Grumpy Bear

6.35 turns. The pitch is 1.5 mm and 3/8" inch is roughly 9.5 mm. Divide 9.5 by 1.5. Same way a micrometer works.

Assemble from Scratch Sample #1 is a VOA from a batch represented in this entire table and run in a new motor at 3,750 mile intervals. Sample #1 says we have an oil with a background Nitration of 8 abs / 0.1 mm. According to one CLE 10 abs / 0.1 mm is a hard limit and something is in need of immediate attention if it breaches this value. What does the STLE have to say?: Tribology and Lubrication Technology, which is the official journal of the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE). [Quote] Oxidation & Nitration. Oxidation is the gradual degradation of oil, particularly the base stock, that takes place in the presence of oxygen and heat. Excessive oxidation will increase viscosity and can lead to deposits in the form of sludge and varnish. Likewise nitration occurs when nitrogen in the air combines with the base stock to form acids, sludge, and insolubles, all of which degrade the oil. Oxidation and nitration are usually reported together in uoa’s by a unit of measure called abs (absorption per centimeter). It’s important to understand that even virgin oil will show a measure of oxidation & nitration because the test equipment “sees” some of the chemical components of the base stock as if they represent oxidation & nitration. This is particularly true of oils that have some kinds of vegetable esters in the base stock. Thus to correctly interpret a uoa, you need to know the oxidation & nitration numbers showing in the virgin oil. Most labs use 50 abs as the cl for synthetics, above the virgin baseline, and 30 abs for mineral oil. [Close Quote) But according to one CLE this motor would be in need of a complete tune up every other oil change. I find the condemnation limit of Oil Analyzers to be quite conservative. (17 abs / 0.1 mm) "Most labs" 50 unit condemnation limits (ester synthetic) are based on not knowing the virgin values. I know mine. If I didn't the oil is condemned in the bottle on oxidation.

That was a rough start. Eagles next? OUCH!

Interesting stuff.

Nationally, Top Tier simply means it has a detergency package 3X the Federal minimum. In Illinois these are blended at the terminal so whatever one station in that chain gets, they all get. I have witnessed a station in Iowa being "Top Added" so I know it happens. But what happened is, a truck preblended with the federal minimum was servicing a station that was Top Tier so they drop a 5 gallon box of detergent adds in the hose before offloading. Top Tier is about the detergent not the fuel quality. That is Federally regulated by law. Storage is another matter.

I'm waiting in a Burger King for my order when two young adults enter. It's hot and they are in hoodies. Seemed they both work there. First asks for his check. The second looking at the floor is absorbing his bosses scolding for not showing up to work on some day ending in Y. He mumbles he didn't know he was supposed to be there. She asked if he had worked the night before. "Yes", he replied. She continues to tell him it is his responsibility to look at the schedule. His reply? "Why?" Her reply, 'Then don't come back for anything but your last check." First guy then askes he manager if his sister could have her job back. She tells me after he leaves the entire shift walked out on her on some other day ending in Y and now they are begging to come back. My dad slapped that nonsense out of me before I could sit up. What a way to run a ship.

https://www.toptiergas.com/gasoline-brands/ Co-Op and all Shell fuels, yes. Petro-Canada no.

Oil Analyzers So today I got back the rerun of the wear metals for Raven. Ya, know, from the lab I shouldn't trust because they made an error. Posted the result in the UOA thread. Very nice people to talk to and work with and @Black02Silverado was hugely helpful it getting things sorted. AMSOIL trusts this lab. Nick trust this lab. I trust them both. I trust a lab that looks at your evidence, sees the problem, takes ownership and FIXES the problem. Not so much the ones that say, "We are ISO certified and don't make mistakes". Especially since I worked in an ISO lab and it made lots of mistakes. I didn't know this. Seems there are people and businesses that are infallible. Yea! Who knew, right? As it turns out, there is only A business that believes it's/was infallible. More precisely, the owner of that business that still thinks so. The rest of the eight billion people on the planet know better. https://documents.thermofisher.com/TFS-Assets/CAD/Application-Notes/D10256~.pdf [page 2] Even the people that make the instrument that measures Nitration say a base value for the background is a MUST.

Holiday over. $2.99 again.

