Is it worthwhile getting an Oil analysis on the first oil change?

[LALoner]

Gots ma a question for y'all. I am going to do my first oil change on the new F3-S. Since there will most likely be excess metals as this is the first, will it be worthwhile to send an oil sample in for analysis?

 

[BajaRon]

Yes, I think it worthwhile. It will give you a baseline to start from. Make sure you get a mid-stream sample. This will eliminate heavier contaminants that settle out and could give an erroneous result. You only want to be testing for suspended contaminants. This is another reason to run your Spyder down the road before changing the oil. The engine and transmission will agitate the oil and put more of the contaminants in suspension so they will leave with the old oil.

 

[JayBros]

Oil analysis is the only scientifically reliable way to tell how engine oils perform. One of the important contents of an oil analysis for our Spyder engines in which the oil shares engine and transmission lubrication and protection jobs, is how quickly the oil's viscosity shears down. The transmission gears beat the bejesus out of the oil and the viscosity of some allegedly superior oils shear down remarkably swiftly. Spending some shekels for a product offered by poster #2 solves that problem permanently for the 9,300 mile or one year, whichever comes first, oil change interval that is specified by the designers of the 1330 ACE engine in our roadsters. I have my oil analyzed at every change. YMMV.

 

[Little Blue]

Gots ma a question for y'all. I am going to do my first oil change on the new F3-S. Since there will most likely be excess metals as this is the first, will it be worthwhile to send an oil sample in for analysis?

I have been doing oil samples for over 40 years on my vehicles. Since I have owned my Spyder RTL it has always been oil sampled. The price of the Oil Sample is very good insurance. I have been using a Lab in Indiana for ten years now. Several of the Spyder Forum Members are using this Lab.

Good oil is always a good thing. ....:thumbup:

 

[broderp]

100% YES. As other likely have stated, a proper oil analysis will tell you a lot about your Engine's condition and contaminants and additives in the oil. As an example, I bought a new car in January and had the oil changed at 500 miles. The report came back with as expected high contents of several elements totally related to engine break in. The second and third oil changes showed even better parts per million levels. See the attached image of my first report. Each new report is added to the sheet so you can see trends.

I don't work for or am affiliated with Blackstone, I'm just a customer. There are other good places to have this done as well.

 

[BajaRon]

I've used several labs and they all produce a good report. I've settled on BlackStone because they have provided the best explanation and clear advise of any I've used. And they are quite willing to talk to you if you have questions. I've heard a few complaints about BlackStone so I did some research. I have not been able to find any verification that would justify a complaint so I'm still with them. Just my 2 cents on the subject.

 

[JayBros]

Interestingly, the three immediate posts above dovetail with my most recent analysis. ALS Tribology (closest lab to me is in greater Atlanta area) does analyses for Wix/Napa. I sent my latest sample in mid-February of this year after an annual oil change. Normal turn around time is 10 days or so when I receive an email analysis report. This year I waited about a month and hadn't heard anything from the lab so I called, gave my customer number and told them I hadn't received a report. The woman I spoke with told me they had a number of Wix/Napa samples to be analyzed but no work on them had been done because the lab had not been paid for previous work. With a bit of internet sleuthing I was able to contact a Napa regional manager and explain the lab's problem. The manager jumped right on it, the lab got paid and I received my analysis report very shortly afterwards. Stuff happens. I'll still purchase my analysis kits from the nearest Napa store because the price is reasonable and ALS Tribology's reports have been very thorough.