100,000 mile oil change!!

Cowpie,
We make a group IV with a little group V blended in. We promote it for extended drain but it cost double what you are quoting. The full synthetic will not shear or break down. I also blended a 14 TBN detergent package into it. It does not meet the spec for the 07 and up but I made it for everyone else. So far we are getting great results.

Pete,
Are you worried that your soot is .2? Your TBN is only 6.9. That would cause me concern. What was the TBN when you started?
Chris

 

harvard sells the cans as well as the filters

what most don't know is most semi synthetics are usually blended with only 3-8% synthetics so i don't think they are worth the extra money

either full synthetic or regular oil is the way to go

 

Why should I be worried about a fuel soot reading of 0.2 on oil that has 340000+ miles on it? Even when I use the boost wire for 10K miles the soot will go to 0.4, take the wire off and soot level returns back to 0.2. The TBN has all ways stayed between 6.0~7.0, Shell oil has never had the best TBN numbers IMO.
But to anwser your question, no I am not concerned with them numbers. I have seen the inside of my Cat and its clean as a pen, my Cat delear has seen my reports and they have no problem with it either.

 

got to agree with you 112racing. When buying synthetic blend, a blend of what?

 

Schaeffer 7000 is a 25% Group IV and 75% Group II+ blend at $16 a gallon. Starts at 10 TBN, CJ-4 15w40. The 9000 is a 25% Group IV and 75% Group III, 10 TBN, CJ-4, 5w40. $18 a gallon. One thing I do know in using anything is that, after disabling EGR on my '06 ISX, my oil stays pretty clean right on up to close to 10,000 miles without a bypass. From then on, it starts showing some black. It never gets anyway near as black as it did with the EGR hooked up. And having that EGR unplugged keeps the soot down around 0.2 ppm at 25,000 miles when I last did a sample.

 

The egr valve is dumping nitric acid into the oil causing the detergent to fight it, causing the oil to turn black.

Pete, its sounds like you have this down to a science. I would consider using a high TBN full Group IV synthetic for fill. It runs $35/gallon but it will bring the overall quality of your oil sump up a notch. For that matter anyone should consider adding a gallon of Group IV. That way your making your own blend only you can control the % of synthetic based on your requirements.
Chris

 

The only real reason why I dont go to a full synthetic oil is finding it while on the road if something was to happen (ie; if a oil line were to come loose) While carrying a gallon of oil aint a big deal what if something happen and I needed say 3 or 4 gallons and No Name Shop in The Middle Of No Wheresville didnt have the same oil?
I never even liked the idea of mixing to differate oils together like Mobil and Shell at the same time even if thay are the same grade of oil.
Synthetic oil is in fact a far better oil, but until I know that I wont have a problem finding the same oil in any given shop, I dont want to take that leap yet.

 

Going to show everyone how little i know about oils.... What is Group II,III,IV oils? I have always heard Schaeffer 9000 was a full synthetic? What is full Group IV Synthetic? Who makes a good Group IV oil? Thanx for all info.............. david

 

Pete,
I think that the days of worrying about mixing oils is gone. The API standards have gotten so tight that only a few companies make the additives. They are all pretty close to being the same. Loosing an expensive oil because of a leak still hurts. But I would still throw in a gallon of Blue Diamond to beef it up.

David,
The different base oil grades have to do with where they come from and how they are made. They each have pluses and minuses.

Group I is naphthenic. When they find crude high in sulfur it is called naphthenic. This is best for making gas and worst for lube oil. It oxidizes easily but it accepts additives readily and cleans well. Think of Stoddard Solvent.

Group II is paraffinic. It can come out of the ground looking like hydraulic oil. It is best for lube oil because it has a higher oxidation point. Most diesel engine oils use this.

Group II+ is a cleaned up Group II. If you imagine crude oil being broken up into gas, k-1, diesel, gas, motor oil, #4,#6 and asphalt. When you take the Group II and clean some more of the by-products out you raise the oxidation point and the VI. Most higher end motor oils are made with this.

Group III is a crazy thing. It used to be that synthetic meant Group IV and Group V. Castrol started using a cleaned up version of Group II+ and calling it a synthetic. It's not truly man made, it is dino oil. But with such a high VI and high oxidation point the government said they could call it synthetic. All diesel synthetics made by major oil companies are Group III with some Group IV.

Group IV is truly man made synthetic. It can hold up for extreme amounts of time. Like 40,000 hours. It has phenomenal VI which means it can stay the same viscosity at low temperatures as it does at high temperatures. It is not as slippery as Group II but can hold up a long time. Also additives don't mix as easily. A mixture of Group III and Group IV is considered a Full Synthetic. A mixture of Group III and Group II is considered a Semi-Synthetic.

Group V is synthetic oil. Usually called exotic oils. PAG, Esters etc. Often we would mix some of this in to help a Group IV absorb the add pack.

It is very easy to manipulate the verbage on retail labeling to sell something that is not what the consumer thinks it is. I applaud companies like Schaeffer that tell you what you're getting.

Blue Diamond by Lubrication Specialties is full 100% PAO with a 14 tbn add pack. Now all that said I am going to stop because I am rambling now. Hope this helps.

One other thing. I still think it is better to blend your own oil. Each driver and piece of equipment is different. If I want to drive my vehicle hard, it would be better for me to run 50% synthetic. To me that is better than buying a product off the shelf and not knowing what it is.

Thanks,
Chris

 

Thanks Chris: Very interesting reading!!! And PLEASE, ramble on.
What is your thoughts on Amsoil "synthetics"? I have dabbled alittle with amoil. I use their gear oils in rearends and have used their 5-30 HDD in winter months. PLEASE, ramble on some more... . Thanks again for everything... david