[Ruthrj]

This is so cool to see thanks for posting!
You should post another if you can.

Will do! About 8k more miles and I’ll have a follow up with TBN analysis ; )

 

[Ruthrj]

My first oil change at 8k km's the oil was like a burnt gold with mostly city driving in EV pre-pandemic. My 2nd change @ 16k km's the oil was near licorice black with mostly highway driving to stay sane during the pandemic. Crazy what highway driving versus city will cause the oil to look like on the Hybrid.

It’s got to be from direct injection. I’ve never seen the slightest hint of amber since engines switched over to it vs port injection (granted, the RAV4 has both). The oil always drains jet black on my CX-5, and it was pretty dark at 7500 miles on my RAV4.

 

[Ruthrj]

Has anyone done this at the 10K /1 year service interval? I am thinking of skipping my 5K service and so if no one has done it yet I may do a blackstone analysis at 10K.

Not yet. I’ve got a other 3k or so to go before a 10k analysis can be done. If you’re going by the book tho, all you’re skipping at 5k miles is a tire rotation. Oil is scheduled every 10k miles for normal circumstances.

 

[Ruthrj]

The big day has arrived! 3rd oil change ever completed with 9600 miles on the oil. They’ve been done at roughly 2500, 10k and now 20k miles. Terrain is somewhat hilly and most driving is on the highway. I’ve only used Pennzoil Platinum Full Synthetic 0w-16 and OEM oil filters. The TBN registered a 2.8 after 9600 miles so there was plenty of additive left for more miles.

This will likely be my last UOA for the RAV4 as I know I can run Pennzoil no problem for the recommended interval. I’ve got a ton of SuperTech that I’ll use now, we’ll see if I feel like getting that tested for the 30-40k interval.

Also of note: the appearance of the oil. It flowed like 0w-16 but looked like mud. Color isn’t an indicator of life, just that it’s doing it’s job

 

[Ruthrj]

Why not just change the oil and filter every 5000 miles or 6 months, like any good mechanic will advise. I got 300,000 trouble free miles doing this on my V6. Is the oil too expensive for you?

Because that would be changing the oil 2x more often than what is called for in the service manual, and is proven unnecessary by my used oil analysis for a 10k interval. Is reading further than the first post too difficult for you?

 

[Ruthrj]

You can keep all your oil analysis, I will continue with changing my oil every 6 months cheap insurance.

Good for you.

I’m sorry, does this thread come off as offensive? I test my oil to satisfy my own curiosity on how 0w-16 holds up with my driving habits, and somebody insinuates I’m cheap and another politely suggests oil analysis is worthless?

You have now entered the Twilight Zone.

 

[Ruthrj]

Wear-in material is washing out nicely. There isn't as much metal or silicon in this oil as last time, and that's after keeping the oil in use for a longer run. We should find more progress in the next report as the rest of the wear-in material washes out of the engine. Once it's gone, wear metals should stay fairly steady. Iron is the one that tends to fluctuate the most based on the type of use the engine experiences, and how long the oil is in place, but the other wear metals should stay close to average regardless. The TBN is 2.8 - strong. Try 11K miles if you want.

Nice report. Above from your report.

Do the "gurus" (and I use that word with respect) at Blackstone and BobistheOilGuy think it best for wear-in metals to be washed out as quickly as possible ? Reason ?

Good question, and I personally haven't found a consensus. Two ends of the spectrum:
A. Just follow the manufacturer's recommended service intervals. Cars are engineered differently today vs those in the past. Very few vehicle manufacturers (if any?) have verbiage in the new owners manuals regarding an early service to account for break-in.
B. Change the factory fill at 1,000 or 2,500 or half the interval (whatever you please) to get the wear in metal out as soon as possible. The reason behind that school of thought being wear-in metal not being good for the engine as long as it is in there.

I changed mine at 2,500 miles just to see if the engine was still wearing in past that mark. It seems it was still wearing in for some period of time as evidence by the 2,500 to 10k mile used oil analysis.

My personal opinion? People following the A line of thinking meeting up with those following the B line of thinking after 100,000 miles of use. I doubt there would be any statistically significant difference in how the car runs or how many fluid-related failures occurred for each group.