Oil analysis for 2003 Ferrari 575 Maranello and 2004 Ford Expedition: The Ferrari was delivered with Shell Helix Ultra 5W-30. At 775 miles on 23 May 2003 the oil was changed to 0W-30 Mobil 1. At 2,250 miles on 14 November 2003 the oil was changed to 0W-20 Mobil 1. With 5,300 miles on the car, and 3,000 mile on this fill of 0W-20 I sent in a sample for analysis. The original oil tested was from a left over bottle from the original Mobil 1 oil cases. So it is of the same age as the oil in the engine. No additional oil was added to the car. The Ford is a few months old. I changed the original oil after 1,200 miles and later took this sample of Pennzoil Multigrade (regular oil) 5W-20 and sent this in for analysis as well. This fill had 1,000 miles on it (total miles on car now - 2,200). __________New __________Ferrari_______Ford____ ______0W-20 Mobil 1 ___With 3,000 Mi __Expedition, 1,000 Mi on the oil ................................................................................................................ Iron__________<1__________11__________10 Chromium _____<1__________<1_________<1 Nickel ________<1___________7__________<1 Aluminum ______3__________10___________5 lead __________<1__________2__________<1 Copper ________<1_________16__________14 Tin ___________<1__________<1 _________<1 Silver ________<.1__________<.1 _________<.1 Titanium ______<1__________<1 __________<1 Silicon ________4___________10__________86 Boron ________247_________220_________101 Sodium _______15__________15__________4 Potassium ____<10_________<10_________<10 Molybdenum __ 164_________141_________437 Phosphorus __1375________ 1353________1306 Zinc ________ 1328________1313________1281 Calcium _____ 3456________3143________2340 Barium ______<10_________<10 _________<10 Magnesium ____53_________154_________14 Antimony _____<30________<30 __________<30 Vanadium _____<1_________<1 __________<1 Fuel %Vol _____0__________3.5__________1.5 Abs Oxid ______?__________48__________3 Abs Nitr _______?__________13__________4 Wtr %vol ______0_________<.1 ___________<.1 Vis CS 100C ___9.0________8.1 _________7.3 SAE Grade ____20_________20 __________20 Gly test ______NEG_______NEG _________NEG TBN _________9.87_______not done_____not done Everything was well within limits for each car. Approximate normal values for a car after the initial break in period with around 3,000 miles on a second or third oil change are: Fe <100, Cr <12, Ni <12, Al <30, Pb (lead) <60, Cu <60, Sn (tin) <10, Ag (silver) <1, Ti < 1, Si < 26, Boron, <200, Na <60, K (potassium) <45, Fuel % - <5.0, water % - none, Glycol - none. I tested my oil using this company, I do recommend them: www.youroil.net Go to this page and download this Excel file to see other peoples results: http://members.rennlist.com/oil/ Here is a description of tests: http://members.rennlist.com/oil/element_analysis_description.htm I did some analysis of the Excel data on 144 automotive oil samples tested. This is as far as I can tell: The average car had 3,750 miles on the oil fill when tested. Most tests were of oil having 2,000 to 5,000 miles on the oil. Range = 87 miles to 16,506, the most was in a 1983 Mercedes 300 TD with over 200,000 miles on it. They used Mobil One 15-50 and it tested normal. 70 tests were of 50 weight oil. Most were Mobil One 15-50, second was Castrol GTX 20W-50, third was Castrol Syntec 5W-50. 17 tests were of 40 weight oil. Most were Mobil One 0W-40. 26 tests were of 30 weight oil. Most were Mobil One 10W-30 then 5W-30. 3 tests were 5W-20 Ford oil in a single MY 2000 Lincoln LS. The first test that was sent in had slightly elevated Al and Si but the next two tests were normal. All samples had around 4,000 miles on them. The total car mileage was over 60,000 miles. Other tests were not of engine oil (transmission, gear) or were not able to be determined. Of the 40 and 50 weight oils none were tested thicker than the original grade but many that failed multiple tests were thinner. The reason was fuel dilution. Normal is up to 5 % but 6 to 8 will decrease your grade by one and 9 to 11 % or more will decrease the viscosity grade by 2 (a 50 weight oil will be thinned to a 30 weight oil). Of the 20 and 30 weight oils that failed tests about a third thickened to the next higher viscosity grade. Only one thinned secondary to fuel dilution. 3 of the vehicles tested had over 200,000 miles. 16 of the vehicles had between 150,000 and 200,000 miles. 7 vehicles had between 90,000 and 140,000 miles. 24 vehicles had between 40,000 and 80,000 miles. The remainder of vehicles had less than 40,000 miles on the clock. Go for it. aehaas
Who's been playing beach blanket bingo with that Expedition? Have you verified the thing has an air filter? I've heard of stranger things than a vehicle being misbuilt without an air filter... that's a lot of Si you've got there! Recall that after 11,000 miles on my MB 190E I had 8 ppm Si. Neat!
They told me it was because of the new engine but just the same I will chekc for an air filter and let you know if it is missing, aehaas
hehehe! I did find a COUPLE of other new car oil analyses that had Si numbers (actually even higher than yours), but it won't hurt to check, because I found some others that weren't as high! It makes sense that it's various silicone sealants in the new engine. Of course, now you'll have to keep monitoring that oil every 3000 miles at $20/pop!
Ali, asalamalakum. I have a question for you. Which oil should I run in my BMW 750il? I only drive it once in a while and when I do (after it is warmed up) I really drive it. It is one of my favorite cars and I religiously change the oil in it 2x a year, regardless of miles, which ends up being every 900-1500 miles or so. (synthetic BMW or Mobil 1) I do not remember the weight off the top of my head, but I will have it for you this evening. Thanks, Omar
Could the Si be coming from casting sand in the block and heads? It is quite common for some of that to be left behind.
A lot goes into recommending oil. Read the Word doc below then make your choice. I do believe the Si in seals is inert and will not show up on analysis but casting sand surely will. There is a nice clean air filter in the Ford. aehaas Image Unavailable, Please Login
