Break in Oil Analysis

[2001]

Any good modern synthetic is going to have a strong additive package and most of the “break in” is happening in the first couple of hundred miles. Not that parts won’t continue to wear and mesh with each other, but my practice has always been to change oil earlier on to remove the wear particulates as those can cause more damage than not having an alleged “break in oil” in long enough.

This was my reasoning for changing at 1100 miles. Filter should catch most of it but oil and a filter are cheap so why not. I was going to cut my filter open to see if I could find anything interesting in it but the pipe cutter that I was going to use was not big enough and I didn't have anything else available to open it that would not contaminate the filter media with debris.

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[355]

This was my reasoning for changing at 1100 miles. Filter should catch most of it but oil and a filter are cheap so why not. I was going to cut my filter open to see if I could find anything interesting in it but the pipe cutter that I was going to use was not big enough and I didn't have anything else available to open it that would not contaminate the filter media with debris.

I changed the oil in my Integra at 1,000 miles and my analysis was almost identical to your results but along with a low flashpoint the viscosity was at bare minimum too. I am pretty sure the high moly result is assembly lube and the factory fill oil is not special break in oil or Honda would require changing it in the first 500-1,000 miles.

What I did differently than you though is I did cut open the oil filter and what I found trapped in the filter media was a large amount of ground up light blue plastic debris along with the expected break in aluminum shavings and particles and no steel particles. The blue material was definitely a semi hard plastic and not RTV or other gasket material. It mostly resembles timing chain guide plastic but as far as I can tell there are no blue plastic parts in this engine nor does Honda use light blue gaskets or RTV sealant.

I changed the oil again at 4,000 miles so 3,000 miles after the first oil change and this time the oil analysis came back with normal results but when I cut open the filter there was still a significant amount of the blue plastic caught in the media and I still haven't found anyone that can tell me what it is. The engine is still running just fine so it appears the oil filter is doing a good job of catching particulates and the plastic debris and it hasn't caused any damage.

So back to your question of when to change your oil next. It's really hard to say, but I wouldn't wait until the oil life minder says it's time to change the oil. I would recommend extracting an oil sample out of the dipstick tube at 5,000 miles and sending it in for analysis to see how well the oil is holding up. Once you have the analysis back you can make an educated decision based on those results whether your oil needs changing or not. This would also help you establish a good oil change interval for your particular engine that takes into account your driving style and which oil you use.

 

[menikmati]

So back to your question of when to change your oil next. It's really hard to say, but I wouldn't wait until the oil life minder says it's time to change the oil. I would recommend extracting an oil sample out of the dipstick tube at 5,000 miles and sending it in for analysis to see how well the oil is holding up. Once you have the analysis back you can make an educated decision based on those results whether your oil needs changing or not. This would also help you establish a good oil change interval for your particular engine that takes into account your driving style and which oil you use.

A man of science.

 

[Samurai1225]

Not trying to hijack this thread, but View attachment Civic Type R UOA.pdf I decided to attach my oil analysis because it just came in. I typically like to keep my oil change intervals at 5-6k miles although it seems I could have gone a bit longer based on this report. I might stretch it out to 7500 miles this oil run.

 

[2001]

Not trying to hijack this thread, but View attachment Civic Type R UOA.pdf I decided to attach my oil analysis because it just came in. I typically like to keep my oil change intervals at 5-6k miles although it seems I could have gone a bit longer based on this report. I might stretch it out to 7500 miles this oil run.

Viscosity and fuel contamination were good. Mostly longer trips?

 

[Samurai1225]

Viscosity and fuel contamination were good. Mostly longer trips?

Yes my work commute is 80 miles and mostly expressway driving. I also don't typically short trip the car very often.

 

[Ohlins8990]

Adding in my first oil change at 5000mi.

 

[Websitesdown]

Adding in my first oil change at 5000mi.

What does this tell us, in detail please? Just curious because I've read " glimpsed " over these threads but never delved into them very much.

For instance. I'm guessing the silicon is high because it's your first change but what does everything else tell us?

 

[Jester04]

anybody better versed in oil analyses care to chime in whether this supports an early change or wait til the MM tells me to?

For a proper analysis we would need a second oil change analysis and see how the numbers changed. Ideally one in 3k miles and then the other one when the maintenance reminder kicks in to compare.

I’m on my 4th oil change at 14k miles.

 

[Websitesdown]

For a proper analysis we would need a second oil change analysis and see how the numbers changed. Ideally one in 3k miles and then the other one when the maintenance reminder kicks in to compare.

I could probably do that if no one else has yet. I'm sitting at 1100 miles right now on mine.

 

[TurboZed-R]

You won't be able to see a true trend until after 20k miles due to residual wear metals. Seeing a downward trend in that time is what you are looking for.

 

[Ohlins8990]

Something interesting to me is that both mine and OP's (2001) oil have viscosities at or below a 0W-20 at 100C (6.9-9.3 cSt).

High wear metals (Al, Fe, Cu, Sn, Pb, Cr) are to be expected. I expect to be in the single digits next oil change.

The bottom section you tells about the oil additive package. Calcium is a detergent, Zinc is a lubricity additive. The Molybdenum is likely the assembly grease used in the bearings when the cams/crank were installed.

Silicon is super high, but this is supposedly from new engine sealants and should taper off over the first couple oil changes. Normally silicon is coming from sand ingress through bad air filters or from additives used in coolant.

 

[qingcong]

My results from the first oil change look a lot like everyone else's first oil change. My commute is 20-30 miles one way (depending on traffic I take different routes). Occasionally for lunch I'll do a shorter trip here and there.

 

[Ohlins8990]

I can confidently say that Honda is not using Castrol Edge as the OEM fill…no surprises…lol

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