Blackstone Oil Analysis Report(s) | Hybrid

[Montana]

Back in October I completed my second oil change on my Hybrid at 10,888 miles. This was the first oil change that I did myself - the first one was done at a local dealer at 4,267 miles.

For context: I drive with fuel economy in mind generally, but also regularly see WOT. I use remote start every day (under ~40*) and see lots of idle time in the cold weather. Put simply, I use every bit of what the truck has to offer without being intentionally abusive.

The oil tested is Motorcraft (Oil & Filter) Full Synthetic 0W-20 and the oil life monitor was at 50%. Obviously it was changed early, but reassuring that this engine will be totally happy with 10k mile intervals. I will change again at 20k, 30k, 40k... etc

I doubt that I will do any more oil analyses - but this was fun and I learned a lot. Take from it what you will...

Awww c'mon man. That's a solid sample (aside from not being mid stream lol). You should do a couple more. How many miles average are you per year?

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[MavDan]

Here I am, paranoid having done 5 oil changes with 10,000 miles on my Maverick.

 

[MaveRichard]

Awww c'mon man. That's a solid sample (aside from not being mid stream lol). You should do a couple more. How many miles average are you per year?

I average between 10-15k per year. First year with the truck was 13k. Curiosity may get the best of me here....

I am currently sitting at ~14,500 miles. Winter driving has led to much more idling (remote start) and has my oil life sitting at 45% at only ~3600 miles driven. Previous change was done at 50% indicated oil life. With "remote start season" behind me, I have a few questions rattling around in my brain...

1. How does PUP compare to Motorcraft?
2. How does idle time effect the oil itself given MPFI/Atkinson/1250 idle RPM?

Edit to add: I will probably do another sample when I change it in the coming months.

 

[MaveRichard]

Here I am, paranoid having done 5 oil changes with 10,000 miles on my Maverick.

I was similar on my first new car. 1.0 Ecoboost.

1100 Miles
3000 Miles
7000 Miles
10000 Miles
Every 5k after that.

Hindsight being what it is, I was changing it way too much. Made me feel better at the time though.

We live, and hopefully, we learn.

 

[Montana]

I average between 10-15k per year. First year with the truck was 13k. Curiosity may get the best of me here....

I am currently sitting at ~14,500 miles. Winter driving has led to much more idling (remote start) and has my oil life sitting at 45% at only ~3600 miles driven. Previous change was done at 50% indicated oil life. With "remote start season" behind me, I have a few questions rattling around in my brain...

1. How does PUP compare to Motorcraft?
2. How does idle time effect the oil itself given MPFI/Atkinson/1250 idle RPM?

1. PUP compared to full syn MC? Debatable. I personally chose PUP for the EB because of it's turbo, but I've ran it since 2020 after seeing it do well in numerous oil tests - one of which was cold flow temps which is a big deal where I live. I can't say I've ever cared to research much of MC brand anything lol. I'd go with a Mobil 1 or something before I bought MC stuff. Unfortunately, no real choices for the RDU and PTU (in terms of exact viscosity) but I'm okay with it in those. I think brand choice matters a lot less than most people worry about. Find something that tests good for what you need it to do. Plenty of good oil out there. I personally just wouldn't overpay for MC brand stuff unless I had to.

2. Idling kills engines. But modern engines handle it pretty well. The Atkinson cycle does very well in terms of efficiency at lower RPM's. Basically at low load situations in general by reduce the compression. Losing power definitely, but it's only when you don't need the power from full compression. I wouldn't stress too much about your idling unless you are spending all day on a job site idling or something extreme. There are definitely others more knowledgeable than me on this forum that can get into compression ratio's and how idling affects them, but I think they'll share the same sentiment in that the Atkinson has a good design for it. But, another reason I'd go ahead and send in a couple more samples just so I know for sure that all is well in my driving habits.

