Hi Zeng, would you able to share your thoughts on this 5w30FR blotter that just done about 5,218km in a 130k mileage turbo engine?

The left top blotter was done after warming up for 10 mins while the bottom blotter done about 20 mins driving.

Both are about 48 hours by now.

This post has been edited by Andy0625: Nov 2 2020, 10:26 PM

Mind sharing what is the engine model here ?

It seems to place quite a demand on its engine oil , IMO .

Edit: If I may speculate , this engine may not give you good fuel economy in relation to a Japanese Port injection engine .

This post has been edited by zeng: Nov 2 2020, 11:01 PM

It's actually a Proton CFE engine running higher boost.
Fuel economy is average I would say, about 10L/100km, if driven lightly about 8/9L/100km.

Is the oil nearing the end of life?
I actually planned to change out the oil to try out on the Aisin 5w30 PAO, perhaps would able to share the blotter for you to analyze so that we could learn more about it?

This post has been edited by Andy0625: Nov 2 2020, 11:38 PM

The centre zone of this 5218 km Syntium FR 5W30 is not light yellowish but slightly grayish indicating presence of some levels of larger size and/or heavier density contaminants/metal wear particles .

It is not yet darkened black or opaque , which we would like to avoid .

However , this low mileage blotter seems to suggest emergence of slightly darkened aureole zone / perimeter ring , indicating agglomeration of contaminant dirts though detergency and dispersancy performance is something to monitor and watch out for .

Diffusion zone is yellowish and good with low levels of lighter density dirt .

Water moisture is negligible if any, and fuel dilution seems to be absent .

Overall this 5218 km used oil is fit for continuing service in this Campro CFE , IMO .




Ok, this higher turbo boost may explain the emergence of centre zone and aureole zone in this lowish 5218 km blotter , I don't really know .

Of course higher boost may relate to slightly 'lower' fuel economy .



No, the used oil is fit for continuing service IMO , never mind the higher turbo boost which may whack the engine oil in your driving .

You may want to consider taking a blotter spot test after another 2000-3000 km from now for monitoring purpose if you have not yet decided to get the oil replaced .



I am quite impressed with a Aisin PAO 5W40 (not 30) blotter performance in a Kia engine in post #1 .

You may also have a look at a non-PAO Aisin 5W30 blotter here .

This post has been edited by zeng: Nov 3 2020, 10:06 AM

Thanks alot for sharing. Appreciate that 👍🏻 Any possibility that the slighty darkened aureole zone caused by leftover of flush cleaner that I used before oil change?

Oh yes, leftover of flush cleaner surely is a major factor contributing to the emergence of darkened aureole zone/perimeter ring in this lowish 5218 km blotter spot .

Seafoam products by @ cempedaklife in post #1 also corelates the phenomenon .

Btw, what is the name brand of flush cleaner in use ?

This post has been edited by zeng: Nov 3 2020, 09:10 PM

Thanks for the highlight, definitely an interesting find. I think the brand is DPS engine flush, somewhat cheap engine flush purchase along from EC Auto shopee.

It was quite shocking to find the aureole zone to be honest as I usually change my engine oil around 5 to 7k for fully and estimated every 2 to 3 months to reach that mileage.

Would like to know this Aisin 5w30 PAO stated in the bottle that it is using VHVI base oil, does that mean it's a Group 3+ with added PAO and Esters and not group 4 or group 5 engine oil?

Replacing fully synthetic after 5 or 7K km oil life every 2 to 3 months in a Proton Campro should not have come across the emerging darkening aureole zone in a 5K 'ish km oil blotter as is in your case , IME .

I'm of the opinion that this DPS engine flush contributes mainly (if not wholly) Edit: 'responsible' , for the emerging darkening aureole zone in this 5K'ish km blotter spot , with or without higher boost turbo , with hindsight .

Question now is , does this relatively 'dirty' 5K'ish used oil life being shortened ?

I would think so , according to media articles .

Does this used oil not fit for 10,000 km usage , and be condemned soon ?

