Oil Analysis

sm1ke

2018 Mazda CX-9 Signature
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Canada
I realize that there is already a "Skyactiv Oil Analysis" thread, but it's posted in the CX-5 sub (which is odd to me, because all of Mazda's current models have Skyactiv engines). Mods, if you think that this post should be merged into that thread, be my guest.

I recently got the results of my first UOA last week. Below are the results. I also posted these results on BITOG, and some of the members are recommending a switch to an SN+ oil. I actually switched to Castrol Edge 5w30 (which has the SN+ certification) when I took the sample. I plan to have another UOA done around the same time next year, after 2 or 3 more oil changes with Castrol Edge.

Car: 2018 Mazda CX-9 Signature, 29127 km (18099 mi) at time of sample.
Oil and filter: Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 with Mazda PY8W-14-302 filter, 7400 km (4598 mi) OCI.

Pennzoil Ultra Platinum carries the following certifications:
API SN-RC and all previous categories
ILSAC GF-5
ACEA A1/B1-10, A5/B5-10, A1/B1-12, A5/B5-12
Dexos 1 (unsure if it is gen 2 certified)

Oil was in service from May to Oct (six months). Temps ranged from 30c to 10c. New OEM oil filter and AEM dry flow engine air filter were used. I drive it fairly aggressively on a daily basis, but rarely go WOT (maybe once or twice a month, just to stretch its legs). Mileage on the vehicle was 29127 km (18099 mi) at the time the sample was taken. I regularly change the oil every 7000-7500 kms, and I use a new OEM Mazda oil filter (PY8W-14-302) every time. It's fueled with Shell 91 only. During the last fuel fill before the oil change, I added a bottle of STP fuel injector cleaner and ran the tank to almost empty, then changed the oil (and took this sample).

The car has a CorkSport air intake modification and a throttle response controller. Nothing out of the ordinary to report as far as ownership. The CX-9 has over 30000 km right now and appears to be running perfectly fine so far.

Previous oil change (not reported) was Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 5w30 with 6750 km (4194 mi), new OEM Mazda oil filter with AEM dry flow engine air filter in use.

UOA was performed by Bureau Veritas in Edmonton, AB.

Code:
OIL             PUP 5w30
MILES IN USE    4.6k
MILES           18.1k
SAMPLE TAKEN    10/16/19

ALUMINUM        2
CHROMIUM        <1
IRON            15
COPPER          3
LEAD            1
TIN             1
MOLYBDENUM      51
NICKEL          <1
MANGANESE       N/A
SILVER          <0.1
TITANIUM        2
POTASSIUM       2
BORON           64
SILICON         21
SODIUM          1
CALCIUM         2415
MAGNESIUM       13
PHOSPHORUS      663
ZINC            728
BARIUM          <1
VANADIUM        <1
ANTIMONY        1
     
INSOLUBLES       N/A
WATER           <0.10
FLASHPOINT *F   N/A
SUS VIS 210*F   N/A
cSt @ 212*F     8.4
VISCOSITY INDEX  179

PDF copy of report attached. According to the report, everything is normal. The rep I talked to mentioned that they do an oil/fuel dilution test, but I don't see the results of that on the report, so I sent him an email a couple of days ago to find out why the results were not included. I'll post when I have an update.
 

Attachments

  • 18 CX-9 UOA_10162019.pdf
    86.2 KB · Views: 2,492
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This is great news, I was getting so worried after reading the other thread. Thank you for sharing.
 
This is great news, I was getting so worried after reading the other thread. Thank you for sharing.

No problem. I really wish more people would do this so we could have more feedback, but getting a UOA done isn't really cheap. This UOA cost me about $40 CAD ($20 to ship the sample and $20 to do the UOA). But I don't mind paying that to understand a little bit more about the engine and the potential issues that could occur, especially since this is my first Mazda and my first turbocharged engine.
 
Your iron is more than double mine on the same exact oil and over a similar interval. Also your UOA is showing more shearing of the PUP 5W-30 than mine and I had another 300 miles on the oil.

