This 10 hr blotter spot doesn't show up any 'shape' of a centre zone and that is a good indication of serviceable oil, though at 48-72 hr a centre zone may be observable clearly or faintly, IDK.

I would speculate this oil [Aisin FS 5W30 (non-PAO)] is of high quality though it's said to be non-PAO and is still serviceable for another several thousand km say, up to 16,000-18,000 km.

You may take another blotter spot after 1500-2000 km if you are extending its oil change.

Oil consumption due to hardened valve stem seals can be assessed on early morning start first thing in the morning by looking up for bluish exhaust smoke upon start-up.
Alternatively oil consumption may be caused by worn piston ring sets by looking up for coloured smoke upon engine deceleration/acceleration at medium speed cruising.

Not sure about Totachi and Kendall, the M1 0W40 and Shell Ultra 5W40 are top tier oils even suitable for most European Continental engines.

Not sure why a lowish 200,000 km engine has oil consumption issue whilst its combustion system looks top form.

This post has been edited by zeng: Mar 31 2018, 07:02 PM

What's your engine model and whether there is a cooler installed in the engine compartment ?

Someone on auto world wrote about this engine has a problem of oil entering intake manifold and gets burnt.
If it's true, then it causes engine oil consumption, though I'm not sure it's valid or not.
Maybe you can google to find out more.

My rule of thumb limited understanding on intercooler is that the turbocharged compressed air (which is hot) is cooled by water through bottom hose from radiator and probably there is no oil passage within intercooler.

Turbocharger bearings having oil leaks, I'm not sure though.

I personally prefer comparing blotter spot tests pictures of 48 hours and/or 72 hours ..... as it sort of 'matures' by this time , and it's done for consistency of evaluation.

Agree there is no comprehensive literatures from internet , other than a few links provided in post #1.
Have a read over there.

Dark grey or black coloured spot indicates presence of contaminants and combustion by products.

Emergence of clear dark centre rings indicates dispersancy property of oils begins to deteriorate, IMHO.

Without a 48 hr or 72 hr blotter spots, it's hard to comment on soot etc.

Thanks for the write up on turbo bearing oil leaks.

You're right ahsam,the oil is not that dirty yet.
If I may add this used oil is still serviceable and has some reasonable life from now on.

Agree with you its black centre ring is visible or obvious ......
and this indicates dispersancy property of this oil at some 6000 km usage ,begins to 'breakdown' ..........
and that's perfectly normal in a used oil sample like yours and it's not the end of the world or due for oil condemnation.

Do note the centre zone(or area) within the 'black' centre (perimeter,circumferrential) ring is transparent and light coloured ..... and that's good news as it's not opaque and dark(or black) coloured......
indicating oil dispersancy is still performing as intended/designed and hence serviceable.

I wouldn't say this Perodua 5W30 semisyn doesn't have good performance ..... yet, and it seems to be doing ok as of now.

If you haven't dumped the oil, do another blotter spot test some 2000 km down the road, and evaluate from there.IMHO.

This post has been edited by zeng: Apr 7 2018, 09:03 AM

You're most welcome.
Btw, is this Perodua SN or SM?

Glad that you find this thread useful.
Post #1 has some links for reading, and blotter spot pictures for comparison.
This Syntium 800 10W40 has quite a strong specs,


The blotter would 'mature' at 48 hours or more, and may provide more consistent evaluation, IMHO.
Upload one when you have it for general comments, if you may.

This post has been edited by zeng: Apr 7 2018, 09:46 PM

Thart's right, a 48/72 hour blotter would look 'different' from a 12 hour one .


Thanks.

Oops, this 48 hr blotter spot picture doesn't show any 'shape' of centre zone indicating the oils dispersancy capability is like new.
The blotter is bright coloured and not greyish/darkish indicating there isn't much of contaminants or dirt ... pointing to an internally very clean engine.
The picture resolution doesn't show a 'whitish ring' at the outermost diameter of blotter, so couldn't say there is fuel dilution.

I would expect a 72 hr shows no differrence from this 48 hr blotter , though.

Dumping this oil at 5000 km usage appears too early in my opinion.

This post has been edited by zeng: Apr 9 2018, 02:56 PM

Engine oil details?


Good idea from you,

This post has been edited by zeng: Apr 10 2018, 04:53 PM

Petronas 5W30 comes in Syntium 800 being a blend with SN GF5 .....

...which sounds unsuitable for your MB GLC 250.

Do you mean to say Syntium 3000 fullsyn 5W40 SN C3 MB 229.31?




This post has been edited by zeng: Apr 12 2018, 05:29 PM

For advocates of 5000 km (3000 miles) engine oil change intervals ....
https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbth...al_#Post4725400

This 14990 km blotter spot doesn't show up any sign of centre ring or centre zone, indicating detergency and dispersancy capability of the oil is still intact like new, and hence continuing serviceability.

The outer zone is not grey or dark coloured , indicating there is minimal contaminants or 'rubbish' within the oil.

I'm really impressed with the performance of this Aisin 5W30 oil in your Hyundai engine and I would personnally further extend the OCI beyond this mileage .

This post has been edited by zeng: Apr 22 2018, 03:06 PM

Btw, do you use solely Euro 4 RON 97 petrol ?
..... as my combination of Avanza 1.3/Total Quartz 7000 Energy 10W40 was solely on BHP RON 95 supposedly Euro 2.

Euro 4 RON 97 here has below 50 ppm sulphur,which is supposed to be 'less' damaging to engine oil life in relation to a typical Euro 2 petrol at 500 ppm sulphur.
I beliveve RON 95 BHP from a refinery in Singapore are of less than 150 ppm sulphur.
That same Singapore refinery also supplies to Caltex here, I wouldn't be surprised if its sulphur could be low too though I have no facts to support the statements.
Maybe some one can comment if Petron petrol comes from refineries in Singapore.

Not sure if the 150 ppm sulphur in your BHP helps in your blotter spot 'cleanliness' , other than efficacy of Aisin engine oil and engine mechanical conditions.

This post has been edited by zeng: Apr 25 2018, 09:51 PM

This Honda fully synthetic at 3000 km has some sign of centre ring (though elongated in shape due to handling or slanting placements after drops on paper), and to monitor closely for extending OCI.

It's outermost rings indicates presence of fuel, possibly caused by sampling while cold, it could also mean petrol fuel gets into engine oil during engine operation.

There is a chance that an Euro 2 RON 97 of 50 ppm sulphur may slow down engine oil contamination from sulphur acidification.

No,blotter spot test cannot differentiate if an engine oil is fake or not. It may indicate engine oil conditions at relevant km reading, which in your case I personally am not 'impressed' with this Honda fullsyn for now, in relation to the Aisin 5W30 above.

But we need comparisons of blotter spot at higher mileage, besides comparing blotter of other engine oil types (as listed in post #1) in similar engine under similar driving conditions.

Hope it helps.

Edit:Viscosity grades, xW20 ??

This post has been edited by zeng: Apr 26 2018, 07:38 AM

Thanks,not sure if PD refinery capacity exceeds domestic sales ...