Oil is the life blood of an engine; and just as with your own blood, a little lab work can tell you a lot about what's happening on the inside. That's where Blackstone Laboratories comes in. Their techs perform a series of tests which determine: the levels of wear metals, silicon, and additives present in the oil; the presence of insolubles such as soot produced in the combustion process; the presence of coolant or fuel; and the true viscosity of the oil. When taken as a whole, that information can be used to gauge the relative health of your engine, and can help you understand what's going on inside it.
Blackstone's standard analysis only costs $25.00, which is a pretty good deal for the amount of lab work involved in testing of this nature. The deal becomes even better if you have a question because you can call them up and talk to a knowledgeable person who will be able to provide you with detailed answers.
If you interested in running extend drain intervals (I typically change mile every 5,000 miles) you'll want to spring for the "Total Base Number" ("TBN") analysis, an extra $10. TBN analysis measures the amount of active additive left in the oil. These additives are responsible for neutralizing the acidic compounds produced in the combustion process. If the TBN count drops too low the oil will be far less effective in preventing oxidative damage inside the engine. A high TBN, along with a good wear metal and insolubles report, is a positive indication that you can keep running your current oil without changing it.
Below you'll see our second oil change on the SVTP GT. We once again went with Royal Purple HPS 5w30. This oil's extremely robust characteristics make it a great match for the GT's Magnuson Supercharged 5.0L engine. As you'll see in the photos below we also decided to continue using a Royal Purple oil filter. It is an ultra-premium design that incorporates a thick steel base plate and shell, silicone anti-drain back valve, and synthetic mirco-glass filtering media. See this thread for more info on these products: SVTPerformance Oil Futures Index : Royal Purple HPS Review.
However, we did decided to change things up a bit and run an oil filter that's not technically correct for the Coyote engine. For whatever reason, Ford decided to start using the taller and skinnier FL-500S filter on the 2011+ V6, GT, and Boss Mustangs instead of the well known FL-820S. We decided to go with the with the tried and true FL-820S design this time around.
From my limited research, the only significant difference (other than physical size) is that the bypass valve for the FL-500S is set at 8 psi, while the FL-820S is set at 16 psi. Bypassing at a lower psi could be to help oil flow at high rpm, but with a premium oil like Royal Purple and the synthetic micro-glass media of the Royal Purple oil filter I don't think it'll be an issue. I more or less just wanted to see if an FL-820S style filter would fit on a 2011+ GT. I can report that it does. I can't say that I would recommend one filter over the other, but mechanically they are interchangeable.
Check out the photo's below and you'll see the oil change (exciting stuff there) and the collection of the oil sample for Blackstone to analyze.
At 8 quarts of capacity, the Coyote's sump is a bit thirstier than most modulars of the past.
The sample kit from Blackstone is housed inside this black mailing canister.
Inside it you'll find a sample bottle, absorbent pad, information sheet for you to fill out, plastic bag to contain any possible leaks, and an oil change reminder decal.
You simply fill the sample bottle with oil as it is draining out of the sump.
You then package it up, along with a check or credit card information, and send it off.
After a couple weeks Blackstone will send you a report that looks like this. This particular one is from the SVTP F-350.
We filled the sump with Royal Purple HPS 5w30.
This stuff isn't cheap, so we make sure every last drop makes it into the engine.
Keep in mind that the use of less viscous 5w20 oil is only a recommendation.
At 6,500 miles it still looks pretty clean inside the SVTP GT's engine.
The Royal Purple 20-820 oil filter fits in place of the 20-500 we were running before without any interference.
Here you can see the difference in size of the two filters. 20-820 on the left and 20-500 on the right.
The 20-500 is a less than 1/2 an inch taller.
However, the 20-820 is over half an inch wider.
Here's a view from one last angle.
The sample kit from Blackstone is housed inside this black mailing canister.
Inside it you'll find a sample bottle, absorbent pad, information sheet for you to fill out, plastic bag to contain any possible leaks, and an oil change reminder decal.
You simply fill the sample bottle with oil as it is draining out of the sump.
You then package it up, along with a check or credit card information, and send it off.
After a couple weeks Blackstone will send you a report that looks like this. This particular one is from the SVTP F-350.
We filled the sump with Royal Purple HPS 5w30.
This stuff isn't cheap, so we make sure every last drop makes it into the engine.
Keep in mind that the use of less viscous 5w20 oil is only a recommendation.
At 6,500 miles it still looks pretty clean inside the SVTP GT's engine.
The Royal Purple 20-820 oil filter fits in place of the 20-500 we were running before without any interference.
Here you can see the difference in size of the two filters. 20-820 on the left and 20-500 on the right.
The 20-500 is a less than 1/2 an inch taller.
However, the 20-820 is over half an inch wider.
Here's a view from one last angle.
In the upcoming months we will have a few updates with how this and a few other analyses from the SVTP GT and SVTP F-350 turn out.:beer:
Special Thanks To:
Royal Purple
Blackstone Laboratories
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