Mobil 1 0w40 - 14,540 mi - 2007 750i - BLS and Wix

[jca]

Since I bought so many Wix kits when they were on super sale at Amazon I decided to send this sample to both Blackstone and ALS for comparison, planning to only send to ALS from now on. The results look great and very comparable between the two which is nice to see. I would like to see fuel and insolubles in the ALS report, but getting everything else including TBN is pretty nice.

Still seeing some Nickel in there but no outward symptoms of anything wrong, and it still runs perfect. I don't know what to make of it, and from what I read Nikasil was phased out before this model year. The cylinders should be Alusil in this one. I meant to change the oil at 15,500 but miscalculated. Both were mailed on 11/5 and I received both reports back on 11/16.

The Blackstone comments are below for what they are worth:

We're still seeing extra nickel in the oil from your BMW, though we have to commend this engine for looking so good in every other respect. All metals except nickel are reading in the average range, and everything is nicely balanced. The TBN is still good at 2.8, and no other contamination or problems were found. We're not sure what to make of the nickel, but it's starting to look normal for your engine. Maybe it’s from cylinders? After-market parts? Try 16,000 miles next time. If nickel holds steady, we'll probably unhighlight it.

Anything NA is not available, NT is not tested. I had "B S" without the space in for Blackstone but it got censored, heh.

Code:
Oil M1 0w40 M1 0w40 M1 0w40 VV 5w30 BMW 5w30

Lab ALS BLST BLST BLST

MI/HR on Oil 14,540 14,540 14,828 7,832 16,817

MI/HR on Unit 100,066 100,066 85,526 70,698 62,866

Sample Date 9/24/12 9/24/12 4/2/12 9/27/11 6/24/11

Make Up Oil 0 0 0.5 0 0 AVERAGES



ALUMINUM 5 3 3 NT 5 5

CHROMIUM
IRON 11 11 9 NT 15 15

COPPER 1 2 2 NT 4 5

LEAD
TIN
MOLYBDENUM 94 87 80 NT 181 124

NICKEL 7 7 8 NT 4 1

MANGANESE NA 1 1 NT 5 3

SILVER
TITANIUM
VANADIUM
POTASSIUM
BORON 123 110 94 NT 60 54

SILICON 4 3 3 NT 4 6

SODIUM 19 16 50 NT 15 9

CALCIUM 3240 3316 2862 NT 2366 2264

MAGNESIUM 14 17 14 NT 19 140

PHOSPHORUS 950 942 810 NT 903 832

ZINC 1190 1098 951 NT 1286 1026

BARIUM




PROPERTIES

SUS Vis @ 210°F NA 75.7 69.7 NT 72.0

cSt Vis @ 100°C 14.0 14.43 12.88 NT 13.5

Flashpoint °F NA 380 400 NT 370

Fuel % NA
Antifreeze % No 0.0 0.0 NT 0.0

Water %
Insolubles % NA 0.2 0.1 NT 0.2

TBN 3.4 2.8 3.3 NT 2.1

 

[webfors]

Excellent report. What's the sump size on that 750i? No makeup oil in almost 15k?

 

[jca]

It is 8L, about 8.5 qts. It was down about 1/3 of a quart at 12,000 mi and I was going to add a bit but never got around to it. It was still less than 1/2 quart down when when it was changed.

 

[addyguy]

Excellent results.

 

[skyship]

Originally Posted By: jca
Since I bought so many Wix kits when they were on super sale at Amazon I decided to send this sample to both Blackstone and ALS for comparison, planning to only send to ALS from now on. The results look great and very comparable between the two which is nice to see. I would like to see fuel and insolubles in the ALS report, but getting everything else including TBN is pretty nice.
Still seeing some Nickel in there but no outward symptoms of anything wrong, and it still runs perfect. I don't know what to make of it, and from what I read Nikasil was phased out before this model year. The cylinders should be Alusil in this one. I meant to change the oil at 15,500 but miscalculated. Both were mailed on 11/5 and I received both reports back on 11/16.
The Blackstone comments are below for what they are worth:
We're still seeing extra nickel in the oil from your BMW, though we have to commend this engine for looking so good in every other respect. All metals except nickel are reading in the average range, and everything is nicely balanced. The TBN is still good at 2.8, and no other contamination or problems were found. We're not sure what to make of the nickel, but it's starting to look normal for your engine. Maybe it’s from cylinders? After-market parts? Try 16,000 miles next time. If nickel holds steady, we'll probably unhighlight it.
Anything NA is not available, NT is not tested. I had "B S" without the space in for Blackstone but it got censored, heh.