I don't think so when one evaluates with high ringgit and quantitative Used Oil Analysis or an foc qualitative blotter spot test IMHO .

VHVI base oil is a grade or two lower than a Group 3+ aka (Shell) GTL base oil .

I would classify it as Group 3 or Group 2+ mineral base oil .

Btw , PAO is Group 4 and Ester is Group 5 .

Hence, this base oil combination of Aisin 5W30 PAO should be good for high temperature application .

However, it does not have a certain Euro OEM approvals though it claims to meet or exceed the specs IMO .



Its PDS claims 'Low SaPS' though , which is a good feature .

This post has been edited by zeng: Nov 5 2020, 11:53 AM

Hi Speedy ,

This Aisin PAO+Ester 5W40 SN claims to be a Low SaPS oil , which may partly explain its superb blotter spot test performance here at 12,000 km oci IMHO .




This post has been edited by zeng: Nov 4 2020, 10:04 AM

Dear sir,
I have a doubt , does this Aisin fully synthetic comprise of 100% PAO+Ester ?
As far as I've known, most fully synthetic usually contain some 5%-20% PAO (based on MSDS , though not 100% accurate due to trade secret perhaps). If 100% PAO isn't it very expensive to produce

This post has been edited by chemistry: Nov 4 2020, 08:02 PM

Why do you prefer low-saps as a good feature? I personally prefer my oils to be high-saps to combat the lower fuel grade we have here in Malaysia

This post has been edited by e-lite: Nov 5 2020, 12:30 AM

Not sure whether the version I used was low-SAPS or mid-SAPS, coz Aisin didn't even bother to publish anything back then. Only with the redesignation to EvoTech PAO+Ester move that consumer like us can find PDS with very limited info , like what you have posted.

For now, I am using SHU on my Elantra's G4GC as this is the best bang for buck EO in the market now. Aisin PAO+Ester FS used to be very competitive in terms of pricing that time back in 2018.

I have no fixation on any specific brand or type of oil to use on my cars. Only best deal matters.

Used to have preference same as you. With the move to EURO4M for our fuel throughout the country, I think it is about time we make a shift in our mindset to move to more recent standard of EO as well.

Dunno about others, but I can notice the changes (or rather the slower change in terms of colour) in my in-service EO ever since EURO4M was intro-ed. My EO on both daily-driven cars actually darkened at significantly slower rate than when they were consuming EURO2M fuel.

I think it is about time for me to consider using low-SAPS type of lubes, as and when they pop-up on the shelf when there is sales.

Aisin PAO+Ester 5W40 packaging does not display the wording '100% Synthetic' , hence I deem Aisin as not claiming 100% of this 5W40 base oil as PAO+Ester .

Further it's selling price at shopee of RM128 for 4L pack IMO, is unlikely to consists of 100% of base oil being PAO+Ester .

Your assessment of 5%-20% PAO may be reasonable I believe . Ester is in a way , anybody's guess .

Note:Mobil 1 EP 5W30 has base oils of far higher percentage of PAO , IIRC .

Anyway , I'm of the understanding that the so-called engine oil claiming 100% PAO base oil as typically also contains a certain amount of mineral oil (in Group III) due to chemistry or affinity of additives to natural mineral oil .

Below is an image from Shopee ,



Notice that this Aisin packaging doesn't display API logos ? ...which is required for 'marketing' purpose as an SN engine oil .
I wouldn't be worried about it though , but the cons is :
it doesn't carry some (if not all as indicated on PDS) Euro OEM approvals .

This post has been edited by zeng: Nov 5 2020, 12:43 PM

Oops, not realising your version does not carry the wording 'EvoTech' and it may differ from current EvoTech version .

The bold makes sense .

But I buy engine oils partly based on price too , with a 'higher' spec'ed (ACEA over basic API) and not so much on base oil content , for now .

This post has been edited by zeng: Mar 6 2021, 10:31 AM

First off , it is misleading of Aisin claiming 'Low SaPS' for its Aisin PAO+Ester 5W40 and 5W30 , IMO .

