Blackstone Oil Analysis

[FriedPiston]

It looks like whatever synthetic oil BMW is using is holding up well after a bit of hard driving. I changed the oil with 5w30 Castrol Magnatec Full Synthetic, so we will see how this one holds up after a few thousand miles.

Oil sample notes:

* Oil change interval was at around 6,100 miles (1100 miles -> 7200 miles)

* Last ~800 miles was on full E85; mixed use of E30-E50 every now and then

* (20) 1/4 mile passes + (22) 4th gear WOT runs for BEF logging

* Round trip from SF to LA along with regular daily driving

[CarbonFoot]

Looks good...thanks for sharing. I have similar mileage on my M3 so it will be interesting to see how my report comes back in a few weeks.

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by CarbonFoot

Looks good...thanks for sharing. I have similar mileage on my M3 so it will be interesting to see how my report comes back in a few weeks.

Nice, did you end up changing the oil before 10k miles also?

[CarbonFoot]

Yes, 7500 miles

[FriedPiston]

^ In that case, it'll definitely be interesting to see how your results go.

[CarbonFoot]

Yep, I'll share my results for comparison when I receive the report.

[gatorfast]

Why did you go with 5w30 castrol? Is that ll-01 approved?

[FriedPiston]

^ Mainly because the 5-quart jug was on sale. LL-xx approval is mainly for marketing, and don't really apply to short OCIs. I feel like any engine oil supplier can pay to get any kind of approval they want stamped on their product.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by nars3000

^ Mainly because the 5-quart jug was on sale. LL-xx approval is mainly for marketing, and don't really apply to short OCIs. I feel like any engine oil supplier can pay to get any kind of approval they want stamped on their product.

5qt jugs of castrol 0w40 which is ll-01 approved is always cheap at Walmart. Your car though. I'm sure it will be fine but seems like an unnecessary risk, even if small, considering how readily available and inexpensive ll-01 oils are.

[FriedPiston]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

5qt jugs of castrol 0w40 which is ll-01 approved is always cheap at Walmart. Your car though. I'm sure it will be fine but seems like an unnecessary risk, even if small, considering how readily available and inexpensive ll-01 oils are.

Oil is oil for the most part. Blackstone has gathered enough oil samples in their time, and they've essentially debunked the whole OEM oil approval recommendations. They've even analyzed an oil sample from a Nissan pick-up that never once had a full oil change (top off only) after 120k+ miles -- they found that the metal readings were no different from similar mileage vehicles, and that was just on regular conventional oil.

Personally, I believe oil type and viscosity are more important than worrying about brand and approval ratings. Again, LL (long life) applies more for the standard 10k mile or higher OCI. I've yet to see anyone break anything over an oil brand, so I highly doubt it would matter by the slightest bit with a 5-6k mile OCI as long as the correct oil type and weight is being used.