V10 Black Stone Oil Reports
 

I thought I'd start a thread that showed my progression of trying different oils/filters/change intervals and their subsequent effects on an oil analysis. I had posted my most recent oil report from Black Stone Labs on a different thread, but I think this deserves its own spotlight.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...aeeee70fcd.jpg
Starting from right to left:
05/6/2017. This oil change was done as a guess. I have no idea what oil weight or brand the previous owner had used, nor did I have solid information on when the last time the oil change was done. The only thing I know was that a Purolator filter was used. Overall, not bad.

12/12/2017. This run was using Motorcraft 5W-20 Semi-Synthetic and a Motorcraft oil filter. Note the high levels of insolubles, meaning the filter wasn't keeping up.

5/29/2018. This run was using Valvoline Full Synthetic 5W-30 and a Napa Gold filter. The Napa filter did a much better job than the Motorcraft. What I noticed using the 5W-30 was startup clatter lasted a lot longer before the thicker oil could work its way up to the valves and build pressure in the rest of the system.

2/25/2019 (most recent, and the one that this report is referencing). Running Amsoil 0W-20 and a Napa Gold filter has yeilded the best results so far, even going 1,000 miles further between oil changes. This will likely be the combination I stick with for the rest of this truck's life. I will do one more sample after a couple of long road trips towing a 5K pound travel trailer this summer.

Interesting results to be sure.

I will be using Motorcraft syn-blend 5W-20 in a newly reman'd Ford 5.4, the FL-820S filters pretty much a fixture on all my 5.4 engines. I'm curious if the relative "higher"insoluble levels is a real detriment to engine longevity? BTW I am also running an Accusump engine pre-oiler system---this has no impact on oil pressure or filtration but to my mind it should help reduce engine wear for those first few seconds of the engine running with very low or no oil pressure.

Wanted to add something here---aren't the NAPA Gold filters actually Baldwin products?

Great thread I think---could also be useful posting this in the Modular Motors V8 and Oils/Lubrication forums too?