Last year I posted an oil analysis on my stock 99’ Civic Lx on another Honda forum. The oil tested was AMSOIL 5w-30. The oil was in the car for 1 year and accumulated 9,359 miles. The car also ran 1 AMSOIL oil filter the entire time. Link to original thread HERE.

Specs on the 99' Civic and the first oil change:

The car: 1999 Civic LX, stock
Miles on the car: 72,395
Oil used: AMSOIL 5w30
Oil filter used: AMSOIL Eao20
Time on oil & filter: 1 year, twenty days (approx.)
Miles on oil & filter: 9,359
Oil added over the course of the year: None
Type of driving: More city driving/short trips than highway miles and 4 autocross events.

Some questioned the results because I used OilAnalyzers, a sister company of AMSOIL. Their argument was that of course they’d show good results with their own oil. Gotta love the cynical nature of forums., which is fine.

So this year when I changed the oil, I decided to send a sample to Blackstone Labs to compare the results. Now I know the best way to accomplish this would be to send a sample from the same oil change to both places, however I am confident comparing results from last year’s oil change is sufficient because the parameters are identical:
1. The car is still stock.
2. I used the same oil and filter combination.
3. Time on the oil and filter is the same.
4. Mileage on the oil and filter is VERY close to the first sample. (9,182 miles, a difference of only 177 miles).

First are the results from OilAnalyzers:



And now the Blackstone results:

Miles on the car: 81,577
Oil used: AMSOIL 5w30
Oil filter used: AMSOIL Eao20
Time on oil & filter: 1 year
Miles on oil & filter: 9,182
Oil added over the course of the year: None
Type of driving: More city driving/short trips than highway miles and 3 autocross events.




As you can see, the results were very close to each other, backing up the accuracy of the first test.


Out of the 2, I like Blackstone better because of the “Comments” section. It gives a little insight on the test instead of just printing the results. However, I do not like the extra $10 charge to get the TBN level, which is included with the OA test. I also found the first sentence of their comments very interesting. I would have thought that any excessive metal give off by the engine would be filtered out by the oil filter. I would also like to know what brands are the worst at this.

The 99' Civic is now gone, traded in for the Fit. I plan on running 1 year intervals on the Fit as well. I'm waiting till after 5,000 miles to switch to AMSOIL. It will be a while before posting any results from it.

Anyway, I hope others find this information useful.

 

Nice analysis. I'm getting my second analysis done shortly. Blackstone did my first analysis at 5k, after break-in. I've almost got 10k miles on the 5w20 RLI.

 

Buzzbomb-
Nice comparison between the two labs. But regarding the comment on "silicon" and your own comment on "silicone"----- they are two different things. The lab comment on silicon regards rock fragments (airborne dust)- SILICA- not SILICONE, which is not used as oil additive because silicone oil has no shear strength or anti-wear properties, and Amsoil would not use it as an additive. It definitely is used as an anti-foaming agent. "Silicon Valley" gets its name from the glass-like wafers that are used to make computer chips, and the silica comes from the same sand used to make glass.

I have been an Amsoil dealer too, for almost 30 years, and I support the point that your post makes- not trying to embarrass you on the "silicon/silicone" definitions.

 

Hey this is back,

You know, you're absolutely correct on the silicon/silicone thing. It's so obvious now. I can't believe I didn't realize that before. I'll edit my post. Thanks

 

Apparently Illusive is at work undoing some past mistakes of some of the mods. Recent developments have brought censorship into the spot light. Didn't mean to put you down over the silica detail- your OP clearly illustrated the truth behind a lot of misconceptions about synthetic engine oils.

 

I agree Amsoil is good synthretic lubricant but did Blackstone run ASTM tests D-4683, D-4172, and D-6278. Those are the ones concerning shear strengths and are the ones to compare to original performance for continued protection.

 

I cannot confirm the tests you listed, but the two viscosity tests they did perform verify the oil still passes the viscosity requirements for that particular weight.

If there was significant shear breakdown, it would fall below the minimum test numbers.