Its packaging claims ACEA A3B4 however , which are contradictory .

'Low SaPS' is found in ACEA C1 and C4 for SaPS content at 0.5 and below .

ACEA A3B4 (as per packaging) spec is for SaPS content between 1.0 and 1.6 .

I wish to speculate Aisin is meant to claim in its PDS 'Mid-SaPS' which supposedly falls under ACEA C2/C3 and C5 whose permitted SaPS is 0.8 and below .

Now, why do I prefer low/mid-SaPS features ?

From my readings of numerous Used Oil Analyses from Bitog/Russia , I found low/mid SaPS oils C3 etc generally perform equally well if not better in wear metal counts .

It also seems to perform better IMO , in extended oil change intervals beyond 16,000 km .

However, I do realise quite a majority of Bitogers doesn't agree so .

Moreover , I had seen several blotter oil spot tests of mid-SaPS C3 (or claimed C3) as generally far superior than that of high SaPS oils like ACEA A3B3,A3B4 and most API SN/SM oils .

At the end of the day , the proof of the puddings is in the eating .

This post has been edited by zeng: Nov 6 2020, 11:33 AM

Low and Mid SaPS oils were first produced in 2004 in conjunction with the January 2005 launching of Euro 4 fuels specification in Europe .

With the recent Jan 2020 upgrade of RON 95 petrol to Euro 4M , I would expect local European OEMs' specifying in their new owner manuals (for post 2020 cars) engine oils basing on low/mid SaPS complying with respective OEM approvals .

So far, I don't see any perceptible difference in blotter spot tests with Euro 2M Ron 95 vs against Euro 5(?) Ron 97 hence fuel standards in use does not come into play since say , 2018 in this thread .

However, I realise there is perceptible difference in performance of engine oil blotter spot tests with a real C3 (or claimed C3) specification vs those of high SaPs A3B4 and most of API SN/SM/SL oils IME .

This post has been edited by zeng: Nov 6 2020, 11:58 AM

Hi Zeng,

Kindly comment on the above oil. Taken after 15mins of drive. Picture was taken 24 hrs after oil was dripped on A4 paper.

Oil: Zic x7 Fully Synthetic 5w-30
Age of oil: 8 months
Oil Mileage: 4500kms
Engine Mileage: 84000km
Vehicle: Nissan Latio C11 1.6L 2009
Driving condition: 95% short distance city driving. Usually 15min/drive.

How long can it last? And is the oil condition still serviceble? Thanks in advance

Hi Yuare ,

This 4500 km Zic X7 5W30 blotter has a light coloured and transparent centre zone (of about 8 mm diameter on real sample) indicating quite low level of large size or high density metal wear particles /combustion dirt .

The aureole zone /perimeter ring is slightly darkened and being very obvious which ,I am a bit concern on this .

It indicates signs of agglomeration of contaminants/dirts which you may want to monitor further such that it does not become further darkened and opaque . At the moment I suspect this is caused by 95% short distance cold running of the engine , hence internet suggests it shortens oil life theoretically .

The Diffusion zone is very light gray and transparent indicating quite low levels of contanminants .

There is no signs of water moisture presence but this 4500 km blotter seems to indicate a mild level of fuel dilution which may be explained by the rather low mileage of 4500 km over 8 months duration of operation .

Overall , I would say this Zic oil blotter at 4500 km is still in good and serviceable condition with plenty of life left .

You may want to take another blotter sample after 2000-3000 km or 4 month later and move from there .

By the way for a full synthetic oil , what is your typical oil change intervals so far ?

Prior to learning about this oil blot test, I was doing 1 yearly interval change which equate to about 7000kms. Then, I was not happy about the really dark oil (just general inspection of oil on tissue paper after cleaning the dipstick). I then switched to half yearly oil change for my fully synthetic no matter what the mileage was.

The above oil was after 3 rounds of half yearly oil change interval.

Thank you so much for the interpretation bro