Clifton

Based on many threads from this forum, there are countless debates on the topic of oil change frequency. Among those is the "to replace or not to replace" oil after the Porsche recommended 2,000 mile break-in period.

With many companies seeking to make low cost of ownership claims, it is hard to know who to believe when it comes to routine maintenance. Under normal conditions, synthetic oils have demonstrated that excessive oil changes (every 3K) are worthless. However, when it comes to break-in, it makes logical sense that metals will be higher as engine parts find their groove. As such, fresh oil after break-in seems ideal as it would remove unwanted debris.

Being the **** car owner that I am, I did a post break-in oil change. In addition, I decided to put some science behind the theory and sent the oil off for analysis.

Below is a Blackstone report on an oil sample taken from 2010 GT3 with 2,054 miles on it. I followed break-in by the book and performed an oil change shortly after crossing the 2,000 mile threshold. The results and feedback from the analysis were interesting and answered many questions for me.

Should a responsible/**** owner change their oil after break-in? You be the judge.

Handoogies

A bit buzzed to read full report; conclusion? Do change early and frequently?

sharmat

Looks like the report just raises more questions.
What is the "Universal average" based on?
2000 mile oil changes???? Untill when?

boolala

Make sure to change the transmission fluid too every 2000 miles.

You wouldn't want those nasty metal filings damaging the gears.

boolala

Actually I think that the safest strategy is to change the oil with every fill up of the gas tank (assuming this is no less often than once a year).

After all it is cheap insurance and one can never be too safe (I wear belts and suspenders).

Bob Rouleau

boo - your posts are always SO helpful.

If the GT3 is tracked, the tranny fluid should be changed every ten hours of track time. At 200 MPH I guess that is 2,000 miles, but at a more reasonable average of 75MPH changes should be done at 1000 miles or less. When I change mine at those intervals the fluid comes out very dark.

Best,

997, esq

Appreciate you sharing, but it's not surprising that you have elevated ppms of certain metals in the oil of a new engine. The reason this doesn't end the debate is that you would need to show that the amounts in excess of universal averages are harmful in some way.

Also, not to be a skeptical ***, but wouldn't changes at 2000 mile intervals for followed by testing by this company generate revenue for the testing company?

Finally, the word is "****."

Leader

No conclusion can be drawn from the data offered other than a company that analyzes oil recommends frequent oil changes and analysis.
What would be meaningful is to know what the levels of metal and silicon might be in oil taken from an engine with 20,000 miles on it.
Color me a skeptic (***), too, but I think the levels would be quite similar to the 2000-mile oil.

GHills

WTF? This report looks like it was produced by Al Gore or David Suzuki. Somewhere an iceberg is melting

boolala

Sorry for my off-topic post, Bob but......we are talking about a brand new engine break in procedure here are we not?

Nobody is tracking it. Nobody is doing 200 mph with a new vehicle.

SO, if I understand you correctly, you are advocating 2000 mile oil changes for the first 10,000 miles as the original post suggests? So a mere 5 oil changes in the first 10,000 miles? Right?

Clifton

Actually, that is not correct. The sample below was sent with 3,4k on it - read the last line of the comment section.



Actually, skepticism fails you in this case. Check the Universal averages, they are sample averages from similar engines (regardless of miles) and what is useed to compare the current sample against.

Below is oil history on my M3 track car where I tested different oils and lengths of time on the oil. You can see times where tracking a car and running the oil too long hurts. Increase the frequency or trail off on the tracking, and things get better.

Edgy01

Am I to understand that seeing any ppm is bad? Regardless of the origin?

997, esq

But where is some kind of data that shows deviations from universal averages mean a significant impact on engine wear, performance, etc.?

(Dan beat me to it. This is like where a product contains some trace amounts of carcinogens and people assume it is dangerous.)

ADias

There are always residual amounts. That report would have been more interesting if it had stated typical amounts.

Clifton

Totally agree, that new break-in motors will have higher traces of metal in the oil - I thought that was a given. However, leaving abrasive oil in the motor is not necessarily a good thing because the filter is not filtering them.

Anything over the universal average, in excess, can be considered harmful and a point of concern. Example, M3 S-54 motors had issues in 2001-2003 with rod bearing failures. High traces of lead & nickle (above the universal average) would provide the early warning of any pending failure.

Actually no, once the ppm levels begin to drop/level out, Blackstone will actually recommend new higher mileage check points; if you wish to follow them.