Code:
Oil M1 0w40 M1 0w40 M1 0w40 VV 5w30 BMW 5w30

Lab ALS BLST BLST BLST

MI/HR on Oil 14,540 14,540 14,828 7,832 16,817

MI/HR on Unit 100,066 100,066 85,526 70,698 62,866

Sample Date 9/24/12 9/24/12 4/2/12 9/27/11 6/24/11

Make Up Oil 0 0 0.5 0 0 AVERAGES



ALUMINUM 5 3 3 NT 5 5

CHROMIUM
IRON 11 11 9 NT 15 15

COPPER 1 2 2 NT 4 5

LEAD
TIN
MOLYBDENUM 94 87 80 NT 181 124

NICKEL 7 7 8 NT 4 1

MANGANESE NA 1 1 NT 5 3

SILVER
TITANIUM
VANADIUM
POTASSIUM
BORON 123 110 94 NT 60 54

SILICON 4 3 3 NT 4 6

SODIUM 19 16 50 NT 15 9

CALCIUM 3240 3316 2862 NT 2366 2264

MAGNESIUM 14 17 14 NT 19 140

PHOSPHORUS 950 942 810 NT 903 832

ZINC 1190 1098 951 NT 1286 1026

BARIUM




PROPERTIES

SUS Vis @ 210°F NA 75.7 69.7 NT 72.0

cSt Vis @ 100°C 14.0 14.43 12.88 NT 13.5

Flashpoint °F NA 380 400 NT 370

Fuel % NA
Antifreeze % No 0.0 0.0 NT 0.0

Water %
Insolubles % NA 0.2 0.1 NT 0.2

TBN 3.4 2.8 3.3 NT 2.1




Looks good, although you need to ask on a BMW forum about the Nickel:
Though not very widely used anymore, Nickel can be found in certain alloys of steel for internal engine parts, and also is used as a coating on bearings.
The figure is steady, so no real concern.
The BMW 5/30 did not do so well assuming driver style, useage and climate were similar. In fact it looks like a real light weight failure in comparison with the 0/40, although any 5/40 would have been just as good most likely.
Looking at the TBN you might just make 20K, but the present figure of 15K is better for severe service. 1 is OK for light duty, but 3 is my minimum for severe duty.

 

[Kuato]

Nice report! Was there a filter change in there somewhere, or did the Wix go the entire distance?

 

[jca]

Originally Posted By: skyship

The BMW 5/30 did not do so well assuming driver style, useage and climate were similar. In fact it looks like a real light weight failure in comparison with the 0/40, although any 5/40 would have been just as good most likely.
Looking at the TBN you might just make 20K, but the present figure of 15K is better for severe service. 1 is OK for light duty, but 3 is my minimum for severe duty.

It sees pretty light duty, typically 70 mph on cruise control and limited driving around town. The average speed on OBC hovers around 60 mph. The oil monitor pretty consistently says to go around 19,000 which is likely fine for this car. I didn't like the report from the BMW 5w30 that well so I cut back from 17k to 15k but went to Mobil 1 since it's easier to get. The Mobil 1 looks better to me and I plan to go back to 17k again.

As far as the filter, I should have put ALS in the title meaning the lab, not the filter. I've been using Mann filters but also have used Hengst, and never have changed one mid OCI. It's a cartridge fitler, and other than being oily they look the same after being pulled as they did new.

 

[jca]

 

[cchase]

Given the use this engine sees and the sump size, the oil really didn't hold up great. This is about the easiest use any engine can see - 60 mph average speeds in California and a 2+ gallon sump. It's already thickened a fair amount, if you assume it sheared down and starts at about 13.5 cSt. Flashpoint is fairly low as well, even though fuel is listed at <0.5%.