BMW 5W30, 14,962 miles, BMW 750Li

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: srohring
Does Redline offer an LL-01 oil? There's a dealer less than 5 miles from my office so getting Redline is easy for me. But if it doesn't have the proper approvals I won't run it - I am still covered under the BMW CPO warranty until 100k miles and don't want to jeopardize that by using unapproved oil.

In that case, you don't want Red Line, at least until after 100k miles. None of their oils has any third party approvals at all, and they are proud of it.

Less money spent on obtaining and maintaining approvals is more money spent on R&D, which is important for a relatively small company.

If you're looking to try something different, Mobil 1 0w-40 and Castrol Syntec 0w-30 European Formula are probably the best on the shelf. If you're willing to order online, look for Motul 8100 X-Max 5w-30 or 5w-40.

But honestly, the BMW oil with 10k OCIs will probably do just fine.

 

[The Critic]

Blackstone uses a different method to test the TBN that some other labs.

If the oil had been tested with Amsoil's lab, the TBN reading may have been higher.

Like d00df00d said, since we do not have a TAN it is not certain that the oil is truly toast.

 

[Gary Allan]

What do you mean? Even if you upped it by a factor of 10X it would still be below other lab's condemnation levels. Blackstone itself states (on every TBN UOA EXCEPT this one) that a reading of 1 is too low.

Due to the lack of comment, I might ask them if this was a data entry issue. Maybe a retest for verification.


But I would tend to agree that the TAN can't be too wild. I would imagine that any acid etching would be well within the detectable range.

 

[buster]

Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: buster
Does this engine need an A3 rated oil?

It needs BMW LL-01, which requires ACEA A3 and more.

Thanks. I would suggest an Amsoil product, but their 5w40 isn't that robust and would probably not do any better.

 

[webfors]

If the tbn is right that oil is done. Too long IMHO! But hey, who cares, the car will still last a long time. Just remind me never to buy a used BMW from anyone.

 

[JAG]

srohring, can you see deposits through the oil fill hole?

 

[steve20]

what also comes into play is when was the make up quart added-all at once at 12K or 1/2 quart at a time at say 7K then another half quart at 13K etc


Steve

 

[JoeFromPA]

You guys are nuts. That oil was cooked.

How many times do we have to reinforce this on here: UOAs should not be used to indicate wear. There are things that will spike wear metals in a UOA, such as coolant leaks, and there are engines that wear out main bearings without showing anything on UOA.

What are UOAs good for? Showing condition of the oil! Wooo!

And guess what: This $32 UOA showed that the oil had thickened substantially and absolutely no active additive left. .1? That oil was probably acidic as all h-e-double hockeysticks.

I'd run 2 fills of 5k intervals of a high quality cleaning synthetic just to get rid of the deposits and gunk you formed on this past run, and then go back to a 10k interval.

BMW's oil life monitor sucks in this case. Let me be clear: there are plenty of engines out there that have run for 30-60k intervals on synthetic oils and ran fine afterwards. Oil itself is lubricating just fine. But it's ability to stay within a safe pH, it's ability to buffer contaminants, and it's ability to NOT form deposits....those attributes are no longer present in an oil showing these results.

 

[buster]

I would not go beyond 10k miles here. If you want to push it past that, look for a more robust oil.

I think Mobil 1 0w40 would be a good choice.

 

[Thomas34]

Originally Posted By: JoeFromPA
You guys are nuts. That oil was cooked.

How many times do we have to reinforce this on here: UOAs should not be used to indicate wear. There are things that will spike wear metals in a UOA, such as coolant leaks, and there are engines that wear out main bearings without showing anything on UOA.

What are UOAs good for? Showing condition of the oil! Wooo!

And guess what: This $32 UOA showed that the oil had thickened substantially and absolutely no active additive left. .1? That oil was probably acidic as all h-e-double hockeysticks.

