QUOTE(efaceninja @ Sep 15 2014, 01:47 AM)
wow you really went-on on an extreme path in your EO thingys. first thing i wanna ask, what's TBN (quick search shows Total Base Number) stands/mean for? see you and the report equates that higher number = oil can use longer..
what's the cost of this analysis? you've to send the oil sample all the way to Fort Wayne, Indiana from malaysia here?? malaysia no such analysis lab ah? like SGS or something.. but anyway, good info from you bro~!
mainly on the oil additives part. you know i poured in ceratec into my 40k km engine last time (after heavily poisoned by
you this thread (v1), some other local bloggers, online reads, etc). i didn't felt even a slightest change/improvement! haha, i always told myself well, because my engine still very new, and always change oil on time, so the condition inside the engine still very nice and therefore the ceratec can't improve much things. after that i did once poured in BlueChem Nano Engine Super Protection, after 10k of ceratec. this is the only brand of engine additive that's supported (actually distributed) by my SC. still, didn't felt any improvement. *felt as in butt dyno here. i've ever since slowed down on my affection on oil additives, or to the extend of engine oil choices in general. since i want to keep my service/warranty record sparkling clean, i can only use the brand supported by my SC, which is, Shell. already claimed 1 unit of speed/ABS sensor, FOC, so i value my warranty lols.
anyway, one of my friend who's driving wira SE (7yrs old car?), before that he was using Shell HX-7 10w40 semi. then i ask him to change to LM 15w40 MOS2 Mineral, he did said he felt the power pickup (from example go from traffic light) is better than before, and the FC does improved a bit. hopefully its not placebo.. he has since using that LM after that, as it is cheaper (mineral vs semi) and it feels better than Shell's.
here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Base_Numberthe total cost is around 230+ including that hefty postal fee that's even more expensive than the analysis cost itself.
i'd look for local labs, except they cost between 300-400+ from the quotations i've been given.
until i can find local labs who does this, i guess there's no choice but to send samples all the way to USA.
i don't think I've contacted SGS yet, so yeap i've done exactly that via email just now:
http://www.sgs.my/en/Automotive/Vehicles-a...t-Analysis.aspxas for additives, it is unfortunate that they do not have better methods to test for other elements (eg: ceramic) and the usefulness of it.
as per BSL's Amanda mentioned, it's ok to go with or without additives. they may or may not help, it's ultimately up to individual preferences/engines (types, conditions etc) and so on.
i would never know how my engine is without ws2/ceratec since i immediately used them on the first service (yes a bit stupid i know when it comes to objectively trying out things), i guess i was just way too impatient.
it's going to take a damn long while before i return to amsoil just to see if ws2/ceratec made it smoother, or it's very capable by it's own since OCI's for inspira are 10k km, and i got a pretty decent stockpile of Motul's 300v
btw don't be too easy going on additives that's officially distributed by SC's. proton had X1R and it finally caused serious issues on the CFE engines (and who knows how slow of a death the NA campros are faring all these while, which may have been one of the cause to proton's reputation for "building shit engines")
remember, no matter what elements/material additives used, generally they'd still require a carrier, and to maximize profits, said carriers are typically mineral oil and that's what cause most of the issues on engines as with the case with X1R.
reference:
well, using EO from SC aint so bad if you're not an enthusiast.
the only drawback is the obvious higher pricing than market (eg: tesco
)
so long you're on the full synthetics that's API SN certified, it's hard to go wrong
imho, LM's MOS2 additive isn't a placebo.
however in my pursuit for better lubricants, i soon come to realize that it's actually more economical to run full synthetics at longer oil change intervals.
imagine liqui moly at 5k km ~rm120/bottle
10k km is 240 + 2 oil filters and 2 labor charges.
a full synthetic like amsoil that cost rm180 (or less if you're not going for the high end signature series) can easily push 40k km (25k miles rofl or 24k km/15k miles under severe usage as specified by amsoil), but lets put 10k km for the sake of comparison.
see the comparison now?
arguably, LM MOS2 semi synthetic can be used past 5k km, however in my own experiences, ~5-6k km the performance would begin to degrade while in full synthetics, going way beyond 10k km is never an issue in any of the vehicles in my household.
with all that said though, i still use MOS2 for my kancil, as it had 10k km originally specified even for older API specifications and back then everyone was on mineral oil.
supposedly, the 660cc 3 cylinder wouldn't have much blowby/contaminants so it does make sense for the longer OCI.