Raven 2024 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 Sedan 1200 cc I-3 MPFI and CVT 30,000 miles 3,772 mile OCI Service oil Red Line HP Euro Spec 5W40 Filter FRAM XG Fuel Shell V Power Nitro + 93 E-5 Best part of the sample was @Black02Silverado. First pass on this sample broke trends and created doubt. Contacted Nick and told him the issues I had. He listened patiently then advised me on my options and how to exercise them. I contacted the lab. Explained my concerns and how I track results. Customer service saw the issue plainly. We had a nice discussion and then the ICP was rerun with a more believable result. People make mistakes. People find fixes for mistakes. There are NO perfect people nor perfect labs. Seems we have bottomed out and leveled off. Next sample is scheduled for a 5,000 mile run. Aluminum is the real winner in this grand experiment. Mitigating skirt scuffing was the intent and seems to be the result. Marked improvement over either 5W30 or 0W20. Minimal improvement in Iron 5W40 V 5W30 but notable over 0W20 Total wear reduction is almost entirely the result of low Aluminum. And yes, some minor contribution from bearing wear reduction.

ALSGlobal.com Nitration number is a form of oxidation that relates to chemical reaction with nitrogen, also forming nitrogenous compounds. Nitration is a relative number that monitors increase in the overall fluid degradation due to reaction with nitrogen and oxygen by infrared spectroscopy. This test parameter generally compliments other tests for fluid service life, such as viscosity and acid number. Generally, this test is not used as a primary indicator when all other tests are within normal limits. Accurate oil information is alsglobal.com required to get the most valid test results. Contributors to increased nitration can come from exhaust gas blow-by or reaction with natural gas products with the lubricant and heat. It is also an indicator of electrostatic discharge across filter surfaces in turbine oil. https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/30020/engine-oil-nitration

What could INFINIUM know, right? That's two. Shall I walk down the entire world lab community? I can keep this up till pigs fly. https://www.infineuminsight.com/media/2946/08-used-oil-analysis-na.pdf Slides 35 and 36 is Infineum is also not EXPERT enough?

I'm going to guess what was said and EXPERTS DISAGREE. This is one of a half dozen labs that do. https://precisionlubrication.com/articles/detecting-oxidation-and-nitration/ [Quote] Oxidation testing performed by FTIR measures the breakdown of a lubricant due to age and operating conditions and is reported in abs/cm (absorbance units per centimeter). By observing specific absorption, FTIR testing detects the presence of carbonyl groups (C=O), such as ketones, esters, and carboxylic acids, that result from oxidation in the oil. Nitration testing is also performed using FTIR (ASTM E2412 method), which indicates the presence of nitric acid, which speeds up oxidation. Nitrates exhibit peaks in the infrared spectrum, allowing FTIR to identify their presence in the oil. Oxidation/Nitration Results Reported When analyzing and reporting on the test results, the starting values of the new lubricant (product and grade) are considered. It’s good to note that the starting values of conventional lubricants will differ from synthetic. Customers can send in a baseline or new lube reference sample, which will be included in reports for reference and trending history comparisons. When the data analysts review test results, they look for deviations from the baseline lubricant values. [Close Quote] The background does not magically disappear when the motor is run. All I have to say about it.

I know that unless you reserve a large enough volume to commit to a single vehicle that running VOA's is expensive and impractical. When we get such an opportunity however we are rewarded with the oils background data which is then subtracted from the UOA. A benefit in multiple ways. We know how much oxidation, nitration and wear metals are added to and not the result of. We know how far our TBN has fallen. And we can discern if the disruption in a pattern after the introduction of a new lot number is the result of a change in background or the result of something operational. A mistake I most recently made.

Did you happen to run a VOA on the lot now in service?

Ours was up 40 cents or he Holly-E-Daze

Gasoline is broad cut and defined by regulation by it's 10% and 90% temperatures and it's RVP (Reid Vapor Pressure) and, of course, it's octane rating. May also have some mandated components by law. For giggles notice that JP4 jet fuel covers allot of the gasoline range as do heavy and light naphtha. Even Kerosine! How many hydrocarbons do you think are covered in a temperature span between 86 F (IBP) and 392 F (FBP)? Look up the boiling points of as many C4 to C12 hydrocarbons as you care to before you tire for the search.( Do you know your law of "partial pressures and it's influence on RVP? On IBP and FBP?) You will need to, to understand how butane can be in a liquid with an IPB of 75 F when butane, the lightest feed stream in gasoline has a boiling point of 31 F and dodecane (boiling point about 420F) in a fluid with a 392 F end point. It is allot of different molecules and there is no such thing as a 'Clean" cut in a heavy ends column. C7H16 Heptane and C8H18 Octane are only two component and roughly mid scale. https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/hydrocarbon-boiling-melting-flash-autoignition-point-density-gravity-molweight-d_1966.html See how many you can find of each group between those to carbon lengths. (link provided)

