This 72 hour blotter spot from Car 1, 2014 Honda CRV 2.4 L further reinforces the presence of fuel dilution phenomenon , despite after 1.5 hour driving .
Is this CRV 2.4L engine prone to fuel dilution ?Is the fuel system in proper order ?
Btw, is it a Direct Injection engine , anybody ?

I still believe this 72 hour blotter of 2007 Suzuki Swift 1.5L is free of fuel dilution issue .
Can you monitor this blotter further in days ahead whether a translucent halo at outermost zone surrounding the blotter spot would eventually emerge or occur ??
If yes, there may be fuel dilution though minor , otherwise there is none .

All other components of comments in my previous post remains valid in these two 72 hour blotter spots .

This post has been edited by zeng: May 19 2020, 11:34 AM

-delete-

This post has been edited by zeng: May 19 2020, 11:33 AM

i think it shouldnt be direct injection.
Can i still continue to use it? or i should change EO? or any other preventative action i should be taken?

If your CRV 2.4L engine is not direct injection type , this fuel dilution issue after 1.5 hour driving is a bit abnormal IMO , although your low mileage of 3200 km over 5 months may promote fuel dilution as well .

Having said that , if your engine is Direct Injection type , then this fuel dilution problem is generally 'normal' .
Why I said 'normal' ?? That is due to the fact that some OEMs and all its SC's are not capable of resolving it and helpless in dealing with its fuel dilution phenomena .
A case in point is the modern Honda 1.5L Direct Injection Turbo (found in CRV and others) engine or typical Mazda carrying SkyActiv engine etc . Both OEM's are of international repute, and not national car of a Zimbabwee or Tongo .
Please search in Post #1 for a blotter spot of an Mazda engine indicating inherent fuel dilution phenomenon .

As per PM , fuel dilution problem has no relation at all with type or quality of engine oils in use .
It is strictly an indication of incomplete fuel combustion (and hence, loss of fuel efficiency ) and it has always been considered as undesirable and one issue to be eliminated by all car manufacturers for decades .
In short, it is an engine 'problem' .

As regards high levels of combustion contaminants/dirt and wear particles , it is a natural by-products of all engine operation and it increases with vehicle usage in terms of km traveled or engine hours .
There is where the practice of OEM recommendation of oil change intervals of 15,000 km or 10,000 km or 5,000 km comes in .

Can you continue using this oil ? Yes, as I had mentioned in my previous post . This ESP 5W30 is still in top shape and it has plenty of life to go on in your engine .

IMHO , by changing the engine oil earlier say in your case of 3200 or even 5000 km , as is widely advised and practised the mechanical life or longevity of this engine is not necessarily lengthened or extended or prolonged .

IMO, that is a complete myth !

Btw, I bought new and kept a car with carburretter engine up to 25 years long , and the engine in good working condition . A carbutteter engine is typically prone to fuel dilution problem .

This post has been edited by zeng: May 20 2020, 12:17 PM

Thanks bro Zeng for the detailed explanation.

You're welcome, and it's nice sharing opinions relating to your question/doubts on engine oils and blotter spots .

Honda City GM2 year 2009
Current Odo : 124,725km
Date: 26/05/2020
Blotter time : 9:50am (picture after 29hrs)
oil age : 2,907km
Engine oil used :Amsoil Signature 5W-30

Very good blotter spot without any structures , which is very good news .

There is absence of centre zone/centre core (of about 8 mm diameter) indicating cleaniness of used oil .

Absence of perimeter ring (of about 10 mm diameter) indicates complete absence of agglomeration of dirt or combustion by-products , which is at super low levels if any .

The diffusion zone (of about 32-35 mm outer diameter) is clean and light yellowish coloured ,showing low levels of contaminants within the used oil .Detergency and dispersancy properties are in top shape .

There is also absence of water moisture and fuel dilution phenomenon .

Generally , everything is very normal and this Amsoil SS 5W30 still has plenty of life to go on .

This post has been edited by zeng: May 27 2020, 12:18 PM

many thanks for bro zeng explanations
planned to run on 15,000km to check on oil life span
will come back again on 7000km

hi bro zeng, can u help me on this? syntium 800 10-40 running 1k only, notice very little white smoke coming from exhaust even after engine warm up, verry worried on this



This post has been edited by OvenBaked: May 27 2020, 02:24 PM

Hi,
What is the engine model type and odometer in km ?
48 hour of blotter spot ?
Do you have white/blue smoke in first engine start in the morning and engine oil level is dropping ?

White smoke means water moisture and blue smoke means engine oil burning .

Campro VVT, odo 67k km, smoke coming even after long journey on hot day, notice no engine oil lose, maybe so little hard to notice, but everytime i check even in the morning the level is ok


blotter test after 48hour

There is absence of darkened centre zone/core and perimeter ring , which is a good news .

Diffusion zone is of slightly grayish, quite a 'surprise' to me for a 1k km used oil with 67k km Odometer .

No sign of water moisture . This is typical of low usage oil .

There is slight indication of fuel dilution phenomenon . Is this blotter spot test sample taken after short drive of < say, 15 minutes ?

Overall, this 1k km used oil is still in good shape and fit for further use IMO .

Not knowing much about Campro engine 'characteristics' , the smoke you claim to observe could not be from water .

Logic suggests the smoke could be related to engine oil consumption , it could also be due to incomplete fuel combustion/ignition system which is unlikely with quite 'new' engine life ,but then you may have fuel dilution issue here .

Smell of the exhaust gas and engine oil level drop/increase at 5000/10000 km usage may give some clue . IDK .

This post has been edited by zeng: May 29 2020, 01:26 PM

but engine oil with detergent will clean the engine, thus the oil might look darker in colour, but the properties are still good, or maybe more superior

Yes taken sample after a short drive, guess tuner didnt tune my car right, gonna rebuild and retune back soon, thanks bro zeng!

Why the need to spend big $$$ on unnecessary rebuild ?

Blotter spot sampling after a short drive could contribute to the fuel halo/fuel dilution signs .

The tuner may have done it right as intended , but surely elimination of fuel dilution may not be part of the requirement of the selected tuning .

Already contact the tuner, suspect piston ring worn out or valve seal, maybe he run too much on the dyno, pushing the engine to the limit

gonna rebuilt and do big upgrade on the internal part hehe

Hi all,

My car low mileage daily now. 3k km since Feb. Town driving mostly due to change of workplace, previously 80km daily.

Now thought of reverting to cheap mineral i.e Helix 15w40/ GTX 15w40. Sufficient protection?

Car's total mileage around 230k, Campro engine. Change say every 6-8 months ok?

Any 15W40 would offer even stronger (or thicker) oil film thickness protection than any 0W/5W-40 or 0W/5W30 with quite similar additive package .
Yes, you get higher level of protection relatively .
I would prefer one with a stronger European specs ACEA A3/B3 found in Helix 15W40 , not sure about GTX though .
6-8 months oil change ? From blotter spot tests performance , I personaly see no problem with up to 12 months or 8000-9000 km in a typical mineral engine oil .
You can test and observe with blotters and evaluate , free of charge and convenient .

This post has been edited by zeng: Jul 7 2020, 09:35 AM

My old school mech has been using HX5 15w40 for the longest time I serviced with him before he retired. Always added one tin Bardahl B1 and he mentioned can stretch more than 5k kms. Guess there is some truth in his words. Next round change I would post some blotter test here.