Oil analysis.

[Jim45]

I have a service coming up in a few weeks and was thinking whilst I'm there I'd like to get the oil analysed as well.

Any recommendations for where I can send the sample? - Sydney preferably.

Cheers

Jim.

[Peter M]

Jim,

I have used www.techenomics.net previously.  If you go to their website and buy a oil analysis kit for $30, take the sample and post it in, they email you the results in a few day.

Just a word of caution on what one single analysis will give you.  It will tell you a few useful things like if your air filter is working or one of your fuel injectors is leaking but be cautious about extrapolating the results to far.

 

[Jim45]

Jim,

I have used www.techenomics.net previously.  If you go to their website and buy a oil analysis kit for $30, take the sample and post it in, they email you the results in a few day.

Just a word of caution on what one single analysis will give you.  It will tell you a few useful things like if your air filter is working or one of your fuel injectors is leaking but be cautious about extrapolating the results to far.

 

Thanks Peter - As this is new to me I 'm hoping the test will give me a baseline in regard to engine health.

I'll checkout the link you supplied and discuss with my mechanic to see if there is benefit in this.

Reason I was thinking of doing the test was that I've seen the test mentioned on several car sites and also supplied as part of PPI's.

Cheers - Jim.

[SimonN]

Just a word of caution on what one single analysis will give you.  It will tell you a few useful things like if your air filter is working or one of your fuel injectors is leaking but be cautious about extrapolating the results to far.

 

I have been very skeptical as to the benefits of doing oil analysis on "normal" use cars. The problem as I see it is that to be really useful, you need to be doing regular tests in conjunction with both regular servicing and preventative maintenance. It becomes really useful when you work out life expectancy of certain components and rebuild or replace based on that, so as not to have downtime from breakdowns and failures. It is most commonly used with plant and machinery, and with vehicles that have very high usage such as busses. I question the benefits for an enthusiasts car that does fairly low mileage, which is the case for most on this forum.

[Jim45]

I have been very skeptical as to the benefits of doing oil analysis on "normal" use cars. The problem as I see it is that to be really useful, you need to be doing regular tests in conjunction with both regular servicing and preventative maintenance. It becomes really useful when you work out life expectancy of certain components and rebuild or replace based on that, so as not to have downtime from breakdowns and failures. It is most commonly used with plant and machinery, and with vehicles that have very high usage such as busses. I question the benefits for an enthusiasts car that does fairly low mileage, which is the case for most on this forum.

Point taken guys - maybe overkill for my daily. I'll just keep changing the oil and giving it some!

Jim.

[Peter M]

I have been very skeptical as to the benefits of doing oil analysis on "normal" use cars.

Probably "sceptical" might be to harsh a word to use for a single oil test but certainly be highly sceptical of anyone who starts telling you one oil is better than another or the condition of an engine based on one or even a dozen tests!  They are full of shit and don't waste your time any further considering their opinion.

However a single test can give a few items of useful information that depending on the circumstances might be worth the 30 bucks, the scolded hand and splash of hot oil on your garage floor.

Basically for a single test, the useful things to look at are the items related to oil contamination and oil condition

SILICON: This shows how well your air filter is working. Generally it should be well under 20 parts per million (PPM). If your levels are higher, you should look at your air filter / air box / intake tubing for leaks. If this reading does not compel you to throw that K&N to the shithouse and put back the OEM filter, nothing will! 

FUEL: should be less than 2%. This is caused by excessive idling, cold starts with short drives, leaking fuel injectors or just a big carb with huge accelerator pumps! The more fuel in your oil, the thinner the oil will be.  This can be a problem if the oil was light to start of with.

GLYCOL: Should be 0. If not, there might be a issue with the head gasket or cracked head that is allowing this contamination to occur

WATER: Ideally should be 0 or less than say 0.2%. Can be caused by short drives where the oil does not get up to temperature often enough or for long enough.

VISCOSITY: Will have 2 parts: High temperature viscosity at 100°C and low temperature viscosity at 40°C.  This will tell you if your oil has thinned out or thickened as the report will tell you what the normal range is for your nominated brand oil when new.