More internet Mumbo-Jumbo. Crude Unit straight run gasoline is an unprocessed fuel that is low octane and full of Sulphur, but the story doesn't end there. And yes can be in the 70's. Lord. And that two component blend of column cut is pure nonsense. That's the reference liquids used to determine value in the knock lab. Reagent grade materials. No one has used, sold or run straight run gasoline for many many decades and even then it wasn't 'two component'. Like your grandfathers time. Infancy of refining. It's a range, a pretty wide range. Straight run is now just a 'component' of a blend of various feed streams. The fractional distillations of units like an FCC or Isomax or Coker unit are mid to upper 80's stocks. Then units like a Rheniformer or Platformer or other catalytic type units take a blended naphtha cut stock and REFORM the molecules to reach into the 100 octane area which become part or the blend. Then units like a Isomerization Unit convert butane to iso butane as another component for RVP. Individual streams are caustic washed to remove Sulphur. And so on and so forth. I've run several of these units. There are dozens of carbon chain lengths in gasoline and why it hasn't a boiling point but rather a boiling range that the regulators use (ASTM D-86) to define it. I have run thousands of those test. Those feed streams are blended together to meet octane and governmental regulatory limits. It is a chemically define fluid just like bleach, or water. 87 E-10 is and 85 stock with 9% ethanol that gives it a 2 point bump. 85 E-10 is two points lower. E-15 starts a point lower. 93 cost more than 87 as the products used to make more octane cost more. Ditto 87 E-0 is more expensive than E-10 or E15 for the same reason. At least until alcohol subsidies disappear. It's way 100 octane race fuel sold a BP stations in our are are $10/gallon.

Changing fluid may reduce slippage. MAY. But what your asking is about the same as "Can I unburn toast"? If a 4 quart gives a noticeable improvement then continue this process until the fluid is red in a jar, not on the stick, it will take quite a few. If it doesn't help then "Goes" will be defined by how much damage you are willing to endure. It's already going.

Patterns. Trends. History. Never take a single result to seriously. Expect mistakes from humans. Perfect people are hard to come by. There have only been three in our entire history. Dad used to say, "I can do business with a liar because I know what he is. That perfect guy is trouble". There are over 8 BILLION people on this planet. I'll bet everyone of them can find some fault in me. Know why? Because I have some. Many in fact. Flawless people are nonexistent. There are only those that think so. Most of them have degrees. Science in and of itself is perfect. That's God world. Our understanding of it sometimes is flawed and we fumble around like the blind in a minefield in our attempts to measure and quantify it. Some care more than others, granted, BUT....I've seen guys send the same samples to multiple labs and get different results from every one of them. The question is, How different and does it matter? One lab measures 3 ppm iron, another 5. One measures 5.1 TBN and another 4.8. Two labs do water by KF and are 20 or even 100 ppm apart. Everyone of these is explainable in the laws of statistical math they are judged by. Probabilities. Repeatability. Reproducibility. There are zero perfectly repeatable and perfectly reproducible methods of measurement. The best 'shooter' in the world can't put 2 .223 rounds in a .250 hole at 500 yards. But from labs we expect perfection. I expect direction and nothing more. Pick a lab. Graph the trend and ask, "In this ignorant CONSUMERS opinion, does that make sense?" If it does, work with it. If it doesn't, don't second guess yourself... find a new lab. You are NOT the slave of some expert. He's resource. Like a dollar bill or a glass of water. I give the humble experts a bit more weight. The haughty I pitch like an unreliable report.

On the first run total wear metals were 0.8 ppm but on the rerun they are 8 ppm? From perfect to What's that about?

How many miles do you have on this truck?

Ah, I missed that. I meant destruction of fuel economy. Word clumsy it seems. No, I'm not suggesting that. I'm suggesting that when the current set have expired to make a more fuel friendly choice. I think we are actually on the same page and even in the same book. Paragraph under the one you quoted: [quoting me] Most of the items on my list are either free or part of a routine maintenance program. Alignment is routine, Air it free, slowing down cost a nothing. Even the tires could be part of normal maintenance. Change at the next required set. Removing a lift in the drive and spending on a routine alignment...a no brainer. [close quote] Understand? Normal maintenance, right? At tire life end.

I'm going to assume you meant distinction and not destruction. (How many beers was that? LO(L) We are going to disagree and that's fine. Data will be the final judge. WHY? Because the stock size H/T tire, which I recommend, is much lighter, (31 V 33) smaller and physics will prevail over what either one of us thinks or believes. But you hang on to that belief. I said what I said. Time will tell, right?