vutekho

Here are the results from my recent used oil analysis done by Blackstone Lab. This is only my 3rd oil change. First was done by dealership at the first 5k miles, next was 15k miles by me using Mobil 1 0W-40 synthetic, and same Mobil 1 oil at 25k miles. Oil filter is Audi OEM.

Majority of my mileage are highway miles, averaging 75 mph, 25 mpg.

I'll do another analysis at the next 10k mi.

dmaccioc

Can't seem to read it...

vutekho

It should work now.

sbarlas

What does TBN stand for? Why have the oil change at 5k miles? Was there any special reason for it? I've heard that apparently doing an oil change at the first 5k miles really improves engine life. However Audi engines are already run in

Redd

The TBN is the amount of additives left in the oil. Once they are consumed, acids and other harmful products build up and engine damage is being done, so a "higher" TBN number is good. As long as it is above zero, the oil is still fighting acids, etc.

Only the paranoid change oil at 5000 miles these days, or folks using cheap oil. Except, the first "break in" change which always used to be done at 1000 miles. With an engine that is already broken in to some extent, and better manufacturing which leaves fewer shavings and less polishing in to be done, Audi has gone to 5k miles for the break-in oil change. In theory, any manufacturing crap will come out and no damage will have been done. In practice...I'm not sure I'd want to wait 5000 miles or 12 months for the first inspection of the engine, which is what that really is, if you're sending out for analysis.

sbarlas

Ah thanks for the quick response and clarification. Good to know. My first inspection service is 2 years on the Diesel engine for Audi. I've done just under 4k miles in 15 months so should be ok for a 5k miles oil change.

By the way , you may want to consider removing your personal address and telephone number from that PDF you posted.

vutekho

Hmmm....I thought it was removed. I'll repost the pdf file again once I get to a computer.

Redd

FWIW, all "PDF" software isn't equal. And Adobe's own products sometimes are flawed. I've seen highlighting and blocking (i.e. drawing a white box over something to hide it) disappear when a file is rendered in another program or version.

If I were paranoid I'd say that to make sure something was "removed", you'd need to delete the characters in a full-blown editor after doing an OCR conversion on the file. Or, physically print it out, block them out, and scan it back in again.

Or perhaps...that's just computer security experience, not paranoia.(G)

vutekho

I just printed it out and scanned it. Old fashioned way always works!

vutekho

The first 5k mile was a free standard maintenance covered by Audi, then every 10k mile as per owners manual.

I used to change the oil in my 98 Acura Integra (sold at 128k miles) and my 2003 IS300 (sold at 165K miles) using the same 10k mile interval and Mobil 1, and never had any issues. I also sent my used oil for these vehicles in to Blackstone for an analysis, every 30k miles, and they actually recommend I extend my change interval to 12k miles because the oil was still in good shape, but I wanted to have some buffer room.

Besides tearing the motor down and measure all the moving parts, a UOA is the most efficient way to determine the condition of our motor and oil. I prefer not to guess or throw away money needlessly.

Hope this is useful information to some.