........1

Oil Properties. First column, actual. Second column "Values should be":

SUS Viscosity @ 210F*.....58.3.........55-63
cSt Viscosity @ 100C*......9.73.........8.8-11.3
Flashpoint in F*...............435F*.........>385F*
Fuel %............................<0.5....... ...<2.0
Antifreeze........................0.0... ..........0.0
Water%...........................0.0.... .........0.0
Insolubles%......................0.2.... ........<0.5
TBN.................................2.5. .........(1.0 is low)

My lesson learned here:

In a new engine, do not rely on the OLM to tell you when the oil is ready to change. There is nothing wrong with the oil at 8,550 miles except the fact that it is full of elements that are abrasive due to the breaking in process. It might be a good idea to change the oil well before it even reaches 50% on the OLM. I'm going to do my next oil change in 4000 miles. Those that have brand new cars I'd suggest doing your first oil change by 1000 miles, and the second and third at about 4000 miles thereafter until the oil analysis shows the engine break in process if over. Use a good filter, either an amsoil Eao filter or the new filter used on the ZR1 (both use nano-fiber).

Also, do not buy the oil scavenge pump used to collect a sample from the dip stick tube as the windage tray will not allow you to reach the oil. It did work very well on the honda civic, though.

As a reference, I also had the oil analyzed in my 04 Honda civic.

Amsoil 0w20 synthetic.
13,250 miles on oil.
85,754 miles on engine.
Eao oil filter.

Blackstone Labs Comments:

Nothing too unusual was found in the first sample from your Honda. Copper is a bit above average, which shows excessive wear at a brass/bronze part, such as a bushing. As all other wear read normally we aren't too worried about it yet, though we'll keep an eye on it next time. Universal averages are based on an oil run of ~5,000 miles. The oil was run well past that mark, so the other wear actually looks exceptionally good. TBN was fine at 2.3, so the oil has plenty of active additive remaining. 1.0 is low. Try 15,000 miles next oil. Hopefully copper doesn't increase.

I won't reprint the actual ppm results, but will say that are very low.

Oil Properties:

Oil Properties. First column, actual. Second column "Values should be":
SUS Viscosity @ 210F*.....55.9.........46-59
cSt Viscosity @ 100C*......9.05.........6.0-10.2
Flashpoint in F*...............405F*.........>385F*
Fuel %............................<0.5....... ...<2.0
Antifreeze........................0.0... ..........0.0
Water%...........................0.0.... .........0.0
Insolubles%......................0.2.... ........<0.6
TBN.................................2.3. .........(1.0 is low)

My comments:
Based on the results, I'm confident that the oil is performing exceptionally well and there is no need to worry about Amsoil not yet being tested to GM's spec, clearly it isn't an issue.

 

Thanks for the info. At least I was not so far out in left field for changing the oil at 500 miles and again at 2000.

 

when i ran amsoil in my honda i changed the filter @ 500 miles, oil/filter @ 3k, then oil/filter @ 6k then 10k then 15k then 22k then 30k, 40k, 50k. all results cam out perfect. i traded it in for the vette. very happy with the amsoil, i just got tired of having a stock of oil in my garage.

-Carl

 

My lead analysis has stayed at 18-20ppm with Mobil 1, with normal being 6 ppm.
I switched to Valvoline Synpower because it is advertised at 8x less wear than Mobil 1, and will see if it makes a difference on my next analysis.
I would be interested to see if your lead drops as you get more miles on the engine. My last analysis was around 28,000 miles.
You had more miles on your oil, but I assume Blackstone adjusts the "universal averages" to account for differences in oil change intervals.

 

The universal average for the LSx motors is ~3500 miles, according to Blackstone. So I more than doubled that, plus the motor is still pretty new.

It would be difficult to compare different oils on the same engine as the more miles it accumulates, the less wear particles should show, at least until it starts to seriously wear out, IMO. At least the oil properties report shows it's not snake oil.

 

Interesting read, Thx ABP

I still have 3 boxes left of M1 (Costco) & PF48's (Gene), first changed at 1000 then again at ~5000. I am considering giving Amsoil a try when the M1 is gone. At my current rate of mileage accumulation, that might be a couple years

I've read before here in tech that using the PF48R's show ~large increases of oil psi (on LS3) due to the nano filtering... Can anybody confirm or deny this claim?

 

Thank you for posting that information. It further confirms that the LSx engines are still wearing in up to 10k miles.

I bought my car used with 900 miles on it and the dealer changed the oil on it at 900 miles as part of the GM Certified Vehicle program. I have 3300 miles on it now and I will be changing the oil every 3k miles whether it needs it or not.

 

Check this Blackstone test on a new Camaro:

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38438

They recommended you change the oil every 1500 miles up to 10k for LSx engines.

I did my first change @ 2300 miles at it was pretty dirty (looked like dino oil instead of synthetic). Should have changed it sooner. Will do the next one around 2,000-2,500 miles on this oil/filter.

 

I think that using high end motor oil on a commuter car is big time overkill. My 3 commuter cars:

Dodge Caravan: is the old family mover now teenager car: 143K miles uses cheap conventional motor oil no issues. 7.5k between changes.

Saturn Ion: daily good gas mileage to and from work car 88K miles no issues uses cheap conventional motor oil 7.5K between changes.

BMW X5: wife's daily driver 55k miles and people mover......uses sythetic from BMW every 15K miles no issues.

For a performance car change it as much as you want that's 1/2 the fun anyway. Commuter cars I can't tell you the last time I've seen a engine fail due to lubrication failure.

 

thanks for posting!

I would never run the factory fill out to what the OLM claims either. I changed my oil out based on what Terry Dyson recommended. I believe I changed mine at 500 miles, again at 1,500 miles, again at 3,000 miles and again at 5,000 miles. Then we went on a 3,800 mile road trip and I changed it when we got back. I thought about doing an UOA on that oil but never did. The oil still looked VERY good, but I also add Lube Control to it based on Dyson's recommended interval. I run German Castrol 0w30.

 

you and I both know that the GM spec doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot.