[sobiloff]

I thought some folks might be interested in the used oil analysis results from my 2019 Cayman GTS's first oil change. Only 3,436 miles on the oil over the past 345 days, but I put over 2,000 of those miles driving it home a couple weeks ago. Numbers highlighted in blue are excessive, but typical for a new engine; yellow highlighted numbers are OK but need to come down ASAP; green highlighted numbers are excellent.

The fuel dilute hurt the base number; hope that was from lots of idling while new. I need to work on loading the rings for a bit and make sure I've got a good seal. Also, I didn't change the air filter as I assumed that it'd be pretty clean, but the nitration number indicates that the filter might be restricting a bit so I need to change it out.

Enjoy!

 

[jt4006]

sobiloff, FWIW, I'd dig into the water number, which should be closer to zero. Oil tests for my 2.0 2017 B have consistently shown negative water.

 

[grasmere]

Wow, never heard of oil analysis on a domestic car but interesting.
What prompts you guys get it done, oil change or x miles?

what concerns would the results point towards, typically.
Also what is ‘loading the rings’?
Cheers

 

[jt4006]

grasmere, oil tests provide a look into engine health. Each of the metals in the engine have differing wear rates. The metals show up in the oil. An overabundance of a particular metal or metals can indicate potential problems such as excessive bearing wear. Which bearing is of course a separate problem, but it's a great heads up. Another example is zinc which is a wear inhibitor so I like to see it in the results. Mobil 1 tends to have good zinc numbers particularly 15W50, but I'm biased and use M1 in all my cars. I use 0W40 in the 718. Water can suggest a cooling system leak. For a new car I typically get an initial baseline oil test to show future owners (and Porsche) the engine was in good nick following the break-in period. I then get oil tests on an ongoing basis to monitor the engine as it ages. Think of it as an annual physical. Bob the Oil Guy has excellent info as well.

 

[sobiloff]

sobiloff, FWIW, I'd dig into the water number, which should be closer to zero. Oil tests for my 2.0 2017 B have consistently shown negative water.

Yep, certainly something to keep an eye on. Fortunately there isn’t any coolant trace, so it may just be from a lot of idling or short trips prior to me taking possession of it.

 

[sobiloff]

Wow, never heard of oil analysis on a domestic car but interesting.
What prompts you guys get it done, oil change or x miles?

People laugh at me when I say I’m frugal about some things, but $300 oil changes are no joke. So, if I can pay $100 to have someone tell me what oil is protecting my car the best, given the way I drive it and where I drive it, it lets me extend my oil change interval with confidence. Or, conversely, I’ll have the confidence to know that there’s no way I can follow the one year / 10K mile recommended interval and need to change the oil more often to maintain the long-term health of a very expensive bit of machinery.

Also what is ‘loading the rings’?

Loading the rings is a technique to create maximum pressure on the rings to ensure they mate with the cylinder walls as best as possible. The better the mating the less oil and gas make it past the rings, leading to both more power and less blow-by that damages the oil in the sump.

It’s pretty easy to do. Just put your foot to the floor while in a high gear and run the RPMs up to 75% of redline, then coast back down. The acceleration phase creates lots of pressure on the rings to force them against the cylinder walls, ensuring they seat as well as possible. The deceleration phase cleans up the rings. Limiting RPMs is important for young motors as too much high-speed running on the valve train can lead to burnishing, hot spots, and accelerated wear.

 

[CaymanMatt]

People laugh at me when I say I’m frugal about some things, but $300 oil changes are no joke. So, if I can pay $100 to have someone tell me what oil is protecting my car the best, given the way I drive it and where I drive it, it lets me extend my oil change interval with confidence. Or, conversely, I’ll have the confidence to know that there’s no way I can follow the one year / 10K mile recommended interval and need to change the oil more often to maintain the long-term health of a very expensive bit of machinery.



Loading the rings is a technique to create maximum pressure on the rings to ensure they mate with the cylinder walls as best as possible. The better the mating the less oil and gas make it past the rings, leading to both more power and less blow-by that damages the oil in the sump.

It’s pretty easy to do. Just put your foot to the floor while in a high gear and run the RPMs up to 75% of redline, then coast back down. The acceleration phase creates lots of pressure on the rings to force them against the cylinder walls, ensuring they seat as well as possible. The deceleration phase cleans up the rings. Limiting RPMs is important for young motors as too much high-speed running on the valve train can lead to burnishing, hot spots, and accelerated wear.

Is there any science behind this? This is not being snarky, I'm truly curious about this.
Thanks!

 

[sobiloff]

Is there any science behind this? This is not being snarky, I'm truly curious about this.

Indeed there is: tribology. My tribologist is Terry Dyson, who has spent most of his career providing analytical services to OEMs, including Cummins. Motor oil is a lot like blood in that you can analyze it and have a good idea about how the entire system is performing.

Here are some quick pointers to further reading:
How To Interpret Your Oil Analysis Report | Isel
How to Interpret Oil Analysis Reports
Engine Oil Analysis - Bob is the Oil Guy

 

[grasmere]

Thanks guys, fascinating, I’ve just got to 13500 so now looking to where to get it analysed in the U K, like blood you say! wonder if the NHS have a sideline ?

 

[CaymanMatt]

Indeed there is: tribology. My tribologist is Terry Dyson, who has spent most of his career providing analytical services to OEMs, including Cummins. Motor oil is a lot like blood in that you can analyze it and have a good idea about how the entire system is performing.

Here are some quick pointers to further reading:
How To Interpret Your Oil Analysis Report | Isel
How to Interpret Oil Analysis Reports
Engine Oil Analysis - Bob is the Oil Guy

Sorry, I'm not talking about oil analysis - I know there is science behind that.

I'm referring to "loading the rings".

 

[sobiloff]

Sorry, I'm not talking about oil analysis - I know there is science behind that.

I'm referring to "loading the rings".

Oh, apologies!

I don’t know if it’s a science per se, but I’ve run across quite a few motor builders and tribologists who subscribe to the practice. I think MotoMan was one of the first to really popularize the idea to me, but even going back further than that, hot roders in the 50’s and 60’s used to claim that running-in a new engine hard would result in more HP.

Much like oil, though, there’s a broad spectrum of opinions on the topic.

 

[CaymanMatt]

Oh, apologies!

I don’t know if it’s a science per se, but I’ve run across quite a few motor builders and tribologists who subscribe to the practice. I think MotoMan was one of the first to really popularize the idea to me, but even going back further than that, hot roders in the 50’s and 60’s used to claim that running-in a new engine hard would result in more HP.

Much like oil, though, there’s a broad spectrum of opinions on the topic.

I'll need to ponder for a bit. This could be an interesting discussion!?
Thank you for the reply.