Blackstone oil analysis, "engine still strong" at 204k

[ThurzNite]

99 v6 5sp
Mobil 1 0w-20
3803 miles, 1qt added
204459 miles total

Wear metals were nice and low, so this 0W/20 oil appears to be working well 3,803 miles into this run. The
TBN of 2.4 shows active additive remaining, so we don't see any problems with running this oil longer. Universal
averages show typical wear for Toyota's 3.0L engine after about 4,700 miles on the oil. The flashpoint test found 1.3%
fuel dilution, which is normal. Sodium is likely an additive in oil. We'll know more about your Solara as we build wear
trends, but for now it looks like this engine is still going strong. Resample to establish wear trends.

I wish I could stick with this 0w-20 because startups and low rpm city driving is great. It's quieter, revs smoother, revs faster.

But what used to be a 10 minute commute to the office is now a 1hr traffic jammed ordeal to get to the office in the morning, and an easy hwy cruise home in the evening. I think the high rpm (3000 rpm) coming home is consuming the oil, causing me to top off.

I'm going to re-sample probably around 6k or 7k and see how it goes. I get the feeling I should be able to hit 9-10k before needing to change filter and oil. Good to know that the "engine is still going strong" at 204k!

Dr J

[Black Bob]

Analyzing oil was my first job outta college! (Ahhh the memories--the smell of burnt oil, tracking oil stains all over the house afterwork and still living with me mum on a $12,000 salary) He/she is correct about getting a trend because you're only seeing a piece of the picture. Alot of people thought this was a way of gouging the customer when requesting more incremental samples but you need at least three data points of normal to give you a decent baseline. I can tell ya the low sodium level is definitely part of your oil additive package, if you had problems with even a small coolant leak the sodium levels would be through the roof. However, sounds like this analysis is not giving you any solid advice on why you would need to top off, from what was stated you're not really burning out the oil. Sounds more indicative of a leak possibly.

[ThurzNite]

Yeah, I emailed them back for more explanation and they told me to wait 2000 miles and give them another sample. This weekend I'm going to look for leaks. I'll probably wait till 6000 or 7000 to send them another sample.

I'm thinking the TBN might be high because I'm topping off. But I guess if the filter is doing it's thing, I don't need to do a full oil change. Sucks that replacing our filters means changing oil.

I do plan on doing a round of Auto-RX for the next oil change.

Dr J