INDYMAC

2004 S2000 (stock)
58,628 miles/4726 miles on oil
No make-up oil
PCX-004 oil filter
AFE Pro Dry air filter
Shell V-Power 93 fuel with L-X 2300 and FPPlus fuel additives
3ozs Auto-Rx added to engine oil
A little over 10 months in the sump
Dyson Analysis Raw data report
VOA is from a different batch of 8130 that Terry did about a year ago

Element/VOA/UOA
Iron/2/6
Copper/0/8
Tin/0/0
Lead/0/2
Chromium/0/1
Nickel/0/0
Aluminum/0/2
Titanium/0/0
Silver/0/0
Calcium/965/1036
Magnesium/915/912
Zinc/1338/1288
Phosphorus/1112/934
Barium/0/0
Molybdenum/59/34
Antimony/0/0
Silicon/4/9
Sodium/9/13
Boron/0/0
Potassium/0/0
Vanadium/0/0

Physical and other tests
V40C/83.8/56.5
V100C/12.3/9.6
TAN/2.08/3.73
Flash/415F/280F
Oxidation/20/31
Nitration/6/11
KF#/1393/482
TBN/8.7/4.8
Fuel/0%/1.64%
Soot/0/0
Glycol/0/0
VNDX/144/155
Sulfate by product/21/31

Here is previous UOA using Castrol Syntec 0W-30:
https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/750...#entry20290155

This was the first battle against fuel dilution in this car. It sheared 8130 and GC pretty much as a result. Even though I lost the battle, I don't plan to lose the war!

I received a promotional 6 qts of Castrol Edge 5W-30 with Titanium FST. So it went into the S2000 for evaluation. I'll post results of those tests in about a year.

CarbonCrew

The fuel dilution issues are interesting. Has this always been an issue with your S2000? I noticed in your GC UOA, a similar fuel dilution rate was reported. While I have not been paying close attention, I do not recall seeing fuel dilution problems in other S2000 UOAs.

I do like the report, wear rates look spectacular. You dedication to understanding how the S2000 interacts with oil is unreal, Dyson reports don't come cheap.

SpitfireS

INDYMAC Posted Today, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Even though I lost the battle, I don't plan to lose the war!

What are your plans?
As far as I understand, fuel dilution is caused by a mechanical "problem".
Do you take (a lot of) short trips?
Solving your fuel dilution may be driving longer (a good thing ) to burn off the fuel.
In the tank and in the oil

And.. (no offence).. 8ppm of copper in 4726 miles is ... well....
It's not bad but I've seen better.

Thanks for posting the UOA!


P.S. sorry for the font and bold text, can't seem to quote / post like we used to.
Oh well..

INDYMAC

I'm not sure how I will tackle the fuel dilution issue, but it did seem to improve some over the last report using the L-X 2300. I was using the alternate dosage of 3 ozs/10 gallons fuel this run, but will use the primary 1oz/gallon dosage every 1000 miles this time. My Tundra saw a fuel% drop from 1.55% to 0.38% using that dosage. I've never had this car in for a professional fuel system cleaning yet. Maybe that's what it needs. Also, the O2 sensors are original and maybe they're wearing out.

I really don't know how bad the fuel dilution was on previous Blackstone reports at 15K and 30K. Their test method is inaccurate and useless for tuning. Also, I was driving back and forth to work in the car back then (22 miles one way) mostly. Now, I just drive it to have some fun.

The Cu wear rate is a little higher than others I've seen. But the Cu/Pb ratio doesn't look babbitt alloy related to me. This report was 8/2, and my previous was 7/1. But even if it is from the bearings, I'm not alarmed (yet!).

fastD

Watching this...

SpitfireS

@ INDYMAC: You also mentioned you didn't add oil during the OCI, is that because you didn't have to or you didn't want to?
IOW: what was the oil level at the end of the OCI, what was the oil consumption?
Okay.. some consumption may be NOACK related but how would an engine that uses little oil have high fuel dilution?
As far as I understand they (oil consumption & fuel dilution) go hand-in-hand.
And what about fuel consumption, mpg?
Has that changed over the time you owned the car?
Are you looking for a mix of additives that can handle the fuel dilution, or a mix that can cure it?
If fuel dilution is caused by a non proper seating of the FRM liner.. there not much you can do I guess.
If its a carbon build-up at the top piston ring(s) it might be cured.

What are your thoughts on the cause of the fuel getting into the oil?



Sorry for ending about every sentence with a "?"

edit: typo's

zeroptzero

Nice improvement in the iron numbers since the last run. I'd suspect a leaky injector, they seem to be common on these cars. I had my injectors sent out for cleaning when I first bought my car, they found one injector to be flowing poorly and we got it cleaned up and reinstalled, I was glad that I had them checked at the time. My car also ran very rich when I first bought it with 55k miles on it, I went ahead and swapped out the primary 02 sensor, and also replaced the plugs. My rear bumper seems to stay much cleaner since the changes.

INDYMAC

Yes, this fuel dilution issue seems to be a more common theme than most think, even in new cars. The DI engines are hopeless cases in my opinion. But ours don't fit into that category.

I don't have any oil consumption at all, and fuel economy seems normal (22-29 MPG depending on driving style). This car rarely gets highway miles (I consider it a waste of time in this car), so some fuel in the oil can be expected. Luckily, I've been using oils that can still wear protect under those conditions. The newer SN/GF-5 oils are supposed to be much improved in that area as well. We'll see with the Castrol Edge with Ti that I have in it now.

There are several theories out there that attempt to address fuel dilution and how to mitigate...assuming that the car is mechanically sound (and that's what I consider my car to be for now). Terry says it's all about ring seal. Some say it's because of all the additives in the fuel now, creating less efficient combustion. But like I said, these theories only apply to a vehicle with good emissions and ignition components.

The direction I am taking for this OCI is to stay with the Shell V-Power 93 E10 fuel, but to add the LE L-X 2300 with the recommended dosage of 1 oz/gallon of fuel for one tank, then drive 1000 miles without it, then repeat. This is the regimen that I've seen work spectacularly in my 2000 Tundra V-8, a 2008 Malibu 2.4L, and a 2009 G37 V-6. So, what the heck? The chemistry of this additive is interesting. It's 50% K1 kerosene and 50% proprietary ingredients. It's the only additive that I have found that actually recommends its use for fuel dilution.

I plan to test a sample of LE 8130 at 30K miles from my wife's 2009 RAV4 V-6. My previous test was done at 10K miles with a 5K OCI of Schaeffers 10W-30 (#703). It popped a Dyson 1.73% fuel dilution. I've been using L-X 2300 as recommended for the entire OCI, so we'll see if the previous results (improvements) were just an anomaly soon.

CarbonCrew

Have you tried adding the L-X 2300 to the crankcase?

INDYMAC

Not yet. It makes me nervous! Maybe someday though, after I'm done evaluating it as a fuel add. LE says it's not necessary with 8130 though.