Hello Folks:
My special ordered (no sunroof), bought new 2003 BMW 330Ci ZSP with 5-speed manual. 3,000 mile OCIs since new, Hengst oil and air filters. FF and oil filter changed at 500 miles, then again at 1,000, then again at 1,750, then again at 3,000. At 3,000 miles the regular 3K OCIs began. I mention this because of all the controversy regarding early drain of FF. In my case, it obviously caused no harm whatsoever. I drain FF early on ALL my cars.
The car is one of four cars and with me having been either working from a home office or retired, the car is not driven regularly. It's kind of a garage queen, actually. It's never once been driven in the rain or on wet roads, and has never been parked outside overnight. It sits covered in the garage for periods as long as two weeks before I feel I must take it out and get it warmed up and "wet". The short 3K OCIs are for time periods of approximately 9 months.
I used Mobil 1 0W-40 for the first 40K miles, then German Castrol since then. Occasionally, I've experimented with a few other oils, like the Motul 300V 5W-30 shown in the previous sample.
Scott
Code:
Oil German Castrol Motul 300V 5W-30 Universal Averages
Miles in Use 2,674 2,655 Based on 6,400
Miles 78,011 68,125
Sample Taken 30Nov13 24Feb11
Aluminum 2 1 4
Chromium 0 0 0
Iron 6 7 15
Copper 7 4 10
Lead 1 4 5
Tin 0 0 1
Moly 2 734 107
Nickel 1 1 1
Manganese 0 1 2
Silver 0 0 0
Titanium 0 0 0
Potassium 6 0 3
Boron 2 18 54
Silicon 2 9 5
Sodium 3 7 15
Calcium 1896 1677 2320
Magnesium 536 981 169
Phosphorus 899 1105 845
Zinc 1014 1199 1002
Barium 0 0 0
SUS Visc @ 210*F 63.2 67.8 59-68
cST Visc @ 100*C 11.11 12.37 9.9-12.7
Flashpoint (*F) 415 430 >365
Fuel (%)
Antifreeze (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0
Water (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0
Insolubles (%) TR 0.3
TBN 9.2 7.8 >1.0
Blackstone comments (2674 mile sample, most recent one):
The second report from your E46 looks just as good as last time. Were metals are all reading within a few parts per million of the previous values, and that means there have been no significant changes over the last 10,000 miles - a great indication that this engine is running smoothly and that no mechanical problems are developing. We didn't find any harmful contaminants or other physical problems in the oil, and the TBN is still very strong at 9.2, so this Castrol has plenty of active additive remaining. You've got a good thing going with this engine.
Blackstone comments (2655 mile sample):
This first sample from the 3.0L in your BMW looks really good. Universal averages show typical wear levels for this type of engine after about 6,400 miles on the oil. This oil wasn't in place nearly that long, which explains the lower wear. From what we can see, this M54 is doing just fine mechanically. The viscosity was normal for a 5W-30 and no fuel dilution or coolant contamination was found. Low insolubles and silicon show good oil and air filtration. The TBN was strong at 7.8 showing plenty of active additive, less than 1.0 is too low. Nice engine.
My special ordered (no sunroof), bought new 2003 BMW 330Ci ZSP with 5-speed manual. 3,000 mile OCIs since new, Hengst oil and air filters. FF and oil filter changed at 500 miles, then again at 1,000, then again at 1,750, then again at 3,000. At 3,000 miles the regular 3K OCIs began. I mention this because of all the controversy regarding early drain of FF. In my case, it obviously caused no harm whatsoever. I drain FF early on ALL my cars.
The car is one of four cars and with me having been either working from a home office or retired, the car is not driven regularly. It's kind of a garage queen, actually. It's never once been driven in the rain or on wet roads, and has never been parked outside overnight. It sits covered in the garage for periods as long as two weeks before I feel I must take it out and get it warmed up and "wet". The short 3K OCIs are for time periods of approximately 9 months.
I used Mobil 1 0W-40 for the first 40K miles, then German Castrol since then. Occasionally, I've experimented with a few other oils, like the Motul 300V 5W-30 shown in the previous sample.
Scott
Code:
Oil German Castrol Motul 300V 5W-30 Universal Averages
Miles in Use 2,674 2,655 Based on 6,400
Miles 78,011 68,125
Sample Taken 30Nov13 24Feb11
Aluminum 2 1 4
Chromium 0 0 0
Iron 6 7 15
Copper 7 4 10
Lead 1 4 5
Tin 0 0 1
Moly 2 734 107
Nickel 1 1 1
Manganese 0 1 2
Silver 0 0 0
Titanium 0 0 0
Potassium 6 0 3
Boron 2 18 54
Silicon 2 9 5
Sodium 3 7 15
Calcium 1896 1677 2320
Magnesium 536 981 169
Phosphorus 899 1105 845
Zinc 1014 1199 1002
Barium 0 0 0
SUS Visc @ 210*F 63.2 67.8 59-68
cST Visc @ 100*C 11.11 12.37 9.9-12.7
Flashpoint (*F) 415 430 >365
Fuel (%)
Antifreeze (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0
Water (%) 0.0 0.0 0.0
Insolubles (%) TR 0.3
TBN 9.2 7.8 >1.0
Blackstone comments (2674 mile sample, most recent one):
The second report from your E46 looks just as good as last time. Were metals are all reading within a few parts per million of the previous values, and that means there have been no significant changes over the last 10,000 miles - a great indication that this engine is running smoothly and that no mechanical problems are developing. We didn't find any harmful contaminants or other physical problems in the oil, and the TBN is still very strong at 9.2, so this Castrol has plenty of active additive remaining. You've got a good thing going with this engine.
Blackstone comments (2655 mile sample):
This first sample from the 3.0L in your BMW looks really good. Universal averages show typical wear levels for this type of engine after about 6,400 miles on the oil. This oil wasn't in place nearly that long, which explains the lower wear. From what we can see, this M54 is doing just fine mechanically. The viscosity was normal for a 5W-30 and no fuel dilution or coolant contamination was found. Low insolubles and silicon show good oil and air filtration. The TBN was strong at 7.8 showing plenty of active additive, less than 1.0 is too low. Nice engine.
