SkyActiv Oil Analysis Thread

I changed the oil on my CX-5 at 3,000~3,800-mile interval for the last 2 times.

But it’s not because I want to change the oil more often like in old days, but it’s because the oil life has exceeded 12 months.

This pandemic has really changed many things.

BTW, I just changed the oil on my 2016 CX-5 at 45,872 miles last week as the “Oil change due” message and the red wrench indicator has been on since last December. The indicator was caused by the 12-month oil life, but the oil has only ~3,800 miles when I changed the oil.
I change the oil myself most of the time. And I'm usually guided not by mileage, but by time since the last change. Since rumor has it that if the oil just sits idle in the vehicle, it still goes bad and loses its properties let's just say:( I have a Ford F-150 with a 3.5 Ecoboost engine, though I think this rule applies to all brands.

Another important rule of thumb for me is to choose the best oil for 3.5 Ecoboost like I have. If you have the same type of engine, you can read more information about oil and oil changes in this article - Top 5 Best Oil For 3.5 EcoBoost - Southwest Express Lube
 
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Re: above and about the oil just sitting in the vehicle and rumored to go bad: Have you ever wondered if it has a shelf life sitting in a retail outlet? Or is there a “date packaged” location on the jug? Honestly, I’ve never thought to look. 🤷🏼‍♂️
 
Re: above and about the oil just sitting in the vehicle and rumored to go bad: Have you ever wondered if it has a shelf life sitting in a retail outlet? Or is there a “date packaged” location on the jug? Honestly, I’ve never thought to look. 🤷🏼‍♂️
This should be discussed more.

Imo, this is partly true and partly a marketing scam by the oil companies.

This wasn't as big as a problem for older cars using conventional oil that was of higher weight and viscosity.
Conventional oil lasts a while. And old vehicles had more lenient clearances. I would have no problem throwing an unopened bottle of 10 or even 20 year old conventional oil into an old pickup truck.
In old days, when I used to stockpile oil on sale, I've used old unopened bottles before like this.

Newer vehicles have tight clearances and use low viscosity synthetic or synthetic blend oils with all kinds of additives.

According to websites an unopened bottle of synthetic probably has additives that break down after 5 or more years as well as old oil become thicker/gummier and lose it's viscosity.

I find that believable.

That being said, I think the expiry date is overly inflated by the oil companies.

Some have a printed date but alot don't have any dates on the bottles.

As far as I know, most synthetics have around a 5 year expiry... Some might be shorter.

Usually I buy oil now as needed instead of stockpiling, however if I had a 6 or 7 year old unopened bottle and it looked good and wasn't gummed up, imo I might still use it.

Think about this. Alot of companies don't date the bottles. Think about how long this stuff sits in warehouses, at distributors and on store shelves. Or the barrels sitting in the auto-dealers and garages.

Does synthetic oil expire. Most likely yes. Is it as soon as oil companies say? Maybe not.

However currently I can't think of anyone that has enough $$ to stockpile 5 years worth of oil. That would be over $600 of oil.

Buy it as you need it. If their is a sale, maybe buy a years worth and then you don't have to worry about when it expires.

Lastly, if I found an old bottle laying around, I wouldn't hesitate to use it to top off with.
 
Re: above and about the oil just sitting in the vehicle and rumored to go bad: Have you ever wondered if it has a shelf life sitting in a retail outlet? Or is there a “date packaged” location on the jug? Honestly, I’ve never thought to look. 🤷🏼‍♂️
I have a car that has been garage kept and has not been started in 12 years. I am going to take a sample and send it into Black Labs. I will post the results.

I also have several dozen cases or more of various motor oils dated from *1995-2001. Some of the plastic containers have discolored and even become brittle to the point I lose a few every summer from just breaking apart in storage. I now keep them stored in large storage/shipping containers that are plastic and sealed bottom to capture the oil in the case of a leakage. I have been using these oils in my MAZDA and have had several oil analyses since my first oil change and not one of the oil should any degrading.
*Oil used and analyzed over the last 4 years in my MAZDA

Mobil 1
Amsoil
Red Line
Quaker State
 
It's not nearly as much an issue in the bottle as it is in the engine. Inside the engine is where condensation can develop, or the oil can be exposed to fuel vapors and various other contaminants. I would have no issue using oil that's been on a shelf for over a year. Indeed, I buy enough Moly oil at a time for 3 oil changes, which usually last 2 years or more. But sitting in a car for a year, nope, I'm changing it.
 
This should be discussed more.

Imo, this is partly true and partly a marketing scam by the oil companies.

This wasn't as big as a problem for older cars using conventional oil that was of higher weight and viscosity.
Conventional oil lasts a while. And old vehicles had more lenient clearances. I would have no problem throwing an unopened bottle of 10 or even 20 year old conventional oil into an old pickup truck.
In old days, when I used to stockpile oil on sale, I've used old unopened bottles before like this.

Newer vehicles have tight clearances and use low viscosity synthetic or synthetic blend oils with all kinds of additives.

According to websites an unopened bottle of synthetic probably has additives that break down after 5 or more years as well as old oil become thicker/gummier and lose it's viscosity.

I find that believable.

That being said, I think the expiry date is overly inflated by the oil companies.

Some have a printed date but alot don't have any dates on the bottles.

As far as I know, most synthetics have around a 5 year expiry... Some might be shorter.

