Oil report, oil viscosity too high?

[Miller335]

Ran my first oil report and everything checked out but I was curious on what they means by "oil viscosity reads high for 5/30".

Do they mean it read more like a 10/40 weight oil?
I assume it's the type of oil I'm using?

Either way it doesn't sound like it's a big deal just curious.

 

[901Memphis]

The first question is did you run a 5w30? If not the Viscosity is showing in the 40 grade range which would probably be around 5w40, but only just a little, remember they have to draw the numerical line somewhere.

If you did run a 5w30 then you may seeing oxidation thickening which is one of the first signs the oil is getting close to its useful life but not necessarily condemning it.

Another reason the viscosity could be high is from a previous fill if it was something in the 40 grade range which would explain why it's only slightly out of grade. Did you just aquire this vehicle? It's possible someone ran something like Mobil 1 0W40 European Formula previously and there was some residual oil in athe system.

Either way the report looks good I wouldn't push much further than that though unless you develop more trends.

 

[Shannow]

The viscosity for an XW30 should be 9.3 to 12.5.Yours is still a 30.

They are probably referring to most of the OTC synthetics are around the 10-10.5 mark.

 

[BigD1]

Values should be 8.5--11.3? That does not sound right to me.

Havoline 5w-30 high mileage spec sheet is viscosity 12.0 @100 cSt. Castrol GTX 5w-30 high mileage spec sheet is viscosity 11.7 @100 cSt.

 

[ryanm8]

What oil is this? It looks like the BMW branded 5w30. If so, viscosity is fine. Not sure what Blackstone is thinking.

 

[Miller335]

Yes OEM BMW oil.
I've owned the car for over 2 years and 19k miles and this is my 4th oil change using the same BMW 5-30 synthetic each time.
Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

[jeepman3071]

Yeah, I wouldn't worry. A lot of guys like to run 40w oils in those BMW I-6s anyway, especially turbo'd. Got any pics of the 335? Those are sweet cars.

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: Shannow
The viscosity for an XW30 should be 9.3 to 12.5.Yours is still a 30.

They are probably referring to most of the OTC synthetics are around the 10-10.5 mark.


Oh wow i totally missed that, where did they get those ranges from...!? I guess i was wrong to assume blackstone knew SAEJ300 properly

 

[Miller335]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Yeah, I wouldn't worry. A lot of guys like to run 40w oils in those BMW I-6s anyway, especially turbo'd. Got any pics of the 335? Those are sweet cars.

Thanks for the feed back.
Oh I got plenty of pics, I've really grown attached to this car.

Put down 462whp/512wtq with less than $2k in upgrades and an E85 tune.
Ive done all the work myself including the clutch, unlike others say its not really that hard to work on these cars IMO.

 

[ryanm8]

Nice. I have one as well. Love the car.

One suggestion I have would be to switch to Mobil 1 / Castrol 0w40 for better protection.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: ryanm8
What oil is this? It looks like the BMW branded 5w30. If so, viscosity is fine. Not sure what Blackstone is thinking.

They report oil cSt on a average of their results, not the specific grade range...

 

[6starprez]

Impressive UOA for this BMW 5W-30. No need to switch oil IMO.

 

[jeepman3071]

That's a sweet ride! All my life every mechanic I've known said BMWs are the devil.

Well a friend of mine has both an e46 330i ZHP (modded) and an e90 328xi as a daily. Both of them don't seem all that difficult to work on and they definitely drive nice. He is anal about maintenance and I think that is the key.

 

[901Memphis]

Mobil 1 0W40 European Formula is a good slightly thicker option especially knowing you have mods maybe it could bring your copper down

 

[Miller335]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Mobil 1 0W40 European Formula is a good slightly thicker option especially knowing you have mods maybe it could bring your copper down


My engine has an oil cooler and Ive read that if the other metals are low but copper is high it could just be metals coming off of oil cooler, any truth to this you think?

Are there other examples of low wear metals but copper being kind of high?

 

[Miller335]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
That's a sweet ride! All my life every mechanic I've known said BMWs are the devil.

Well a friend of mine has both an e46 330i ZHP (modded) and an e90 328xi as a daily. Both of them don't seem all that difficult to work on and they definitely drive nice. He is anal about maintenance and I think that is the key.


Thanks man!
There are lemons out there but maintenance is definitely key with these cars.
Its possible some of the nightmare stories pertain to electrical issues which I haven't had to deal with yet.

 

[ryanm8]

I posted a UOA for mine about a month ago. I have an oil cooler as well. Mine looked pretty good, with copper being the highest wear metal.

 

[Miller335]

Originally Posted By: ryanm8
I posted a UOA for mine about a month ago. I have an oil cooler as well. Mine looked pretty good, with copper being the highest wear metal.

That is great info, thank you.

 

[Gasbuggy]

I really like the 335s. I would buy one but I'm afraid of the Turbo replacement.

 

[alarmguy]

Nice car, unrelated but I think interesting, my son works at BMW here in South Carolina, he went from an X1 to an X3.
Darn good company, very impressive assembly line, attention to detail etc.
But most striking, what most people dont know, they are in their now, something like, 5th expansion, each expansion something like 700 million to a billion dollars.

Anyway, right now they are building 1,200 cars a day in South Carolina of which 70% of them are for export, expansion should add another 300. (everything rough numbers)

What is interesting is, BMW is the LARGEST EXPORTER OF AUTOMOBILES IN THE UNITED STATES.
They show the American worker can compete. Great company to work for. Producing products is the only way to keep a country and its economy on tract and growing. The contribution of all the jobs and related jobs to the industry in the upstate area of SC is evident.
BMW as well as some other companies show it can be done.