Car: 2001 BMW M3
Engine: BMW S54B32 3.2L I-6
Oil: Castrol TWS Motorsport 10w60
Not driven in winter, not tracked, not driven too hard.
Code:
OIL Castrol 10w60
MILES IN USE 6,020 miles
MAKEUP OIL ADDED 0 QTS.
MILES ON CAR 73,800
SAMPLE TAKEN 11/13/11
MY OIL UNIVERSAL AVERAGES
ALUMINUM 4 5
CHROMIUM 0 0
IRON 10 10
COPPER 20 8
LEAD 2 4
TIN 0 1
MOLYBDENUM 5 19
NICKEL 0 1
MANGANESE 0 1
SILVER 0 0
TITANIUM 0 0
POTASSIUM 0 2
BORON 81 89
SILICON 5 5
SODIUM 3 6
CALCIUM 1535 1662
MAGNESIUM 626 519
PHOSPHORUS 888 830
ZINC 1029 1001
BARIUM 0 0
INSOLUBLES 0.2
WATER 0.0
FUEL
ANTIFREEZE 0.0 0.0
FLASHPOINT ºF 375 >370
SUS VIS 210ºF 91.0 85-110
cSt @ 212ºF 18.21 16.8-22.9
Blackstone labs comments: The only odd find in the first sample from your M3's engine was copper. This shows excess wear at a brass/bronze part, such as a bushing. All other wear read normally so we aren't too worried about copper just yet, but we'll keep an eye on it next time. Universal averages for the S54 are based on an oil run of about 4,800 miles. The oil was free of any harmful contaminants and was in good shape physically. Despite the copper, we think your engine is doing well. Air and oil filtration look good. Check back at your next oil change for another look at wear.
Should I be concerned about the excess copper? Blackstone doesn't seem to be (yet). Service records indicate that my car had the rod bearing update performed Feb. 2005 at 38,783 miles. What confuses me is that the copper was the only thing far outside the universal averages. Everything else is at or under the averages, with the exception of magnesium and phosphorous being slightly above average. If the rod bearings were wearing that bad, wouldn't I see an excess of other metals as well, such as tin or lead?
I don't know if either of these factors makes any difference but, I did run a bottle of Techron through my gas about a month or two prior to changing the oil. Aside from that, I've done nothing to the engine. The last oil change was Sept. 2010, so it sat last winter then I drove all this year on it. Just for the record, I took the oil sample right after I pulled the drain plug and the oil started draining (oil was still warm).
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Engine: BMW S54B32 3.2L I-6
Oil: Castrol TWS Motorsport 10w60
Not driven in winter, not tracked, not driven too hard.
Code:
OIL Castrol 10w60
MILES IN USE 6,020 miles
MAKEUP OIL ADDED 0 QTS.
MILES ON CAR 73,800
SAMPLE TAKEN 11/13/11
MY OIL UNIVERSAL AVERAGES
ALUMINUM 4 5
CHROMIUM 0 0
IRON 10 10
COPPER 20 8
LEAD 2 4
TIN 0 1
MOLYBDENUM 5 19
NICKEL 0 1
MANGANESE 0 1
SILVER 0 0
TITANIUM 0 0
POTASSIUM 0 2
BORON 81 89
SILICON 5 5
SODIUM 3 6
CALCIUM 1535 1662
MAGNESIUM 626 519
PHOSPHORUS 888 830
ZINC 1029 1001
BARIUM 0 0
INSOLUBLES 0.2
WATER 0.0
FUEL
ANTIFREEZE 0.0 0.0
FLASHPOINT ºF 375 >370
SUS VIS 210ºF 91.0 85-110
cSt @ 212ºF 18.21 16.8-22.9
Blackstone labs comments: The only odd find in the first sample from your M3's engine was copper. This shows excess wear at a brass/bronze part, such as a bushing. All other wear read normally so we aren't too worried about copper just yet, but we'll keep an eye on it next time. Universal averages for the S54 are based on an oil run of about 4,800 miles. The oil was free of any harmful contaminants and was in good shape physically. Despite the copper, we think your engine is doing well. Air and oil filtration look good. Check back at your next oil change for another look at wear.
Should I be concerned about the excess copper? Blackstone doesn't seem to be (yet). Service records indicate that my car had the rod bearing update performed Feb. 2005 at 38,783 miles. What confuses me is that the copper was the only thing far outside the universal averages. Everything else is at or under the averages, with the exception of magnesium and phosphorous being slightly above average. If the rod bearings were wearing that bad, wouldn't I see an excess of other metals as well, such as tin or lead?
I don't know if either of these factors makes any difference but, I did run a bottle of Techron through my gas about a month or two prior to changing the oil. Aside from that, I've done nothing to the engine. The last oil change was Sept. 2010, so it sat last winter then I drove all this year on it. Just for the record, I took the oil sample right after I pulled the drain plug and the oil started draining (oil was still warm).
Any help is appreciated. Thanks.
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