2016 BMW M4, Castrol Edge 0w40 LL01 2.1k miles UOA

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Jan 9, 2020
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Southern California USA
Please see attached for UOA. The Castrol 0w40 Edge used in this was from 2017-2018 and still had the LL01 certification, commonly known as BC / GC here. One of my favorite oils up until it lost LL-01, but I still use it in other vehicles I own.

I don't understand why flash point on this car always drops compared to my other cars (BMW X1 DI-turbo, Subaru STI Port Injection turbo, BMW 550i NA V8)- this car does see the most high rpm runs but it also always gets fully warmed up (by driving not idling excessively on cold start), and rarely sees drives that are less than 10 miles. 95% of all drives reach operating temperature. A lot of high RPM wot runs and many many canyon run miles from living near the canyons in southern california. Flash point of 380-390f from UOA ranging from 1400-2400miles seems a bit low. The other cars UOA carrying much more miles, short tripping and frequent idling still had better flash points.

Blackstone mentioned fuel dilution (yet it says trace amounts only) so maybe this oil sheered down more than it normally does compared to my other cars partly because of the frequency of high rpms and/or WOT runs.

Nonetheless the oil seems to do a good job minus the flash point (relative to my other samples with more miles on 0w40)

Link to previous UOA https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/dealer-filled-bmw-0w20-ll14fe-in-m4-any-concern.323536/
 

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Was there any remapping of software?
KV100 is not setallar too.
No not at all, O2 sensors are much farther up than the secondary cats so removing them doesn't change anything or require a software remapping. Any thoughts on why this low mile sample of GC / BC became this way after 2100 miles? Blackstone did mention that it could be because of the mixture of remaining 0w20 from previous dealership oil change lowering the viscosity but I don't understand the flash point being low. My previous 0w20 BMW TPT also saw a flashpoint dip to 390F after only 1400 miles.
 
Nope, only modifications to the power is full exhaust w/ deleted secondary cats. Nothing crazy.
Years ago M1 0w40 would initially shear a little and then recover once you went deeper into the interval. I wonder if it's due to the amount of VII required of a 0w40.
 
Great report. Canyon runs must be a blast.

Sure sheared down. Prior fill shouldn't have that large of an impact .
 
No not at all, O2 sensors are much farther up than the secondary cats so removing them doesn't change anything or require a software remapping. Any thoughts on why this low mile sample of GC / BC became this way after 2100 miles? Blackstone did mention that it could be because of the mixture of remaining 0w20 from previous dealership oil change lowering the viscosity but I don't understand the flash point being low. My previous 0w20 BMW TPT also saw a flashpoint dip to 390F after only 1400 miles.
Wait, I actually missed it is 2,100 miles. That is ridiculous. There is something going on with your fuel there. Also, 0W20 should not be used in M4. As far as I know, BMW used in 2016 TPT 0W40 (exceptional oil) and switched S55 to TPT 0W30 LL01FE (garbage for that engine). So, you should not have 0W20 in that engine.
My money is on fuel. There is no way Castrol 0W40 is going to shear that much in 2,100 miles. Also, that flashpoint is IMO indicative of something going on with burn.
Try something different. I would try Motul Sport 5W40.
 
Something worth mentioning is that the day that I actually changed the oil I just start the car let it run for 2 minutes while I get the car on jack stands, and drain the oil. Doubt that little amount of fuel dilution is causing the flash point to drop to 385 area though.
Wait, I actually missed it is 2,100 miles. That is ridiculous. There is something going on with your fuel there. Also, 0W20 should not be used in M4. As far as I know, BMW used in 2016 TPT 0W40 (exceptional oil) and switched S55 to TPT 0W30 LL01FE (garbage for that engine). So, you should not have 0W20 in that engine.
My money is on fuel. There is no way Castrol 0W40 is going to shear that much in 2,100 miles. Also, that flashpoint is IMO indicative of something going on with burn.
Try something different. I would try Motul Sport 5W40.
I posted about that 0w20 accidental dealer fill before and yes, totally agree only the heavier weighted oils are correct which is why that oil was dumped out within 1200 miles and changed with castrol 0W40. Still can’t believe dealer filled it with that on Last free oil change.

I will try motul sport likely after this cycle of ravenol 0w40. Worth mentioning is I did do this oil change “cold”. I pulled car out of garage and onto ramps, cold start to idle maybe 1 minute or 2 minutes so some fuel / moisture may be present in sample, but I doubt it would dilute it that much to affect flash point and viscosity that much in a 2100 mile sample.
 
Something worth mentioning is that the day that I actually changed the oil I just start the car let it run for 2 minutes while I get the car on jack stands, and drain the oil. Doubt that little amount of fuel dilution is causing the flash point to drop to 385 area though.

I posted about that 0w20 accidental dealer fill before and yes, totally agree only the heavier weighted oils are correct which is why that oil was dumped out within 1200 miles and changed with castrol 0W40. Still can’t believe dealer filled it with that on Last free oil change.

I will try motul sport likely after this cycle of ravenol 0w40. Worth mentioning is I did do this oil change “cold”. I pulled car out of garage and onto ramps, cold start to idle maybe 1 minute or 2 minutes so some fuel / moisture may be present in sample, but I doubt it would dilute it that much to affect flash point and viscosity that much in a 2100 mile sample.
I would do next at 3,000 miles just in case and do it when the engine hot, maybe 10-15 miles of driving.
 
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