Oil Analysis - 1st oil change

[tbrocato]

Just got my lab results back.

[bluesubie]

Plenty of TBN left showing the factory fill can go much longer in your application. Flashpoint is still very good as well but it should be with so few miles on the oil. Note that the "Make-up Oil Added" column is how much oil you have to add during the interval instead of the amount that your engine holds.

-Dennis

[R L Newb]

I drive a short stint on the highway ~9 miles before my oil changes. Then park and lift the car followed by waiting about 10-20 minutes before changing and getting the sample. Is this a typical process for everyone? That can definitely affect fuel and water in the sample.

From the looks of it the Mobil 1 is slightly higher viscosity than the factory oil. I'd like to see the difference for the mobil1 between a 4k mile and 6k mile change to get a comparison with mine. My first 7500 mile change should be this weekend barring other activities or lazyness, can't believe I'm already over 18k miles since June

Originally Posted by zoomzoomers

I've always had great results with Mobil 1. It wasn't till I got here that I saw negative reviews of it. Glad to see you're getting good results with it.

That would be the old wrx/sti owners hating on mobil 1. It never seemed to like our cars but this 2.0L is a different animal.

[tbrocato]

Originally Posted by bluesubie

Plenty of TBN left showing the factory fill can go much longer in your application. Flashpoint is still very good as well but it should be with so few miles on the oil. Note that the "Make-up Oil Added" column is how much oil you have to add during the interval instead of the amount that your engine holds.

-Dennis

Thanks Dennis. What oil do you recommend using? I put in Subaru 0w-20 this time.

[gmookher]

Subie SM
Eneos
Idemitsu

[R L Newb]

Depends on your driving habits but in terms of DD friendly I like the results for the Subie 0w20. Some more results from the autox guys would be good to compare by since my car sees easily 90% highway with extended driving cycles.

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted by gmookher

Subie SM
Eneos
Idemitsu

And if the old Subie SM can't be found, there's a new Mazda high moly 0W-20.

-Dennis

[bluesubie]

And here's a recent discussion about Pennzoil Platinum 0W-20:

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...gonew=1#UNREAD

I've only read a couple of replies, but of course a large focus in that thread is about PP's low Viscosity Index. A high VI means the oil is less prone to shearing and is lighter in freezing temp start-ups. Viscosity Index Improvers are also the first thing in oil to break down in oil and cause deposits.

IMO, the more important spec for a BRZ/FR-S is a low NOACK volatility number (measurement of evaporation). Platinum's NOACK is 8.9% while many oils are around 13% (if you can even find the NOACK). Lower is better.

And for those that live in the North Pole, a lower MRV means the oil is thinner at -40C.

-Dennis

[roflcopter]

Dennis, what's the zinc like in the new Mazda oil, first I've heard of it. I bought the Subie SM, think I'll do my first oil change this weekend.

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted by roflcopter

Dennis, what's the zinc like in the new Mazda oil, first I've heard of it. I bought the Subie SM, think I'll do my first oil change this weekend.

It's moly instead of zinc. Molybdenum, which also in the Subaru SM oil but not the new SN version, is an anti-wear additive and a great friction modifier. The factory fill, Red Line, and Motul 300V have huge amounts of it.

It's being reduced in SN/GF-5 oils to comply with the stricter GF-5 emission requirements. There's also a new form of moly which allows the oil manufacturer to achieve similar anti-wear/friction modification results with lower levels of it. Although the new Mazda oil (also made by Idemitsu) still has high levels of it so it may be be a new formulation since it's a GF-5 oil.

GF-5 info here:
http://www.gf-5.com/the_story/performance/

Mazda VOA here:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2781625&page=1

Friction Reducer and Anti-wear additive info here:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=729029&page=1

Moly it's known for it's plating action. You can run a high moly oil and then switch to one without moly and the one without moly will still show high values in a used oil analysis.

I believe the SM Subaru oil is easier to find in the U.S. than it is in Canada. I don't think SM is even still available in Canada.

-Dennis

[getbent]

Originally Posted by bluesubie

IMO, the more important spec for a BRZ/FR-S is a low NOACK volatility number (measurement of evaporation). Platinum's NOACK is 8.9% while many oils are around 13% (if you can even find the NOACK). Lower is better.

Why do you think NOACK is important in the BRZ/FRS? I would tend to agree with you in most direct injected cars due to the probability of higher intake valve deposits due to evaporation. But in this car we have the dual injection method (port & direct) so the intake valve deposits should be irrelevant and I can't really think of any other reason why a lower NOACK would be terribly important over various other specifications of a oil (Viscosity, VI, HTHS, etc).

[roflcopter]

Thanks for the links Dennis! Reading those articles makes me realise how little I know about oil. I'll have to do some of my own testing, I suppose!

[Sac-BRZ]

Great thread. Just requested the test kit for my first oil change. I'm sure it will read the same as most, just nice to have a baseline. Still researching what oil to use, but defiantly sticking with 0W-20 seems to being just fine in ya'lls results.

[bluesubie]

Originally Posted by getbent

Why do you think NOACK is important in the BRZ/FRS? I would tend to agree with you in most direct injected cars due to the probability of higher intake valve deposits due to evaporation. But in this car we have the dual injection method (port & direct) so the intake valve deposits should be irrelevant and I can't really think of any other reason why a lower NOACK would be terribly important over various other specifications of a oil (Viscosity, VI, HTHS, etc).

Since NOACK is a measurement of evaporation, it would make sense to me that in a hard driven car that you would want an oil that evaporates less.
http://www.pqiamerica.com/noack.htm
I would think you'd want a less volatile oil regardless of the injection method.

Note CATHERHAM's comments in the thread above about the oil guzzling Subaru's. I don't agree with him on a lot of things (disclaimer: we're both oil dorks, but not mechanics nor in the oil industry), but he's advising to increase the HTHS in the oil by topping up with a thicker oil like Mobil1 0W-40.

In my turbo, I do not run an oil with less than an HTHS of 3.5% which is the minimum requirement for European oils but possibly too high for a BRZ/FR-S. No one spec in oil is the magic answer though. I did run Red Line 5W-30 (extremely low NOACK, high HTHS) and burned through two quarts in 5,000 miles.

-Dennis