Mark in Baltimore

I use the TBN to see how far I can push the oil.

ilko

Sent a sample to Blackstone Labs last week after I changed the oil. I had ~2800 miles on the oil and about 1.5 years. That was on Mobil 1 15W-50. I switched to Brad Pitt and the plan is to send them a sample of that next winter and depending on what the results are I'll decide if I want to change the oil or just run it for one more season.

cpdjfd107

Did you buy the Angelina Jolie oil filter also??

ilko

No, I got it back in the day when it was the Jenn Anniston filter

Mark in Baltimore

Pretty sure he wrote that tongue-in-cheek. A posting buffoon Ilko is not.

Floodj

This is very similar to a program we have in the Army. I figure if it is good enough to manage oil in our Aircraft engines it is good enough for my Porsche. I do the TBN as extending the life of the oil is one of my prime objectives.
--Joe

cpdjfd107

Yeah I suspected that but just had to throw that out there

Now on the topic of oil changes, I had an oil change done in October with Brad Penn, and I put about 4oo miles on it before storing the car for the winter. I am about to get the car going this week. Without doing an oil analysis do you think I am good as far as the oil is concerned or would the majority change it anyways?

ilko

I wouldn't bother changing it. Sean Penn can last through the season

cpdjfd107

Ok thanks, that is what I hoped to hear.

No HTwo O

Ilko, your report looks good. Keep doing 'em.

Keep in mind, you will most likely not see the entire benefit (or detriment) of one oil change, when switching brands & viscosities. It take 2-3 changes for the entire system to show the true light.

FlatSix911

I just sent in my Oil sample and requested the Total Base Number (TBN) in addition to the chemical analysis. Will post the results next week.

2Many Cars

That's an interesting data point as I've always felt that syn oils can last well past a year if the mileage is low. From the looks of your experience two years and 4,000 miles between changes is not unreasonable. I'll probably still change once a year but it's nice to know I can be late without much worry.

ilko

I've spoken to Blackstone about this in the past about my Audi. I was doing 11K mile intervals (M1 0W-40) based on recommendations from their previous analyses, and they said I can go even further. But then I stopped driving the car as much and wanted to know if I should still change the oil once a year, or whether I could base it on mileage. Blackstone told me that modern synthetic oils can last a long time and the only reason to change the oil and send for an analysis is to make sure that there are no developing problems.

I'm not sure if the same thing applies for the "green oil," that's why I was planning on taking a sample in the fall before putting the car away for the winter. Based on the results I'll decide whether to change the oil next spring or wait a little longer.

FlatSix911

Here are the results from Blackstone:
After a year and half, I am good for another 1,500 miles.
The oil analysis was well worth the $25 expense based on a $200 oil change!

No HTwo O

FlatSix911, nice report. Thanks for sharing. Given the elevated numbers for copper, I'd not extend the interval, if it were my Porsche. Your next report will tell you more info, this is just your baseline.

For comparison, the copper in my last report for the:

Boxster S- 8ppm. Approx 36,000 miles. Red Line 5W40.
993 Turbo- 6ppm. Approx 45,000 miles. Mobil V-Twin 20W50.