I do not drive this car easy either and frequently haul around a wife and three kids plus cargo (aka the vehicle is reasonably well loaded with cargo). But I don't do any towing presently.

I suspect this is due to the fact that I am using Hydrogenated DLC coatings (TriboTEX, check out pages 6 and 7 of the "Anyone Here Get Their 2.5T Tuned Yet?" thread) which enhance ring seal and significantly reduce piston ring and cylinder liner wear (hence the difference in iron levels).

That's most likely why my viscosity @ 100C is also still showing 9.1cSt vs. your 8.4cSt (fuel dilution causes oil thinning). Better ring seal will reduce fuel dilution during cold starts. I didn't see a fuel dilution test in your UOA so that portion is only a theory without the results. The viscosity of PUP 5W-30 is 10.1cSt @ 100C when new.
 

Attachments

  • 2020-10-27 10_20_18-18 CX9-200918 UOA (5k Interval).pdf - Adobe Reader.png
    2020-10-27 10_20_18-18 CX9-200918 UOA (5k Interval).pdf - Adobe Reader.png
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BTW fuel dilution issues are far more prevalent in ALL direct injection engines vs. port injection engines. I do not believe turbo charging itself is going to impact fuel dilution significantly, there are older port injected turbo engines that were not prone to fuel dilution. But many DI engines run more aggressive timing at lower and mid-range RPM, in order to prevent knock they spray extra fuel to provide cooling (consequently Mazda's cooled EGR reduces the amount of extra fuel for cooling by cooling inert exhaust gases and using that instead to cool the combustion chamber).

Also climate and driving habbits significantly impact that. For example hybrid engines typically have higher fuel dilution because they are more often driven on short trips where the engine doesn't fully come up to temp and vaporize the fuel and moisture. Consequently it only adds to engine wear because of higher acidity, lower peak load support and frequent on / off cycles where bearings drop out of hydrodynamic lubrication regimes. I have a 2012 Prius C, but using a good quality oil (PUP 0W-20) and pairing it with TriboTEX minimizes those issues while enhancing long term wear and increasing fuel economy while cruising on flat ground or down hill (where friction losses matter the most).

It's a great technology but not many people are aware of it as it's relatively new and was not originally developed for commercial applications (it was developed for wind turbine gearboxes and military vehicle axles that have very high torque loads and are prone to wear issues).

I'm not an "oil additive guy". I've never once used an oil additive (TriboTEX is not an oil additive btw, it does not alter the chemistry of the oil but simply uses it as a carrier, it is an In Situ Hydrogenated DLC coating that forms over hundreds of miles via heat and pressure on wear surfaces). It is suspended in an Ester base oil and once formed enhances overall function via reaching super lubricity levels, providing a wear film that reduces wear in the boundary layer and mixed lubrication regimes, supports higher oil film strength (due to enhancing oil molecule adhesion to bearing surfaces) and allows more power to the wheels (reduced friction looses, again in boundary and mixed mode lubrication regimes).

BTW I own a 2018 CX-9 Grand Touring with about 31k miles on the clock right now.
 

Attachments

  • Affordable Diamond-like Carbon (DLC) Coatings.pdf
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  • Axle Oil Formulation for Gear Mesh Efficiency (weveden).pdf
    4.3 MB · Views: 228
  • TriboTEX Named Winner of Defense Innovation Award 2017.pdf
    21.4 KB · Views: 174
  • TriboTEX_4BallWearTest (ASTM D 4172).pdf
    761.4 KB · Views: 185
  • TriboTEX_block_on_ring (ASTM G 77).pdf
    418.9 KB · Views: 192
  • TriboTEX_vehicleTesting_v2.0.pdf
    2.3 MB · Views: 240
  • UNL Baja Team - Engine Testing Report.pdf
    888.2 KB · Views: 187
  • NSF Award Search_ Award#1456394 - SBIR Phase II.pdf
    152.6 KB · Views: 167
  • SBIR Phase I_ Flat ceramic nanoparticle.pdf
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  • Mechanism behind the interaction of TriboTEX and ZDDP.pdf
    27 KB · Views: 205
  • MoDTC and TriboTEX Interaction.pdf
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I forgot to update this thread with Bureau Veritas' response regarding oil/fuel dilution. Here is what they said:

"Fuel will only be run if the viscosity is low and flagged. If your viscosity is normal, then the fuel won’t be run."

