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Originally Posted by brp987
It's interesting that an engine with silicon liners instead of iron, that the iron would be high and the silicon low.  |
Maybe indicator of valve train wear vs. little wear at bottom end? So far I have heard some comments on other sites that the iron levels are actually low but I would like to hear more on that.
O.k., so how is this for a wild-assed theory (I need a physicist to chime in on this one...)
(1) From what I have heard, silicon levels in the oil basically come down to dirt that is getting in there. There are lots of discussions on the Bob the Oil guy site about the effect of different air cleaners on the amounts of silicon in the sample. For example k and N filters do better as they age resulting in less silicon, etc. etc.
(2) Dirt travels in suspension (air) when there is sufficient velocity to keep it from settling out.
(3) The snorkel on this boxster, if it were in place, provides a small "tunnel" through which lots of air travels at a high velocity
(4) The inlet of the snorkel is very near the outside "grilles" of the car
(5) I have run this car de-snorkeled for a long time
So, is it possible that the lower silicon levels seen in this sample are due to de-snorkling? That is, does desnorkling make it harder for dirt to get to the engine due to lower velocities and/or the fact that the new inlet is around 12" or so farther from the outside air?
Talk about a wild-assed theory...