Hey everyone, I've attached an image of the oil analysis after 15,000 miles on toyota synthetic. I drive 4 miles each way to work daily, during summer months the coolant does get up to 180-190F for a few minutes. During the winter, I'll be lucky to ever hit 130-140F while using the heat. This is not good for oil as it prevents excess fuel and water from evaporating during a normal drive cycle. On weekends I'll definitely be getting the engine up to temp at least always for 20 minutes or more each day. It appears my engine has excessive iron and aluminium wear. It's interesting to see that according to the TBN, and the insolubles number, if I was driving this car longer per day I might have better wear and able to go at least 20k per oil change. I'll use up the rest of the case of Toyota OEM oil I have and probably switch back to Pennzoil Platinum. I haven't seen many oil analysis' on here so hopefully you find this useful!
Thank you for sharing your oil analysis. I just sent for the test kit from the same lab. I will post my results when I receive them. My oil is 12 months old at the time, with approx 3500 miles since that previous oil change.
Thanks for sharing! I'm curious, any particular goal in stretching your oil usage? I've still got a powertrain warranty so I'm sticking to the printed book schedule until that's off.
I'd be careful doing this. You fall directly into the extreme conditions category in the maintenance guide. They specifically say to change your oil at 5k - 7500 mile intervals.
You're right, the data shows what will happen. I'm probably going to switch to 5k interval due to the excessive fuel dilution issues. I was just curious what would happen on the Toyota OEM synthetic, the initial goal was really just to see how the TBN read after 15k. I'd like to preserve the savings from the great MPG, so I'll be switching to 5k in hopes the wear numbers go down. Something I didn't mention is for about 8 hours a day over 4 days I left the car in Ready mode with a small 500watt inverter connected to the 12v battery. This provided basic power for a large campsite. The excessive stop/start, a 5 or 6 times an hour, may have contributed to additional wear. Weather was warm so the coolant never dipped below about 150F while just sitting in Ready mode. I might time oil changes so it's fresh just before I go camping again next year.
When you keep it in the same temperature band, it's really easy on the engine. That campout usage might have been the easiest job that car will ever face. It's the 4 mile daily commute that is likely to cause the most wear, especially in winter. If you're going to change the timing of your oil changes, get more done in the cold weather when you aren't taking long trips.
