Total Seal rings and E85

[LSTTYPE]

I've heard that it's good to change the oil in our cars every 2000 miles while running straight e85 in our cars. I have total seal rings in my car and was wondering if they will slow the alcohol from seeping down into the oil? Thanks, Luke

 

[Nick Micale]

It is a good idea to change oil in our turbo cars every 2000 miles no matter what fuel is used.

When you state "total seal" rings, do you mean gapless?

My opinion is that alcohol will not "seep down into the oil" any more than gasoline if the tune/mixture is proper.

Oil in any boosted application WILL get contaminated much sooner than a N/A engine as it develops more crankcase pressure pushing unburned fuel past the rings.

 

[LSTTYPE]

Cool thanks for the reply. Yes the total seal rings are gapless.

 

[Flyin Brian]

I think it depends on the tune also and of course how often you get into high boost. I had a bad experience running 116 race gas a few years back. I did everything wrong. Had the PCV blocked. Ran straight race gas for about 500 miles of driving and maybe 20 quarter mile passes at 25+ psi boost. I was not looking at the oil during this time. Parked the car for a few months and changed the oil. My Mobile 1 10w40 synthetic oil looked like gray water. Ruined the turbo bearings. Parts inside the motor had some surface rust I noticed on my recent re-build. Painful lesson. I am running E85 on my new build and I hooked the PCV back up as it helps keep the oil clean. Since I am paranoid now and am running a little on the rich side I look at the oil very frequently. I don't drive the car on a daily basis but when I do drive it I floor it every time so I change the oil a lot. Like Nick said it does not matter what fuel you are running in a highly boosted car, it will pollute the oil quicker than a N/A car. You will probably hear some people on here say that they go 3000 miles on an oil change and go the track every weekend and when they test the oil it shows to be fine. This may or may not be true but I would never do it in my car. Just my opinion.

 

[bison]

If you are making any cylinder pressure you should be using time at WOT as your oil change gauge. Not mileage. Mileage doesn't mean crap. Sometimes I would race for one day and change the oil. A minute of WOT with 125hp per hole will have polluted oil. Maybe a couple miles on the oil and it's getting changed.

 

[dvernst]

After every trip to the track my car gets an oil change. Also if it sits for more than a few weeks I'll change if also. Oil is cheap relatively speaking...

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[Howling Mad]

A whole lot cheaper than a motor or a turbo.

After every trip to the track my car gets an oil change. Also if it sits for more than a few weeks I'll change if also. Oil is cheap relatively speaking...

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[droptopturbo6]

I have learned the hard lessons and change the oil regularly. When it is no longer translucent, it gets changed.

 

[TurboBuick86]

Very true Bison. I myself who has been running E85 for yrs changed my oil every 5 to 8 times out to the track. It's always a good habit to do to insure the life of your bearings which take the hard punishment lol.


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[Sam Colalillo]

hmmmm. Does anyone have any hard data on this subject? I would be interested to see results back from an oil testing lab.

One of my daily drivers is a 2010 Chevy malibu which runs on e85. The oil life monitor has me at 20% life left in the oil at approximately 6,300 miles consistently. The car has over 120,000 miles on it so far, and the oil has only been changed 19 times using Castrol edge full synthetic. (other than the first four oil changes which were done by the dealer) The first couple of times I sent oil samples sent off and their explanations mirrored my oil life monitor.

myth legend rumors hmmmmm

 

[Nick Micale]

hmmmm. Does anyone have any hard data on this subject? I would be interested to see results back from an oil testing lab.

One of my daily drivers is a 2010 Chevy malibu which runs on e85. ............

Glad you have received excellent service from your Malibu, sorry, but trying to apply any of your results to this discussion is not relevant.

The GN V-6 engine was designed built in the 60's which is 50 years ago using contemporary machines and materials, and we should not be trying to compare it to a 2010 Chevy?

On top of that being said, the factory GN is usually subjected many mods increasing HP and boost levels 2 to 3 times over the factory version.

Bison and I have stated our personal experiences, good and bad, and have given our opinions of oil change intervals applicable to performance turbo Buicks,