Blackstone Labs Oil Report After Second Oil Change at ~15,000 Miles (Gas Non-Hybrid Engine)

[bakutheleo]

Thank you, interesting objective info. What I always wonder about "The guy with a million years of experience" statements (generic for all the YouTubers as well as old mechanics and such) is how much of that is just "stuck in the old days." That is, "That is how I've always done it, and dad-burn that is the way it needs to be done and everything else is wrong." Please understand, if not obvious, I am trying to be a little silly here, and definitely am not saying anything bad about any of those folks--that almost (?) all probabaly have more real knowlege than I do. But, I do hear this sort of info ("Need to change that oil every 500 miles" or "Turbos eat up oil and you need to change it every 10 miles") a lot and feel at least some of it is no necessarily based on new, objective data. But maybe it is.

I will repeat what I have stated in another thread somewhere on this forum: My first vehicle was a 1984 Honda Civic (right, no turbo ;-)). After the first couple oil changes which I did at (before really) the manufacturer recommended intervals, I started using Mobil One synthetic oil. I changed the filter at (generally a bit before) the recommended oil change interval but the oil only every 20,000 miles. That car ran perfectly for over 380,000 miles. It failed (although still ran and drove) at around 387,000 miles by losing compression in 1.5 cylinders (it had lost partial compression in one a while before but still ran fine and continued to get 40 MPG, then lost another cylinder completely). I figured running on 2.5 cylinders was probably pushing it so retired the car (it was just shy of 30 years old). Yes, different vehicle, but still a gasoline engine doing the same thing. I do not think my long interval oil changes were a problem. The only repairs *ever* required was a clutchat 225,000 miles, a rotor (which was actually a new one that I proactively replaced!), water pump, alternator, and distributor (that last one was late in life). I think that was it.

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[Lucky09]

That's amazing.
The difference with turbo engines is the heat the turbos generate.
Based on the story of your civic - God rest its soul - considering you were content to drive on fewer cylinders, tells me you likely didn't hotrod that thing, ever. Delicate driving prolongs everything, including oil life.
Turbo engines are at a disadvantage because they overheat the oil making it not last as long regardless of how polite you drive. I'm sure people will have long engine life with 10,000 miles intervals.
But all we ever read are the number mile intervals someone did and not how fast they drove on long trips, or how fast they accelerated in the city. Someone who drives the speed limit 100% of the time will generally have longer vehicle life than the someone who speeds everywhere and on long trips. So shorter intervals with turbo engines are more important than with a naturally aspirated engine.
All this to say, civics are amazing.

 

[bakutheleo]

Yep, I burned rubber all the time with that 1.3 liter 4 cylinder engine . You are of course correct--I do drive "easy" in general. And yes, I understand turbos run very fast. I take care to accelerate fairly slowly when the engine is cold (which is only a minute or 2 when it is not very cold out) then even after that I generally do not punch it.

My other previous car (that the 4Runner replaced) was a 2000 Sienna. My then girlfriend had bought it new, then after her unexpected death from a stroke I got the car. I drove it for several years. The only reason I replaced it is that it would not pass smog and replacing the catalytic converters would just not be worthwhile. It still ran perfectly and had about 380,000 miles on. Plus I did really miss my off-road vehicles (I had a Ford Explorer and Chevy Tahoe in the past as well which were both great vehicles)!

 

[mars001]

Wouldn't that already figured by the Toyota design engineers when they recommend 10k OCI? I'm sure they didn't want the truck to fail early.

The turbo is powered (spun) by exhaust gases which are extremely hot. The turbocharger has bearings that allow the impeller to spin at high RPM’s which draws In air used to pressurize the combustion chamber. The bearings are lubricated by the engine oil. The oil is critical to the life of the turbocharger. This is why you see a lot of owners myself included, that will change the oil sooner than the 10,000 mile interval specified by Toyota. This is why the OCI is related to the turbo. Hope this helps.

 

[CO/ZA]

Wouldn't that already figured by the Toyota design engineers when they recommend 10k OCI? I'm sure they didn't want the truck to fail early.

Turbos are cooled both with engine oil as well as the coolant/anti-freeze circuit.

10K OCI is fine with the proper engine oil, for which I would suggest is actually a Euro spec oil like Mobil 1 ESP x2 0w-20.

The German car builder standards exceed anything spec'd by the API or Toyota, and have years of institutional knowledge behind them.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Thanks for sharing your oil analysis!

Historically, I have used an OCI of 7,500 miles, for the ~million miles I have put on (4) 4runners, with no problems.

Disclaimer: I’m not an oil expert like ‘The Motor Oil Geek’ and I’m not suggesting, encouraging or telling anyone to follow what I do concerning OCI!​

Comments on your oil analysis:

• Great to see the viscosity is still in grade.
• It appears the oil has done its job for 7,784 miles.
• Based on the fact that both the *TBN result (2.0) and the *Flashpoint result (385 F) are both ‘just’ outside the acceptable ranges (TBN >2.0, flashpoint >385 F), it appears the oil is at the end of it useful life.
• Blackstone pointed out, it is probably ‘okay’ to run an additional 1,216 miles (9,000 - 7,784 = 1,216) on the oil. However, that means you are using the oil to the absolute end of its life.
• By sticking to your 7,500 mile OCI, it appears the oil is good to go!

Notes and additional comments:

• As ‘The Motor Oil Geek’ has stated many times, if you really, really, really want to know when to change your oil, based on your driving habits, type of vehicle, type of oil etc., you need to base your decision on science – oil analysis.
• If you don’t want to mess with the expense and trouble of oil analyses, just change your oil on a regular basis. Many folks, me included, are using a precautionary OCI of 5,000 miles based on the unknown impact of turbos and the overall lack of long term data on the powertrain.

*TBN (Total Base Number) oil analysis measures the remaining alkaline additives in engine oil used to neutralize corrosive acids, acting as a crucial indicator of oil life and detergent depletion.

*Flashpoint oil analysis determines the lowest temperature at which oil vapor ignites, acting as a critical indicator of fuel dilution, solvent contamination, or oil degradation.

I'm considering an oil analysis as well because I do very short drives and I have noticed that the oil level is rising and the oil smells!

I've read many articles to the point of overload on this issue of oil dilution. And all feedback comes back to either change the oil more frequent or do longer Highway drives to burn that excess off.

My thoughts are the guy that doesn't read these articles and is going by manufacturer or dealer recommendations, and is retired and does 15 to 20 miles a day gets extreme oil dilution by the next oil change.

If this is true then I think longevity on these engines will be very limited. Meaning three year 36,000 miles then go fish! I personally am not sure what to do other than change the oil more frequently.

Any thoughts out here on this issue.

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