I'd run 2 fills of 5k intervals of a high quality cleaning synthetic just to get rid of the deposits and gunk you formed on this past run, and then go back to a 10k interval.

BMW's oil life monitor sucks in this case. Let me be clear: there are plenty of engines out there that have run for 30-60k intervals on synthetic oils and ran fine afterwards. Oil itself is lubricating just fine. But it's ability to stay within a safe pH, it's ability to buffer contaminants, and it's ability to NOT form deposits....those attributes are no longer present in an oil showing these results.





i actually agree with this assessment. I missed the fact that this oil thickened up. in my mind, that is a HUGE factor above anything else reported in the UOA. as i already stated, i would love to see this same car run Mobil 1 0W40 for 10 to 15k miles and on a 6 month run.

 

[saaber1]

Agree this oil is completely shot. Significant thickening, Manganese of 5, lowered flash point would make me concerned about sludge formation due to fuel dilution and running the oil too long.

My BMW v8 (not same engine as OP) has sludge formation due to running inadequate oils too long (conventional oil in my car's case). If this were my car I would switch to an ester-based oil and run 10k interval with a UOA to see how it does.

 

[buster]

Ya the oil is DONE.

You could always try Royal Purple 5w-30/40. 12.2 starting Tbn.

 

[PandaBear]

Completely shot, way over extended OCI. Scale back to no more than 10k and see what happen in the next UOA or just stay at 10k.

Blackstone or not, 0.1 TBN is shot, and a 30W thicken to 40W is shot. Fortunately it didn't increase wear, but eventually the sludge will get you.

 

[srohring]

Originally Posted By: steve20
what also comes into play is when was the make up quart added-all at once at 12K or 1/2 quart at a time at say 7K then another half quart at 13K etc


Steve


1 full qt added at about 8k. The oil my car has been getting (including the makeup oil) has been bulk from the dealer rather than from individual bottles.

 

[srohring]

For those noting the thickening of the oil, does it matter that the VOA's I've searched up indicate that the BMW 5W30 synthetic is on the thick side to start with?
BMW VOA thread

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: srohring
For those noting the thickening of the oil, does it matter that the VOA's I've searched up indicate that the BMW 5W30 synthetic is on the thick side to start with?
BMW VOA thread

It's supposed to start around 12 cSt @ 100º C, so thickening to around 14 is fairly significant.

 

[Audi Junkie]

What's in it now, BMW? This might be cause for a double ARX dose. I use 15w-40 in these type of engines, at 5-6k until it gets cold enough for 5w-40 HD. Any engine oil / related problems you may have would be more likely due to the BMW oil / OLM combo you just did, rather than any subsequent change in service.

Like I said, add ARX now, use 15w-40 once or twice until winter and then Redline. That's really the only way to correct things. Afterwards a good syn at 10k MAX.

 

[Bobert]

Quote:
It's supposed to start around 12 cSt @ 100º C, so thickening to around 14 is fairly significant.


I've seen Amsoil and Mobil 1 thicken on long OCI's, doesn't really seem significant to me personally. Significant might be if it thickened into a 50wt. His engine is most likely fine. It would be a different story if his lead count was 300ppm and iron 200ppm.

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: Bobert
Quote:
It's supposed to start around 12 cSt @ 100º C, so thickening to around 14 is fairly significant.


I've seen Amsoil and Mobil 1 thicken on long OCI's, doesn't really seem significant to me personally. Significant might be if it thickened into a 50wt. His engine is most likely fine. It would be a different story if his lead count was 300ppm and iron 200ppm.


The engine is likely fine, but thickening like that is fairly substantial. That oil is toast.

 

[Thomas34]

If Mobil 1 0W40 is used on this car with the same 15k miles/6 month driving habit....im willing to bet that (based on an educated guess after reading tons of UOAs of Mobil 1 0W40) at 10k miles the TBN will easily be at least 3.0.

Call it a done deal. OCI set! Next car to analyze please!