Did we ruin our engine? This is what an oil analysis test revealed

Keith Tanner said:

jstecz said:

4100 RPM?   That's an normal highway cruise for a Miata driver.   :)

 

jstecz

Exactly, we have proven that a 10 year old Cayman is the equal of a 34 year old Miata.

It is my understanding that one could buy a 34 year old Miata in the same condition for the same price, so yes this is true

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

Keith Tanner said:

jstecz said:

4100 RPM?   That's an normal highway cruise for a Miata driver.   :)

 

jstecz

Exactly, we have proven that a 10 year old Cayman is the equal of a 34 year old Miata.

It is my understanding that one could buy a 34 year old Miata in the same condition for the same price, so yes this is true

And that's why :)

bobzilla said:

In reply to jstecz :

Pretty sure that's where the wifes first gen manual RAV4 ran at highway speeds. The engine was fine, but the cats weren't happy after 30 hours of straight running.

I have heard of Squirrel powered cars but Cats powering a car for 30 hrs! Way too lazy for that. ;0)

I'm not really understanding why you'd think extended running at 4,100rpm would be harmful. This car should be able to handle extended track driving at near-redline. Why would it care about highway cruising at a slightly elevated RPM? 

CrashDummy said:

I'm not really understanding why you'd think extended running at 4,100rpm would be harmful. This car should be able to handle extended track driving at near-redline. Why would it care about highway cruising at a slightly elevated RPM? 

All of the this.

Any engine that can't handle 4000rpm on end deserves to die.

The uncharitable part of me says yes, even Diesels   but let's speak in the context of sporting vehicles here.

All the same, there is gut feeling, and then there is testing and proof one way or the other.  Gut feelings are fine but keep in mind that your gut is full of E36 M3  so I do appreciate the approach taken with the before and after testing.

What I am curious about is if the Driven oil is API rated.  There are two points to this: if you use non API oil, or whatever the OE specifies ( be it API, ACEA, or manufacturer specific) then you are asking for a warranty denial.  This has happened when people used a certain brand of oil without certifications, the warranty was denied, and rightfully so.  Without certification it could be Wesson in a pretty square bottle.  The other point, somewhat related, is I know they make Driven for old flat-tappet pushrod engines and "American Iron" racers swear by the stuff, even more than the old Brad Penn racing oil.  If this is the same stuff, the high levels of zinc-phosphate compounds needed for the heavy point friction surfaces in a flat tappet pushrod engine are not really needed for a modern engine and can be detrimental to catalyst and oxygen sensor life.  Which is why the API specs pulled those compounds out in the last few decades.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

What I am curious about is if the Driven oil is API rated.  There are two points to this: if you use non API oil, or whatever the OE specifies ( be it API, ACEA, or manufacturer specific) then you are asking for a warranty denial.  This has happened when people used a certain brand of oil without certifications, the warranty was denied, and rightfully so.  Without certification it could be Wesson in a pretty square bottle.  The other point, somewhat related, is I know they make Driven for old flat-tappet pushrod engines and "American Iron" racers swear by the stuff, even more than the old Brad Penn racing oil.  If this is the same stuff, the high zinc-phosphate compounds needed for the high point friction surfaces in a flat tappet pushrod engine are not really needed for a modern engine and can be detrimental to catalyst and oxygen sensor life.  Which is why the API specs pulled those compounds out in the last few decades.

From their website:

"DRIVEN DI Series Racing Oils are formulated for High Performance Engines/Racing applications only. This engine oil will NOT MEET any current API or OEM Engine Oil Specifications. "

In reply to Slippery :

I was actually going back to get the oil model to search for myself when you posted that 

Basically, this oil is great for heavy performance use, but do not use in anything covered under warranty.  Which is fine, for "us", since I like to believe that we're all adults here, and we'd respect that if we went outside the spec for warranty then we'd accept that a warranty claim would be denied.  Or we race old crapcans whose warranty expired five owners ago, one or the other 

I still maintain that the six cylinder boxer wasn't screaming, it was singing, but I wasn't there for it.  Unfortunately

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

According to the results, it has a bit more than normal ZDDP, but not excessive. 100-200ppm over a SN rated wally world synthetic oil, but less than say Redline or Motul. 

I use Blackstone for my MB

CrashDummy said:

I'm not really understanding why you'd think extended running at 4,100rpm would be harmful. This car should be able to handle extended track driving at near-redline. Why would it care about highway cruising at a slightly elevated RPM? 

Oh I totally agree (and I wrote in the article that I wasn't worried), but some of the comments were much less confident. I figured I should investigate.

bobzilla said:

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

According to the results, it has a bit more than normal ZDDP, but not excessive. 100-200ppm over a SN rated wally world synthetic oil, but less than say Redline or Motul. 

Mobil 1's factory fill Porsche oil is ~1000ppm Zn:

EDIT: hyperlink to the sheet isn't working, if you click "Zinc and Phos" on the right side of the page, it's there:

https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/for-personal-vehicles/our-products/products/mobil-1-fs-0w-40

In reply to Flynlow (FS) :

Manufacturer specific fluids will always be different depending on needs. 

Sounds like a cool trip-glad the engine made it. 

Begs the question though-what is the most GRM Porsche engine swap?

LS? K-swap? Audi 2.7T?