2008 BMW M3, BMW TwinPower Turbo 10W-60, 5369 mi

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Previous UOA here.

142308 miles on the engine at the time of this sample.

Shortly after the beginning of this OCI, the car registered misfires on all bank 2 cylinders, throwing the car into limp mode. Ended up driving it (gently) with that problem recurring periodically for somewhere between 100 and 200 miles before swapping in a new primary O2 sensor seemed to fix the issue. The car still ran slightly rough afterward, so I ran a bottle of Liqui Moly Fuel System Cleaner in one tank (couldn’t tell if it helped). Over the next few hundred miles, everything returned to normal.

Close to the end of the OCI, I had the bank 1 valve cover and oil filter housing gasket replaced. Figured there was significant potential for dirt ingress during those repairs, so I drove mildly and ran another bottle of Liqui Moly Fuel System Cleaner before draining the oil ~550 miles after the repairs.

Given all that, I imagined I'd see record-breaking fuel dilution, elevated silicon levels, and potentially elevated wear metal numbers. Not sure if I should be happy or puzzled that none of those panned out...


Wear Metals

Iron - 8
Chromium - 0
Nickel - 0
Aluminum - 1
Copper - 2
Lead - 1
Tin - 0
Cadmium - 0
Silver - 0
Vanadium - 0

Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 11


Contaminant Metals

Silicon - 8
Sodium - 3
Potassium - 1


Multi-Source Metals

Titanium - 44
Molybdenum - 187
Antimony - 4
Manganese - 0
Lithium - 1
Boron - 33


Additive Metals

Magnesium - 18
Calcium - 2982
Barium - 0
Phosphorus - 859
Zinc - 1006


Other Contaminants

Fuel Dilution - 2.0% (GC)
Soot - Water -

Fluid Properties

Viscosity @ 100º C - 19.5 cSt
TBN - 5.04
Oxidation - 14
Nitration - 11
 

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It didn’t shear a lot at all.
Is that Castrol or SOPUS version?
Gotta be Castrol at this point, I'm thinking. The switch from Shell to Castrol was announced early 2021, and all the oil I've had analyzed since then (3 OCIs' worth so far) has had a noticeably different additive package (e.g. there is titanium now).

Are you aware of any VOAs on this stuff, by chance? IDK what the starting viscosity is. Still nice to see it close to xW-60 territory, though.
 
Gotta be Castrol at this point, I'm thinking. The switch from Shell to Castrol was announced early 2021, and all the oil I've had analyzed since then (3 OCIs' worth so far) has had a noticeably different additive package (e.g. there is titanium now).

Are you aware of any VOAs on this stuff, by chance? IDK what the starting viscosity is. Still nice to see it close to xW-60 territory, though.
I haven’t seen VOA of this stuff, but my guess would be somewhere in 21 range.
I mean, for that grade this is exceptional result.
 
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