First oil analysis I've had done. I'm worried about the super low TBN but Blackstone didn't seem too worried and didn't recommend a shorter interval. What say ye, BITOG?
BMW 5W30, 14,962 miles, BMW 750Li
- Thread starter srohring
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Hard to tell whether the TBN is an issue without a TAN reading. I would guess that the reason Blackstone didn't recommend a shorter interval is that nothing seems out of line in the levels of wear metals detected.
The oil definitely seems to have thickened (it is now in the SAE 40 range at 100º C) and the flashpoint looks really low, which makes me suspect fuel dilution (the "Fuel %" number can rarely be trusted).
In a nutshell, I don't see any reason to suspect from this that there is a problem, or that there's anything to be gained by going to a shorter oil change interval. However, given the limits of Blackstone's testing, the low flashpoint, and the thickening of the oil, I wouldn't take that to mean all is well, and I certainly don't think a shorter interval would hurt you.
I think his car is out of free maintenance at 82k miles. The oil was thicken and about to form sludge, I would reduce the OCI down to 10-12k miles.
Thanks for the quick feedback! I think I will go to 10k for this fill. I have over 80k miles on the car so free oil changes went away a long time ago, but it still runs like a top. I expect to run this car to over 200k miles so I decided it was worth it to invest in an oil analysis and see if I should shorten up the intervals, and to see if there was anything amiss in the motor at this point.
I just noticed the zinc levels, very high for a 5w30 PCMO oil.
Originally Posted By: srohring
Thanks for the quick feedback! I think I will go to 10k for this fill. I have over 80k miles on the car so free oil changes went away a long time ago, but it still runs like a top. I expect to run this car to over 200k miles so I decided it was worth it to invest in an oil analysis and see if I should shorten up the intervals, and to see if there was anything amiss in the motor at this point.
may i ask how long this oil was in there for?
Thanks for the quick feedback! I think I will go to 10k for this fill. I have over 80k miles on the car so free oil changes went away a long time ago, but it still runs like a top. I expect to run this car to over 200k miles so I decided it was worth it to invest in an oil analysis and see if I should shorten up the intervals, and to see if there was anything amiss in the motor at this point.
may i ask how long this oil was in there for?
What I really want to know is what the OLM was reading at the @15k oil change? It it was at the timit (end) then BMW has figured it out.
The oil went in in October 09 and came out in late April 10, so about 6 months and just a few under 15k miles (as listed on the report). I tend to drive a lot - my daily commute is 24 miles all highway each way, plus I tend to have to go see clients quite a bit which is a mix of city and highway driving. It may be a big luxury car but I do use all 360+ horses weekly if not daily - I don't baby my motors but I do try to take care of them
My prior car was an E46 328i that I bought with 100k miles and sold with 172k miles, oil changed at 7500 intervals using this same BMW synthetic (Castrol made AFAIK), run hard quite a bit. It never used a drop of oil between changes and was a very strong runner.
My prior car was an E46 328i that I bought with 100k miles and sold with 172k miles, oil changed at 7500 intervals using this same BMW synthetic (Castrol made AFAIK), run hard quite a bit. It never used a drop of oil between changes and was a very strong runner.
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I wonder how other LL oils would have done. BMW is supposed to be good, but kinda got killed here.
I don't trust those wear numbers, some metals may have gotten locked-up in sludge. Run a change of Redline w/UOA and then you'll see.
I don't trust those wear numbers, some metals may have gotten locked-up in sludge. Run a change of Redline w/UOA and then you'll see.
Originally Posted By: oliveoil
What I really want to know is what the OLM was reading at the @15k oil change? It it was at the timit (end) then BMW has figured it out.
The car computer was calling for an oil change within the next 100 miles.
What I really want to know is what the OLM was reading at the @15k oil change? It it was at the timit (end) then BMW has figured it out.
The car computer was calling for an oil change within the next 100 miles.
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I wonder how other LL oils would have done. BMW is supposed to be good, but kinda got killed here.
I don't trust those wear numbers, some metals may have gotten locked-up in sludge. Run a change of Redline w/UOA and then you'll see.
I'm new to UOA but wouldn't sludge tend to show up as higher insoluables?
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.
I wonder how other LL oils would have done. BMW is supposed to be good, but kinda got killed here.
I don't trust those wear numbers, some metals may have gotten locked-up in sludge. Run a change of Redline w/UOA and then you'll see.
I'm new to UOA but wouldn't sludge tend to show up as higher insoluables?
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.
Originally Posted By: srohring
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I wonder how other LL oils would have done. BMW is supposed to be good, but kinda got killed here.
I don't trust those wear numbers, some metals may have gotten locked-up in sludge. Run a change of Redline w/UOA and then you'll see.
I'm new to UOA but wouldn't sludge tend to show up as higher insoluables?
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.
that's pretty darn accurate to show TBN of .1 and ur OLM showing 100 miles left till the next oil change. i wonder if the BMW OLM has an oil quality sensor. im sure it factors in time and miles and rpm.
I would love to see a UOA after 15k miles with Mobil 1 0W40 (an LL-01 oil) in your car.
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
I wonder how other LL oils would have done. BMW is supposed to be good, but kinda got killed here.
I don't trust those wear numbers, some metals may have gotten locked-up in sludge. Run a change of Redline w/UOA and then you'll see.
I'm new to UOA but wouldn't sludge tend to show up as higher insoluables?
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.
that's pretty darn accurate to show TBN of .1 and ur OLM showing 100 miles left till the next oil change. i wonder if the BMW OLM has an oil quality sensor. im sure it factors in time and miles and rpm.
I would love to see a UOA after 15k miles with Mobil 1 0W40 (an LL-01 oil) in your car.
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I'm new to UOA but wouldn't sludge tend to show up as higher insoluables?
Not if they're sunk out in sludge
Redline would tend to disrupt those formations. If you saw a spike in numbers, you would know that there were formations present.
I'm new to UOA but wouldn't sludge tend to show up as higher insoluables?
Not if they're sunk out in sludge
Redline would tend to disrupt those formations. If you saw a spike in numbers, you would know that there were formations present.
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