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 .

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 ?

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?

Zeng...... this is Aisin fully synthetic (PAO+Ester) 5w-40 API SN.

Done 12k kms. Used on Elantra 2.0 NA (G4GC). Pic shows 48hrs blot, sample taken hot.

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 .

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) 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 .

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 .

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

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 

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.

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

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.

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 ?

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.

Sorry to be off topic..

This Zic, they claim to be like top selling oil from South Korea. However, I am not so sure. Anyone can comment on it is really popular in South Korea and is it even really from South Korea?

I am asking this cause a lot of engine oil brands that sound like Japanese, they register Japanese website and so on to make it like it is from Japan. Actually it is made in Malaysia or don't even have information where it is from.