UOA: 11 WRX, 3556mi, 5W/30 Castrol Edge Syntec

furiouswrx · 02-15-2012, 12:50 AM

2011 WRX, 3556 mi on 5W/30 Castrol Edge with Syntec (black bottle). OEM blue Subaru oil filter. This oil seems to be working well for me. Nice TBN, low wear, and low oil contamination. Shearing is to be expected since it is Resource Conserving.

90% highway at 65-75 mph, usually keeping it below 4k. Revs to 5k about 2 times a day.

I think I'll continue with 3750 mi oil change intervals. I could go to 5000 mi I think, but Syntec would probably shear to 8.X cSt by that point. But if wear continues to decrease, I don't see the problem. Thoughts?

Quote:

Uncle Scotty:

NO 5W/30, just none, zippo, nada.

Thanks Uncle Scotty for your helpful input.

HTML Code:

OIL             5W-30 Castrol     5W-30 Castrol     5W-30 Castrol     Subaru 5W-30 Factory Fill
                Edge Syntec       Edge Syntec       Edge Titanium     (Idemitsu Lubricants)  
MILES IN USE    3556              3296              3182              5135  
MILES           15174             11618             8317              5135    
SAMPLE TAKEN    02/04/12          12/10/11          10/21/11          09/09/2011 
MAKE UP OIL     0 qts             0 qts             0 qts             0 qts  
ALUMINUM        5                 5                 7                 - 
CHROMIUM        1                 1                 1                 0 
IRON            6                 10                11                22 
COPPER          4                 6                 12                34 
LEAD            0                 0                 0                 1 
TIN             0                 2                 4                 1 
MOLYBDENUM      77                191               260               976 
NICKEL          2                 1                 2                 2 
MANGANESE       0                 0                 1                 3 
SILVER          1                 1                 0                 0 
TITANIUM        1                 6                 38                0 
POTASSIUM       1                 0                 2                 0 
BORON           42                97                61                166 
SILICON         5                 8                 18                79 
SODIUM          2                 1                 3                 9 
CALCIUM         732               975               954               1854 
MAGNESIUM       1544              1296              1223              11 
PHOSPHORUS      702               753               766               838 
ZINC            771               1084              882               1028 
BARIUM          0                 0                 0                 2       
INSOLUBLES (%)  0.2               0.1               0.2               0.2 
WATER (%)       0.0               0.0               0.0               0.0 
ANTIFREEZE (%)  0.0               0.0               0.0               0.0 
FUEL (%)        <0.5              <0.5              TR                <0.5 
FLASHPOINT ºF   390               400               360               390 
SUS VIS 210ºF   58.3              56.5              56.4              52.6 
cSt @ 100ºC     9.72              9.22              9.17              8.06 
TBN             7.1               7.6               6.7               3.5

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bluesubie · 02-15-2012, 07:59 AM

You're definitely doing the right thing by keeping your intervals short before thinking about extending them. Yes, the oil will shear to a 20 grade if you extend the interval but the oil is still functioning as it should with a strong TBN and wear is low. Most importantly you're covered under warranty.

Having said that I'm not sure that a Blackstone uoa is the best tool for extending your intervals and is not the be all and end all of determining wear. Just look up old posts by BuickGN at bitog. Good uoa's even with a chunk of a piston sitting in his engine.

I like how you saved Uncle Scotty the trouble by already quoting him.

-Dennis

2011OBPWRX · 02-15-2012, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by furiouswrx

Thanks Uncle Scotty for your helpful input.

Uh, you're running a syn oil for <4k miles, already shearing, and you're giving scotty ####? Why not just run a dino oil and likely get similar results for half the price? Maybe then you'll actually have grounds for acting snobby.

bluesubie · 02-15-2012, 10:04 PM

The zinc level on the last run is too high.

-Dennis

furiouswrx · 02-15-2012, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 2011OBPWRX

Uh, you're running a syn oil for <4k miles, already shearing, and you're giving scotty ####? Why not just run a dino oil and likely get similar results for half the price? Maybe then you'll actually have grounds for acting snobby.