Usually I buy oil now as needed instead of stockpiling, however if I had a 6 or 7 year old unopened bottle and it looked good and wasn't gummed up, imo I might still use it.

Think about this. Alot of companies don't date the bottles. Think about how long this stuff sits in warehouses, at distributors and on store shelves. Or the barrels sitting in the auto-dealers and garages.

Does synthetic oil expire. Most likely yes. Is it as soon as oil companies say? Maybe not.

However currently I can't think of anyone that has enough $$ to stockpile 5 years worth of oil. That would be over $600 of oil.

Buy it as you need it. If their is a sale, maybe buy a years worth and then you don't have to worry about when it expires.

Lastly, if I found an old bottle laying around, I wouldn't hesitate to use it to top off with.
Very informative, sir. And a pleasant read, as well. Thanks!
 
Also, there is a difference between oil in a sealed container, and oil in an open environment like in an engine. Not sure how much oil and additives are affected by air and oxygen, but I would expect anything in a sealed container to last a lot longer.
 
It's not the oil that breaks down over time, it's the additives
I have never seen any oil analysis data from suppliers of bottled motor oils that shows additives breaking down once they are formulated into the oil.
I would like to see a response forum any major oil distributor, supplier, or the lab that did the formulation asked and the information posted.

Once again, I have used oil over 20 years old and even current oil and the analysis does not indicate any "break" down of any of the component making up the formulation of the motor oil used.
 
Also, there is a difference between oil in a sealed container, and oil in an open environment like in an engine. Not sure how much oil and additives are affected by air and oxygen, but I would expect anything in a sealed container to last a lot longer.
Well first question is who opens any fluid like coolant, brake fluid and motor oil without replacing the top. If anything, else leaving the container open unsealed (with a cap) will get environmental contamination, air, moisture in the air, dust, dirt, rat poop, cat hair, spider webs, if in CA ash from fires(lol) etc.

I sincerely doubt regarding motor oil that O/2 by itself can break down oil considering there is always O/2 inside an engine crankcase.

The most I have ever seen regarding motor oil and motor oil additives is the separation and settling to the bottom of the container/bottle of some of the additives which can easily be mixed back into the oil by warming them and shaking the bottle/container. Like Slick 50 and Pro blend,etc.
This could also answer why in my example response earlier that some (not all) well maintain decade old oils that the plastic bottle deteriorated always at the bottom of the bottle. The first sign was always a discoloration in the bottle at the bottom.
 
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I mentioned oiled expose to element because i thought the initial question was related to: “are engine oil change really required based on time (for example every 6 month) as opposed to by mileage.”
 
It's not the oil that breaks down over time, it's the additives
The more I think about this...

They drill this stuff up that been sitting in the ground for 10's of million of years... 20 million , 50 million years old...The additives are elements that have been stable in the ground for millions of years ...They bottle it and then say it'll expire in 5 years... Lol.. gotta be courtesy of the oil magnates legal team...
They never used to date the oil...perhaps if some dumb s*** pours slimy thick 50 year old molasses type oil into his crankcase???

I personally am more worried about my corn and vegetable oil going bad. Those are perishable and wouldn't want to ingest those.
 
The more I think about this...

They drill this stuff up that been sitting in the ground for 10's of million of years... 20 million , 50 million years old...The additives are elements that have been stable in the ground for millions of years ...They bottle it and then say it'll expire in 5 years... Lol.. gotta be courtesy of the oil magnates legal team...
They never used to date the oil...perhaps if some dumb s*** pours slimy thick 50 year old molasses type oil into his crankcase???

I personally am more worried about my corn and vegetable oil going bad. Those are perishable and wouldn't want to ingest those.
you're assuming that the addative packages only include natural elements
 
Hmm well crude oil is refined so a little different then just pulling from the ground land using it, reminds me of Jed Clampitt from the Beverly Hillbillies . I don't buy into the needing to change the oil by months. And that is why my perfect TEST to this is my 12 years parked car for testing the oil. I was looking to find my record book to see what oil brand I used and the exact date I changed it to post along with the oil analysis when I get the results.
 
Hmm well crude oil is refined so a little different then just pulling from the ground land using it, reminds me of Jed Clampitt from the Beverly Hillbillies . I don't buy into the needing to change the oil by months. And that is why my perfect TEST to this is my 12 years parked car for testing the oil. I was looking to find my record book to see what oil brand I used and the exact date I changed it to post along with the oil analysis when I get the results.
I am so looking forward to this reveal. 👍
 
I took the sample today. What a mess just getting enough to fill that little bottle. Pull the drain plug get enough oil and then target the drain toil thread and reinstall the drain plug/ :ROFLMAO:
So as you can see I purposely left out some information on the order so that the results would be 100% accurate by the findings.

Will post result as soon as I get it.
The remaining I poured in a empty water bottle so you all can see it is very clean and new oil with only 15 miles sine that oil was changed and filled in the engine 13(not 12) years ago. The down side is I can't find the information on the oil filter which is a canister type was changed then. Oh well I am not sure that would matter because the canister is at the top of the motor and any oil would have drain back into the sump in a few years if not 13 years. I am going to guess that I did change it because that's the way I am and I have minus one in a 6 pack of filter that only fits that engine.
 

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@Tribe&TrueRacin , it'll be interesting to see the results. Out of curiosity, did you run the engine any before you drained a sample out?
 
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