I guess my viscosity was within spec, so they didn't bother to test for it. My next UOA will be done by OilAnalyzers, and I'll be sending in a sample of oil used in the winter months (October - April).
 
BTW fuel dilution issues are far more prevalent in ALL direct injection engines vs. port injection engines. I do not believe turbo charging itself is going to impact fuel dilution significantly, there are older port injected turbo engines that were not prone to fuel dilution. But many DI engines run more aggressive timing at lower and mid-range RPM, in order to prevent knock they spray extra fuel to provide cooling (consequently Mazda's cooled EGR reduces the amount of extra fuel for cooling by cooling inert exhaust gases and using that instead to cool the combustion chamber).

Also climate and driving habbits significantly impact that. For example hybrid engines typically have higher fuel dilution because they are more often driven on short trips where the engine doesn't fully come up to temp and vaporize the fuel and moisture. Consequently it only adds to engine wear because of higher acidity, lower peak load support and frequent on / off cycles where bearings drop out of hydrodynamic lubrication regimes. I have a 2012 Prius C, but using a good quality oil (PUP 0W-20) and pairing it with TriboTEX minimizes those issues while enhancing long term wear and increasing fuel economy while cruising on flat ground or down hill (where friction losses matter the most).

It's a great technology but not many people are aware of it as it's relatively new and was not originally developed for commercial applications (it was developed for wind turbine gearboxes and military vehicle axles that have very high torque loads and are prone to wear issues).

I'm not an "oil additive guy". I've never once used an oil additive (TriboTEX is not an oil additive btw, it does not alter the chemistry of the oil but simply uses it as a carrier, it is an In Situ Hydrogenated DLC coating that forms over hundreds of miles via heat and pressure on wear surfaces). It is suspended in an Ester base oil and once formed enhances overall function via reaching super lubricity levels, providing a wear film that reduces wear in the boundary layer and mixed lubrication regimes, supports higher oil film strength (due to enhancing oil molecule adhesion to bearing surfaces) and allows more power to the wheels (reduced friction looses, again in boundary and mixed mode lubrication regimes).

BTW I own a 2018 CX-9 Grand Touring with about 31k miles on the clock right now.

Thanks for the insight Lion. I've never heard of TriboTEX or hydrogenated DLC coatings before, and given all of your posts on the matter I'm inclined to do some more reading to learn more (thanks for providing the reading materials, too).

How long have you been using TriboTEX?
 
I sent another UOA in at 53000 kms. I got the results of the UOA back and they don't look good, lol. Some of the issues can be attributed to the OCI, but one that worries me is the high K, which according to them, suggests the presence of a coolant leak 😬

My oil was black when I drained it. No puddles underneath my car. Quick visual inspection shows no signs of coolant leaks on or around the engine (to be fair, I don't really know what to look for - I just looked for wet spots and didn't see any). Coolant level was well below the L mark, but I have never experienced any overheating issues or seen any warning lights related to low coolant. I will top up the coolant level and keep an eye on it.

I'll be contacting a local Mazda dealer to determine the next course of action. I'll also do an early oil change and send another sample in at around 58000 km to see if its still an issue. My powertrain warranty doesn't expire until 2023, so I should be fine in any case - but still unnerving to see that on the report.

For reference, my last UOA at about 29k kms showed K at 2. This one shows K at 122.
 

Attachments

  • 18 CX-9 UOA_05132021.pdf
    61 KB · Views: 178
TBN at 8.7 looks waay too good for 6k miles in turbo engine. Viscosity looks a bit optimistic as well :)

I compared my previous report (sample collected at 29k kms, 7400 km [4600 mi] OCI), and with PUP 5w30, viscosity at 100c was 8.4 and at 40c was 42.4. It is indeed strange that viscosity was better with this UOA, but I am using a different oil (and a different lab) now (Castrol Edge 5W30).
 
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