I'm just saving him the trouble of posting the same thing he does in every 5W/30 post. Lighten up. Nothing snobby here. And what's with the double standard - Uncle Scotty can call everybody who disagrees with him a &*#$* kiddie/idiot and I'm not allowed to tease him?

Subaru requires synthetic 5W/30 Resource/Energy Conserving oil for 2011 WRX/STI, so that's why I don't run dino.

furiouswrx · 02-15-2012, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluesubie

The zinc level on the last run is too high.

-Dennis

What does that mean?

bluesubie · 02-16-2012, 07:57 AM

The factory fill Idemitsu has higher levels of zinc than RC oils. Unlike moly, which hangs out in your engine for a while as you can see in your trend, your zinc dropped to a normal level during the run on Titanium. But then it jumped to a level higher than the API allows on your first run of Syntec.

You should check with Blackstone. They're known for wonky zinc numbers.

-Dennis

PROcede · 02-17-2012, 10:59 PM

Ah ha! You are the guy that the service advisor Kevin was telling me about that did the blackstone test on the different oils. Great job on letting them know about their oil and thanks for testing this brand. I will look into this brand for my 2011 WRX.

furiouswrx · 02-18-2012, 02:50 PM

Yup that would be me. Reminds me, I should forward the results to Kevin.

A note of warning though, as you can see, Castrol Edge 5W-30 RC shears pretty quickly in our engines, especially compared to 40 wt oils like RT6 or M1 0W-40.

I would not run more than 5000 mi on this oil. Dennis suggested not running much more than 4000 mi. I will probably change/analyze again at 4200 mi and adjust from there.

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02-15-2012, 07:59 AM	#2
bluesubie Scooby Guru Member#: 767 Join Date: Jan 2000 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: N.J. Vehicle: 04 FXT	You're definitely doing the right thing by keeping your intervals short before thinking about extending them. Yes, the oil will shear to a 20 grade if you extend the interval but the oil is still functioning as it should with a strong TBN and wear is low. Most importantly you're covered under warranty. Having said that I'm not sure that a Blackstone uoa is the best tool for extending your intervals and is not the be all and end all of determining wear. Just look up old posts by BuickGN at bitog. Good uoa's even with a chunk of a piston sitting in his engine. I like how you saved Uncle Scotty the trouble by already quoting him. -Dennis

02-15-2012, 10:04 PM	#4
bluesubie Scooby Guru Member#: 767 Join Date: Jan 2000 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: N.J. Vehicle: 04 FXT	The zinc level on the last run is too high. -Dennis

02-16-2012, 07:57 AM	#7
bluesubie Scooby Guru Member#: 767 Join Date: Jan 2000 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: N.J. Vehicle: 04 FXT	The factory fill Idemitsu has higher levels of zinc than RC oils. Unlike moly, which hangs out in your engine for a while as you can see in your trend, your zinc dropped to a normal level during the run on Titanium. But then it jumped to a level higher than the API allows on your first run of Syntec. You should check with Blackstone. They're known for wonky zinc numbers. -Dennis

02-17-2012, 10:59 PM	#8
PROcede Scooby Newbie Member#: 293500 Join Date: Sep 2011 Chapter/Region: BAIC Location: Bay Area, California Vehicle: 11' WiderBody Hatch WRB	Ah ha! You are the guy that the service advisor Kevin was telling me about that did the blackstone test on the different oils. Great job on letting them know about their oil and thanks for testing this brand. I will look into this brand for my 2011 WRX.

02-18-2012, 02:50 PM	#9
furiouswrx Scooby Newbie Member#: 283048 Join Date: May 2011 Chapter/Region: BAIC Location: Northern California Vehicle: 2011 WRX Ltd Hatch SWP	Yup that would be me. Reminds me, I should forward the results to Kevin. A note of warning though, as you can see, Castrol Edge 5W-30 RC shears pretty quickly in our engines, especially compared to 40 wt oils like RT6 or M1 0W-40. I would not run more than 5000 mi on this oil. Dennis suggested not running much more than 4000 mi. I will probably change/analyze again at 4200 mi and adjust from there.