Curious to know what kind of miles you folks are putting on your synthetic oil? I'm curious if anyone else has done used oil analysis to validate extended oil change intervals, and how many miles are you able to go? I'm planning on working up to 10k miles per fill, after a few tests, or maybe 15k miles with a filter change and adding 2 new qts at 7500 miles. This thread isn't meant to be an opinionated thread, i.e. "this oil is better than that oil", or "follow the manual's recommendations if you want to keep your warranty" (hand). I have used a couple top shelf synthetic oils in other vehicles, and have had them all analyzed. (I call "top shelf" Mobil 1, Amsoil, and the German Castrol. I haven't tried Royal Purple). I already have my own opinions, based on my used oil analysis reports, on which oil is better for me, but will wait for 1 last analysis of a different oil before I commit to a specific oil. FWIW, Amsoil Signature Series performed better than Mobil 1 for me, and I'm waiting to find out if the German Castrol will perform better than the Amsoil. If so, that would be great, since the German Castrol can be had for cheaper than the Amsoil, when it's on sale at Auto Zone. I have also proved that the manufacturer's recommendation is just that, a recommendation. (in another vehicle). I am interested in hearing from other people who use synthetic oil in their CX-9, and push it to it's full potential.
My first plan is to be able to establish a 10k oil change interval, based on feedback from Blackstone Laboratories, who I use to analyze my used oil from all of my vehicles. If I can establish that, I will then try a 15k interval. My plan would be to replace the oil filter at 7,500 miles, and drain another quart or so. Put a new filter in and add 2 fresh quarts of oil, which will blend with the other 3.5 qts that are already in the car, and boost up the additives and TBN. Then I will have the oil analyzed at 10-12k miles to see if I can take it to 15k, then have it analyzed again at 15k. If that ends up being too optimistic, I'll just stick with the 10k oil changes.
I had my first used oil analysis done on our 2011 CX-9. I drained the original oil at 2,500 miles, and replaced it with Amsoil Signature Series 5w-20, a class IV synthetic oil. I also installed a fumoto valve at the time, to make future oil changes and oil samples easier and controlled. I'm using OEM oil filters. I drained the Amsoil 5w-20 when it had 7,450 miles on it (9,950 miles on the car), took a sample while draining, and sent it in for analysis. Blackstone reported back and said that copper and silicon levels were high. They attributed this to residual stuff from the wear-in process, since this was only the 2nd oil change on the car, and it had only 9,950 miles on it. The TBN was 2.1, which is good, since less than 1.0 is low. They recommended I try to put 9,000 miles on my next oil. (I'll do 10k miles and sample it, since I like living on the edge, lol).
I would consider most of the miles on the car to be somewhat "severe", because of the short 6-7 mile commutes, although there were a couple 1,200 mile road trips on the oil. I'm happy with the results that the Amsoil gave me, but the next oil I will use is the German Castrol 0w-30, as I've heard many good things about it. Someone in another forum I'm on is putting 20k miles on that oil, and getting good used oil analysis reports out of it. He changes his oil filter at 10k miles, drains a little more oil, then adds about 3qts of new oil, which is kinda where I got my idea from. Different vehicle and motor, but I think that speaks for the for the quality, protection, and longevity of that particular oil. We bought the car new, and plan to keep it for 100k miles plus, so I want to know what is going on with the engine and how well the oil is doing its job. I'm not going to change the oil every 5k miles, just because that is what we have been taught as being "the norm".
In case people are curious about these used oil analysis costs, Blackstone charges $25 for the analysis, and if you want the TBN (measure the amount of active additive remaining) it is $10 more. I'm sure there are other companies out there who do these things, but I just started using Blackstone because I heard about it from somewhere else, and it came up in google searches
I know this stuff might seem silly, but I get bored easily, so I have to find new "projects", and my wife won't let me "mod" her CX-9, and my other vehicles are pretty much completed...LOL.
Here is my report:
My first plan is to be able to establish a 10k oil change interval, based on feedback from Blackstone Laboratories, who I use to analyze my used oil from all of my vehicles. If I can establish that, I will then try a 15k interval. My plan would be to replace the oil filter at 7,500 miles, and drain another quart or so. Put a new filter in and add 2 fresh quarts of oil, which will blend with the other 3.5 qts that are already in the car, and boost up the additives and TBN. Then I will have the oil analyzed at 10-12k miles to see if I can take it to 15k, then have it analyzed again at 15k. If that ends up being too optimistic, I'll just stick with the 10k oil changes.
I had my first used oil analysis done on our 2011 CX-9. I drained the original oil at 2,500 miles, and replaced it with Amsoil Signature Series 5w-20, a class IV synthetic oil. I also installed a fumoto valve at the time, to make future oil changes and oil samples easier and controlled. I'm using OEM oil filters. I drained the Amsoil 5w-20 when it had 7,450 miles on it (9,950 miles on the car), took a sample while draining, and sent it in for analysis. Blackstone reported back and said that copper and silicon levels were high. They attributed this to residual stuff from the wear-in process, since this was only the 2nd oil change on the car, and it had only 9,950 miles on it. The TBN was 2.1, which is good, since less than 1.0 is low. They recommended I try to put 9,000 miles on my next oil. (I'll do 10k miles and sample it, since I like living on the edge, lol).
I would consider most of the miles on the car to be somewhat "severe", because of the short 6-7 mile commutes, although there were a couple 1,200 mile road trips on the oil. I'm happy with the results that the Amsoil gave me, but the next oil I will use is the German Castrol 0w-30, as I've heard many good things about it. Someone in another forum I'm on is putting 20k miles on that oil, and getting good used oil analysis reports out of it. He changes his oil filter at 10k miles, drains a little more oil, then adds about 3qts of new oil, which is kinda where I got my idea from. Different vehicle and motor, but I think that speaks for the for the quality, protection, and longevity of that particular oil. We bought the car new, and plan to keep it for 100k miles plus, so I want to know what is going on with the engine and how well the oil is doing its job. I'm not going to change the oil every 5k miles, just because that is what we have been taught as being "the norm".
In case people are curious about these used oil analysis costs, Blackstone charges $25 for the analysis, and if you want the TBN (measure the amount of active additive remaining) it is $10 more. I'm sure there are other companies out there who do these things, but I just started using Blackstone because I heard about it from somewhere else, and it came up in google searches
I know this stuff might seem silly, but I get bored easily, so I have to find new "projects", and my wife won't let me "mod" her CX-9, and my other vehicles are pretty much completed...LOL.Here is my report:
Last edited:
