oil is built well as far as additives, you did lose a lot of viscosity but the wear is very good imo. That 4 alum hints at start up wear, just watch it if it ever goes up you can consider that. It isn't high at all, but in hemi's not known for start up rattle we see a tad less like 1 or 2. Just something to watch, iron and copper are fine, I expect copper to keep dropping. We have had guys move off this oil and have start up tick go away. Did you have start up rattle on PUP?
Thank you for your input. All and all I am pleased with the report, but I think that you are spot on with the alum number. Makes sense with the startup clatter. It has been a few years since I switched from PUP to SS and I am really not sure if the engine had this clatter or not while using PUP. At the time I was blissfully ignorant of the "Hemi Tick" and startup clatter so I didn't really pay attention to such things. I do know that the engine has always been quiet at idle.
Yeah, loss of vis in so few miles is evidence for me to stay away from too wide of vis range oils like 0W-40
Yep, I hear ya and I am not surprised to see the vis drop from 14.8 to 11.76 in just 3,500 miles. Makes me wonder what it would drop to in my typical 5,000 mile run. Seems to me that I need to move away from the 0W-40 oils.
Honestly I am not sure what oil to try next, but with fresh oil in the engine I do have some time to make an informed decision. Based on how I use my truck and the fact that I live in Alaska, would a 5W-30 in the summer months and a 0W-30 in the winter months provide ample protection? 0W-30 year round? Maybe try the Amsoil Euro 0W-30? As I mentioned in another post, this oil caught my eye a few months ago and on paper it looks impressive. Perhaps it is time for me to "take one for the team" and give it a shot!
I have the lifetime warrantee on the truck so if the engine goes south, my cost will be just the deductible ($100 iirc), but I would rather not have to deal with an engine rebuild/replacement so I don't mind paying for a quality oil and doing frequent oil changes. But up to this point anyway, I am hesitant to make the move to Redline or HPL oils due to their cost. Shipping to Alaska is expensive; by the time I get a case of 4 1 gallon HPL Passenger Car 5W-30 delivered I'm at around $16.50/qt. I just looked at Amazon and didn't see gallon jugs of Redline 5W-30 available and the single quarts are $19.29! At least the shipping with Amazon is free. Just a tough pill to swallow.