- Joined
- Sep 9, 2021
- Messages
- 17
Vehicle: Stock X5 with the N55B30 and ~152,000 miles
Usage: Daily driver and tow vehicle for ~6,000 lbs car hauler.
Miles on Oil: 10,490 (computer claimed 400+ miles remaining until change required)
Time on Oil: 11 months
UOA Purpose: Monitor TBN/fuel/viscosity to "fact check" the computer calculated change intervals.
Driving Conditions:
Enjoy!
Usage: Daily driver and tow vehicle for ~6,000 lbs car hauler.
Miles on Oil: 10,490 (computer claimed 400+ miles remaining until change required)
Time on Oil: 11 months
UOA Purpose: Monitor TBN/fuel/viscosity to "fact check" the computer calculated change intervals.
Driving Conditions:
- Almost exclusively medium/long distance driven- minimum of 25 minutes one way to anything from my rural house, 80%+ "highway".
- DME-influenced oil temp is always above 235*F regardless of weather or usage (except over 100*F ambient it drops to ~220*F).
- Gets several WOT runs per week.
- Never idled at cold start, sometimes idled when at operating temp.
- Automatic start-stop is disengaged unless stuck in traffic.
- Added 1.5-2 liters over the interval.
- I manually run the e-dipstick level check monthly. It sometimes reported 100-300ml below "full", and adding that quantity always brought it back to max.
- Note: The car reported literally 0 consumption for the first 20k+ I owned it. I suspect it's possible the sensor gets coated in varnish over time and erroneously reports full- like on my E90 that claimed full level with a totally empty sump... the AN/POE in this oil very likely has allowed the sensor to measure accurately again.
- Dealer LL01-FE 0W-30 every 10-11k miles for 126k miles (first owner).
- Switched to BMW LL01 5W-30 for ~20k miles/2x OCIs upon purchase.
- One fill up with LiquiMoly 4200 LL04 by an indy which I dumped for the Ravenol VST.
- Original oil pan gasket (starting to seep) and OHFG (totally dry). Valve cover gasket changed once by first owner.
- When purchased the engine was fairly clean with mild residue/varnish visible through the filler cap on internal surfaces.
- Only 2-3 visible specs of carbon in the filter and no metal. Examined in sunlight and used a pick to separate the pleats a little.
- Clearly a bit of oxidative thickening or something partly counteracting the fuel dilution (VOA here shows 13.8cst starting viscosity).
- TBN was a bit lower than expected considering the USA is supposed to have low-sulfur gas across the board now. Virgin TAN measured at 2.02, so this oil would certainly have been "depleted" once I reached the computer calculated interval in ~400 miles. Would welcome any input on this.
- Nitration low as expected since the oil is always hot.
- Magnesium was not present in the virgin sample, and it doesn't show up in older VOA/UOAs I've seen of this oil. The calcium is also slightly lower than other samples. It's possible I got a batch they temporarily altered the detergent/dispersant mix for some reason. The VOA and UOA are NOT of the same production run because I forgot to sample when it was put in.
- Boron finished out lower than any virgin sample of this oil I've ever seen. Have seen chatter about boron depletion being a thing.
- The existing varnish entirely disappeared within 1k miles of putting the Ravenol in. Everything is literally shiny and now looks brand new.
- While I thought it was a myth- this oil hugely reduced valve train noise at idle. Pulled into the garage sounding normal, did the change, and pulled it out subjectively half as loud as before. No change in "smoothness" or anything. My E90 also exhibited this when switched over, but it took ~1k miles on that dirty and neglected engine for the sound to change.
Enjoy!