Doing oil change - what else while I'm doing that

[RyanGphoto]

Depends on the application - for my truck (sometimes daily driven, used to pull horse/car trailer) I just like keeping track of engine wear so I'm not surprised if it spins a bearing and leaves my wife stranded on the side of the road with a trailer full or horses. It's also helped me feel good about increasing my oil change intervals

In my DD mini that I bought with high miles, I use it to monitor engine health (the N18 motor is known for oiling problems)

In my Morgan after I rebuilt the engine I monitored heavy metals for break and and continue to monitor them for tappet/ring wear. I've also dealt with a leaking fuel pump which would increase the flashpoint of the oil so would be caught that way

On my BMW race car I kept a close track of piston ring and bearing wear, and when analysis results started looking suspect I rebuild the engine - revealing some good cylinder scoring and a very worn main bearing (rebuilding it now).

This is all beyond me and my knowledge and capabilities...

For my purposes... I just wonder what it would tell me, because I probably can't even read the data to know when to do something.. But I would love to learn and understand the data..

I am going to be sending it to them for sure since it's so cheap.

Ryan G

 

[Read T]

This is all beyond me and my knowledge and capabilities...

For my purposes... I just wonder what it would tell me, because I probably can't even read the data to know when to do something.. But I would love to learn and understand the data..

I am going to be sending it to them for sure since it's so cheap.

Ryan G

They will write personalized comments to help you break down the data. Think of it like a doctor calling you to go over your blood work results. I believe they have some examples on the website. Also, they are known to be include jokes sometimes (if you read the guidelines on the website you'll see). My last report had this

"Read: Most metals and silicon are lower than last time. Extra silicon isn't a big concern because most of it is harmless antifoaming additive in this oil. If you checked the air filtration/intake system and all is well, then extra silicon like this isn't concerning. Aluminum still shows more piston wear than we typically find, and that may be a function of the type of use this engine experiences. Race use typically results in extra wear, and based on the current trend, we aren't convinced aluminum shows a developing issue. Let's just see how wear trends continue for your S52 engine"

 

[cyanmauve]

Oil analysis seems reasonably priced, I’m just not sure what I would do with the data on my new, non-tracked, under warranty car.

If the analysis detected extra wear, but the car was still running well and not throwing error codes, I think it would just make me worried about my engine. I doubt I could convince a dealer to do “preventative” warranty work based on a 3rd party oil analysis.

I understand that’s not really the point of it though.

 

[cyanmauve]

This thread has been helpful. I picked the car up new in March 2024. Gentle break-in period, made sure the car was fully warm before any short trips into the upper rev range, no prolonged ye-haw-bounce-off-the-rev-limiter-zingers. No track days. I practice “mechanical sympathy” when driving in a spirited manner- never no lift shifting, clutch drops, etc. Spirited, yes, abusive, no. Hooliganism is reserved for driving my 2006 Mustang GT. Gotta meet people’s expectations.

I did my first Emira oil and filter change at home at a little over 2,000 miles.

The car now has about 4,500 miles, and I wanted to take it in for software updates, and frankly just to document that I am having the car serviced so there’s not issues with warranty denial in the future.

I dropped my car off at the dealer yesterday. It’s about a two hour drive for me, so a bit of a trip.

Based on this thread, I’m having them do the following:

Software updates
Charcoal canister TSB
Oil change
Clutch/brake fluid change
Transmission fluid change
Check alignment and adjust if needed

The fluid changes are stuff I’d normally do myself with my quickjack, but the dealership will have the car for a week before I can get back to pick it up, and because it is a brand new car, under warranty, I’d like to have it maintained by Lotus.

Thanks for the info in this thread!