Oil Type and Brands?

I have heard they are not the best source of analysis. Only the common cheap one that the average car owner knows.
Not sure if true.
The oil of a more frequent change is probably cheaper than an analysis.
An analysis probably yields no useful information unless an engine has a mechanical problem inside wearing a bearing to confirm what shiny metal flakes you've already seen by eye in the oil, pan, drain plug, etc.

exactly

 

What would one do If they got a bad oil report? Then what? Start shopping?

 

Just popped in to say I edited my earlier post way back on page 1 of this thread to include the following:

This has all been done before. 36 pages of who has the best oil: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/best-motor-oil.58460/

Fantastic thread with more filter pictures than a pinup calendar: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/toyota-oil-filter-made-in-thailand-vs-the-competition.123608/

I'm off to do something actually productive now. Good luck OP.

If you got a "bad" report back there's no one-size-fits-all answer. Your next action will depend on what exactly is wrong. (I.e. if there are certain deposits it could indicate a head gasket, if there is excess metal it could be a full rebuild; both different courses of action). Worry about that later. For now just take care of your engine by doing regular oil + filter changes using quality products.

 

I'm curious. Does the Blackstone analysis evaluate anything related to varnish probability???

 

No. If you want to see an example Blackstone report I have some in my build thread at link below. I did it partially for fun, and partially because I plan to keep my Taco for a long time and wanted some baseline readings for future.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/wi_taco-2015-trd-or-build.677890/page-3#post-25498375

 

For those of you asking about what they say, here's a copy of a recent report I received. Good report as you can see, especially compared to the universal averages for a 1GR-FE w/ about 120k miles on it.

I bought this truck from my FIL and wanted to get a baseline on how the motor looked internally, hence the number of reports in such a short period. The oldest report shows the last oil fill by my FIL at about 6k-7k on the oil. I won't be doing another report until I hit 150k or so, especially given the wear trends from the last two reports.

You can go to Blackstone's website to see examples of bad reports. I'm sure there's a few bad reports on this website if you guys are willing to use your Google-Fu

 

Ok.... I figured there was only a report about metals and liquids.

Nothing to indicate a potential for oil to produce varnish.

So, this opens some questions.
What contributes to varnish?
What conditions are required for varnish to develop?
Any oils less prone to varnish production?
Is varnish detrimental to the engine?

 

Saw a new SupterTech oil formula at Walmart today - Advance Full Synthetic, for 'enchanced' wear protection, and 20K protection. I put a comment for the Project Farm dude to do a comparison test. I'm getting it for the next oil change. BTW, changed my oil today with Pennzoil full synthetic 5w/30. Already had it onhand; otherwise, would have got the new Advance SuperTech formula. Didn't notice if it came in High Mileage formula. Came out last year, but just now noticed it.

 

Crazy how well the SuperTech performed on PF. Nowadays I usually settle for whatever Warren mf'd oil is on sale. So far it's been the Kirkland 5W-30 at $23 for 6 qts.

It's great that nowadays good oil can be had for so cheap, regardless of brand.

 

Last Toyota oil filter I bought was made in Thailand. Bought a Hiflo filter for my motorcycle, also made in Thailand. Boxes they came in had very similar characteristics.

 

The Denso OEM filter in wife's RX350 was stamped 'Made in Thailand'. I may start getting the SuperTech MP line. Only $6.50, rated to 20K, and made in USA, at least the one for the Lexus.

 

Mistake, My filters were also made in Thailand.

 

I don't know as much about oil as I should, but have any of you tried the Wear Check USA oil tests? We have used their tests and they will show where your TBN and TAN levels are. If I understand right those levels will indicate how "worn" your oil is, versus a lot of other test companies will go by how many wear particles are in the oil and at that point you are going past the actual life of the oil because you are getting wear on the engine.

 

I’d like to piggyback on this since there was a post in this thread or maybe another thread about M1 being known for leaving varnish. Since I’ve used that oil from 35k to 70k every 5K, I’d of course like to dig into this other than forum hearsay. M1 and many other brands advertise that they remove sludge and varnish. Anyway, I take both forum hearsay and manufacturer advertising with a grain of salt. Would like to get my hands on any real data that’s actually available, whether M1 or other brands, regarding varnish.

In my case, 5W30 full synthetic. No varnish on the dipstick.

Google-Fu does not lead me to much other than hearsay on other forums.

 

The Blackstone report posted above does have TBN listed as 2.6 which means the oil still has some life left. TBN loss is not linear so the owner could have gone an extra 500 or 5000 miles and TBN would have been 1 at that point.

Blackstone charges extra for TBN analysis, which is why I switched to ALS Labs (same as Wix oil analysis kits on Amazon/RockAuto) since they include TBN in their particle analysis cost. ALS doesn't give you the typed out analysis like Blackstone, but still lets you know if any data points are outside of acceptable ranges.

 

I must have been blind or too much in a hurry. I just skimmed over it and didn't notice that it had the TBN on it.