TBN (Total Base Number): This is a measure of how much of the active additives remains to neutralise acid and is generally the driver behind oil change intervals.  New oil will have TBN of around 10 and providing the TBN remains above about 1 the oil still has life in it.  Expect the used oil from your annual change from your old 911 to still have TBN of around 7 or 8.  Yes, assuming the other indicators are satisfactory, we are over servicing and likely only really need to change our oil every few years.   

The wear metal data is all but useless to us as only one or a few readings aren't statistically valid and all you can do is just keep an eye out for an really unlikely high reading that may indicate a pending catastrophic failure.  The test company will give some suggested average and upper limits for each wear metal to give guidance.

 

So when should you do an oil test?

I agree, I wouldn't bother for most cars.  However for an old car I care about, I'd just do a single test every 5 years or so just as a "checkup".  It was through a single test that I discovered a leaking injector a couple of years ago in my 3.2.

If I owned a pre 2006 M96 or M97 engined car like Jim and I was anxious about bores/IMS bearing/cracked heads/broken chain guides, I don't think regular oil analysis would of any value.  Maybe a one off to check the items listed above but really I'd install a magnetic sump plug and inspect the plug and oil filter element for debris after every oil change.

 

 

 

 

Hope someone finds this useful.........

   

 






 

[Dreamr]

Probably "sceptical" might be to harsh a word to use for a single oil test but certainly be highly sceptical of anyone who starts telling you one oil is better than another or the condition of an engine based on one or even a dozen tests!  They are full of shit and don't waste your time any further considering their opinion.

However a single test can give a few items of useful information that depending on the circumstances might be worth the 30 bucks, the scolded hand and splash of hot oil on your garage floor.

Basically for a single test, the useful things to look at are the items related to oil contamination and oil condition

SILICON: This shows how well your air filter is working. Generally it should be well under 20 parts per million (PPM). If your levels are higher, you should look at your air filter / air box / intake tubing for leaks. If this reading does not compel you to throw that K&N to the shithouse and put back the OEM filter, nothing will! 

FUEL: should be less than 2%. This is caused by excessive idling, cold starts with short drives, leaking fuel injectors or just a big carb with huge accelerator pumps! The more fuel in your oil, the thinner the oil will be.  This can be a problem if the oil was light to start of with.

GLYCOL: Should be 0. If not, there might be a issue with the head gasket or cracked head that is allowing this contamination to occur

WATER: Ideally should be 0 or less than say 0.2%. Can be caused by short drives where the oil does not get up to temperature often enough or for long enough.

VISCOSITY: Will have 2 parts: High temperature viscosity at 100°C and low temperature viscosity at 40°C.  This will tell you if your oil has thinned out or thickened as the report will tell you what the normal range is for your nominated brand oil when new.

TBN (Total Base Number): This is a measure of how much of the active additives remains to neutralise acid and is generally the driver behind oil change intervals.  New oil will have TBN of around 10 and providing the TBN remains above about 1 the oil still has life in it.  Expect the used oil from your annual change from your old 911 to still have TBN of around 7 or 8.  Yes, assuming the other indicators are satisfactory, we are over servicing and likely only really need to change our oil every few years.   

The wear metal data is all but useless to us as only one or a few readings aren't statistically valid and all you can do is just keep an eye out for an really unlikely high reading that may indicate a pending catastrophic failure.  The test company will give some suggested average and upper limits for each wear metal to give guidance.

 

So when should you do an oil test?

I agree, I wouldn't bother for most cars.  However for an old car I care about, I'd just do a single test every 5 years or so just as a "checkup".  It was through a single test that I discovered a leaking injector a couple of years ago in my 3.2.

If I owned a pre 2006 M96 or M97 engined car like Jim and I was anxious about bores/IMS bearing/cracked heads/broken chain guides, I don't think regular oil analysis would of any value.  Maybe a one off to check the items listed above but really I'd install a magnetic sump plug and inspect the plug and oil filter element for debris after every oil change.

 

 

 

 

Hope someone finds this useful.........

   

 






 

Shoulda known I'd find you in this thread...