 

[MaveRichard]

1. PUP compared to full syn MC? Debatable. I personally chose PUP for the EB because of it's turbo, but I've ran it since 2020 after seeing it do well in numerous oil tests - one of which was cold flow temps which is a big deal where I live. I can't say I've ever cared to research much of MC brand anything lol. I'd go with a Mobil 1 or something before I bought MC stuff. Unfortunately, no real choices for the RDU and PTU (in terms of exact viscosity) but I'm okay with it in those. I think brand choice matters a lot less than most people worry about. Find something that tests good for what you need it to do. Plenty of good oil out there. I personally just wouldn't overpay for MC brand stuff unless I had to.

2. Idling kills engines. But modern engines handle it pretty well. The Atkinson cycle does very well in terms of efficiency at lower RPM's. Basically at low load situations in general by reduce the compression. Losing power definitely, but it's only when you don't need the power from full compression. I wouldn't stress too much about your idling unless you are spending all day on a job site idling or something extreme. There are definitely others more knowledgeable than me on this forum that can get into compression ratio's and how idling affects them, but I think they'll share the same sentiment in that the Atkinson has a good design for it. But, another reason I'd go ahead and send in a couple more samples just so I know for sure that all is well in my driving habits.

I hear you - and while I both agree and disagree with some points that you have made...

...the questions that I posed can really only be answered by another oil analysis.

 

[Montana]

I hear you - and while I both agree and disagree with some points that you have made...

...the questions that I posed can really only be answered by another oil analysis.

*whispers DO IT!

 

[Cactusgrayinny]

Yes. My philosophy as well.

95% (estimate) of people trade in or trade up for reasons other than worn out engine. In fact, i've never worn out an engine. Seats, yes. Exterior paint, yes.

I would say this especially true with these Hybrids. The engine is not working all the time and even when it is working, it is being assisted by electric. I asked my dealer to do my first (complimentary) oil change a bit early (4500). They said it was not necessary but I was more concerned with time than mileage. BTW., still amazed at the efficiency and competence of how this vehicle does its business. It is enjoyable to drive.

 

[MaveRichard]

@MaveRichard care to edit the title (you can) to take off the 6630 xyz parts so we can all contribute and keep this thread going by adding our data here?

Done

 

[The Real Maverick]

I hit 10,000 miles. A lot of them EV miles.

Oil Life is at 24%.

Sent 3 ounces to Blackstone. Left oil in truck. Stay tuned...

 

[MaveRichard]

8,000 Mile sample from user - Kirkland 0W-20

 

[Crash11]

8,000 Mile sample from user - Kirkland 0W-20

This analysis looks slightly better than the one you posted at 10,888 miles. I'm guessing the new engine was shedding some metals into the oil, and now it's reaching equilibrium. No sign of any water is really good. That oil has plenty of life in it.

 

[Crash11]

It's great that the oil life monitor takes ICE runtime in consideration, and is not based on just total miles the truck has been driven.

I was told by an engineer at GM that the computers actually monitor a lot of things when calculating the oil life. Things like the load on the engine and the temperature. It's pretty sophisticated, and I would trust the oil life monitors.

Another member on this board had a clever way of saying it......the oil seems to have a life that correlates with gallons of gas burned. So heavy towing and aggressive driving use more oil life than easy cruising. Add that to the fact that the hybrid system (if you have a hybrid) helps buffer the load on the engine even more, and I plan on changing my oil every 10k just because it's easy to remember.

 

[The Real Maverick]

Miles on Oil when I pulled a 3oz sample: 9,995

Oil Life Monitor says go to 12,540 so oil is still in Truck.

Blackstone independently confirmed the oil is good for at least 12,500 miles.

Note I paid for total base number which tests the additive package and this shows the additives are still strong at 10,000 miles. This has been 8 months.

P.S. I'm at 10,910 miles today and oil life says 17% left to go. Blackstone agrees.

 

[MaveRichard]

In another thread I made a few predictions about the results here.

My speculation would be:
1. Viscosity at or near the top end. Still within spec though.
Looks great. No viscosity concerns at all.
2. TBN, if you test, around 2
Similar to mine at 6600 miles (3.2 vs. 3.6). Also great.
3. Everything else, including and most importantly wear metals, will be totally fine.

It seems like the biggest difference as the oil ages is in the flashpoint. In many ways this oil report looks better than mine at a lower mileage. Granted, mine was only the second oil change, but still.

Thanks for sharing!

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