Recent content by Bozman52

Wow, a massive thanks again for all the time you've devoted to investigating this TBN anamoly, as well as tracking down other S63 engine examples! I put another batch of the same oil back into the engine with this last oil change (so the Ravenol VST 5W-40). I can't get an oil sample without...

I appreciate the insights! I would agree that it's odd the TBN depletes so quickly with this Ravenol oil at such a low mileage OCI, so querying the testing method is a fair call out. The Oil Lab provided me with the document below that shows their testing method for TBN, so hopefully it means...

Just following up on my promise from a year ago, as I can now share the new UOA from the slightly higher viscostiy oil I put in the car last year (Ravenol VST 5W-40 instead of VMP 5W-30): https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/ravenol-vst-5w-40-1-250-miles-oci-2015-bmw-m5-w-40k-miles.409075/

Oil was in service for 1 year, 1 month, with only 1,250 miles accumulated. I appreciate the oil mileage is low, as the car is only driven occasionally throughout the year, but it gives me peace of mind to know the oil is fresh (especially given the rod bearing issues this engine suffers from)...

I just heard back from Motul on how the fuel dilution was calculated via their "in-house" method. They state: "The fuel dilution is measured using FTIR and not flash point." Thoughts on this?

I went down this rabbit hole last time and decided to up the viscosity to a 504 spec, but your recommendation now just reaffirms that was the right decision. Now I'm just debating if I want to stick with a 0W-30 or move to a 5W-30 instead. Probably splitting hairs, especially as my climate is...

I emailed Ravenol in Germany to begin with, who advised they would have the Technical Director in the UK respond to me. He never did and I instead got a similar message to you back from their Marketing Manager. I discovered his primary job was as a freelance photographer; he wasn't an actual...

I appreciate you sharing your experience with quite the array of different oils there! The engine code on my car is DVLA, which I believe correlates to a Gen 3B engine. The oil in the car before this was actually the Ravenol VSE 0W-20 you mentioned, but I wasn't aware of the high sodium...

I finally had an oil analysis done on my wife's car and would love some feedback on what folks think. The person performing the analysis states that the silicon level is higher than it should be, so any specific input there would be appreciated. I'd like to determine if I should continue to...

Not wrong, my friend! My understanding is that most of the injector issues are with the 2012-13 cars (with "EU5" injectors). In 2014 they changed to an "EU6" injector and they seem to fail a lot less, but are still not 100% trustworthy. I'm not clear on the precise differences between them...

I never considered that the break in oil would leave debris behind. I've never heard of this, but please do elaborate if there's more to this that you're aware of.

It's nice to hear some support for the VST choice, although you were helpful in the separate thread in which I was trying to reach that decision a couple months back. I'll do another oil analysis next year and see how it compares to the VMP I just drained out. Yeah, I agree there's not a lot...

There's always that one guy :rolleyes: . I'd love to know what super reliable, cheap to run, low maintenance, 600+ HP, non-German car you have sitting in your garage. I'll wait 🍿🥤.

I was aware of the rod bearing issue ahead of buying the car, but I agree that it is quite ridiculous that BMW continues to have this issue on so many of their M engines. Fortunately, it is not an engine-out job on the F10 M5, but there's a fair bit of labor involved and costs around £2,500 for...

For European cars, BMW recommends LL04 oils instead of LL01 due to the lower sulpher content in the fuels. My car is in the UK, so falls under the LL04 spec. I appreciate they are largely interchangeable, but this was one of my dilemmas when choosing a new oil for the car. However, BMW will...