Beginning A-RX trial BMW E30 325i

[glennc]

Having been skeptical at first, responses on this board helped convince me to give Auto-RX a try. Car of choice is daily driver, '89 BMW 325i, with about 233k showing on the clock. No engine problems I'm aware of, smooth and strong, and I get consistent, good, mileage. My intention is to track some measurable/visible indicators of engine health and cleanliness as the trial proceeds, following the A-RX instructions exactly.

Here are starting conditions and measurements:

11/10/05
Mileage when A-RX added: 233937
Oil in crankcase: 1qt M1 5W-30, 4.5qt BMW 15W-40
Miles on oil when A-RX added: 1775
Filter: New OE Mahle from dealer
Compression over last three tests - test 1 at 202k, test 2 at 212k, test 3 at 233937:

Cyl #1 - 149, 140, 145
Cyl #2 - 150, 143, 150
Cyl #3 - 151, 146, 146
Cyl #4 - 149, 147, 139
Cyl #5 - 144, 144, 144
Cyl #6 - 144, 146, 150

Recent mileage - benchmark drive: 30.5mpg - 31.7mpg

Compression tests conducted at 5850ft elevation - add approx. 15% to get equivalent sea level compression.

I took a couple of photos through the oil filler hole. There is lots of superficial varnish but no sludge. Will attempt to post photos by the end of the trial along with follow-up photos.

I track mileage via the trip computer, and check the computer's accuracy from time to time over the course of a full tank. I frequently do a certain drive which I use as a mileage benchmark.

I am just slightly concerned about the lower compression reading on #4, though of course these do fluctuate with each test. If it does go back up, it'll be impossible to tell whether A-RX is responsible: if A-RX makes a difference to compression, which would surprise me, it would have to show up pretty much across the board.

I am interested to see what I'll find. I expect a cleaner internal appearance, kind of doubt I'll see a difference in running, mileage or compression - but we'll see. I drive over 2k a month in this car, so it'll go pretty quickly. Just turned over 234k this morning with no change in car's behavior so far.

- Glenn

 

[surfstar]

Have you always run synthetic in the engine? If so, this will be great info, as I've held out from using ARX b/c I've run M1 in my engine for so long I doubt there's much in there to clean. Keep us posted.

 

[glennc]

No. I've been in the habit of putting in one qt of M1 just to get some of the benefits of synth but since having this site's UOAs to look at I question the benefit of it. The BMW oil in there is non-synth 15W-40.

- Glenn

 

[dbdeland]

Glennc,

Strange sounds-blinking guages all telling you your engine was full of contaminants and Auto-Rx has cleaned off these areas and oil for the first time is lubricating them.These will go away after your done rinse cycle. They do not signify problems.

 

[glennc]

First update.

I've put around 800 miles on the car now: halfway through the first cleaning phase.

Yesterday I was under the hood with the engine running, for another reason, and I listened to the engine idling, then revving it a little with the throttle cable. It is a smooth running engine, even with 234k. I could not definitely tell whether it was running more smoothly than before, or quieter, but it did strike me that it seemed to be running quite nicely. I didn't - and haven't - noticed any unusual noises or other symptoms of A-RX cleaning.

As for power, it has been cold here lately. It's snowed a couple of times in the last week, and most of my driving has been with temps in the 20s and 30s. That always makes a car feel strong, and it has. Can't draw any conclusions from that, although it is at least an indication of how easily the butt dyno could be tricked, if I WANTED to ascribe the change to A-RX.

Peeking in the filler hole, I don't think I've seen much change. Maybe the beginnings of a little bit of cleaning, but hard to tell for sure.

My mileage is way down, to around 25, but that is consistent with snow and colder weather.

All these things are about what I'd expect, halfway through a first cleaning. No substantial results yet, but maybe some changes on the threshold of noticeability. This is the time when a lot of people seem to say, "hey this stuff isn't doing anything!" Then a month later they come back and say, "wow, that was premature." So, this is so far consistent with the experience I expected, and I'm looking forward to the upcoming rinse phase, and some oil filter reconnaissance. Another 700 miles to oil change.

- Glenn

 

[glennc]

Completed the first clean phase today at 235453 mi for a total of 1516 on the A-RX. Drained and refilled with 1qt Chevron Supreme 5W-30 and 3.5qts BMW 15W-40 dino oil. The manual recommends the 15W-40 down to -4 degrees F. (Interestingly, I'm only allowed to use 5W-30 up to 23 degrees F (!) and 10W-30 up to 41F. Even 10W-40 is only good to fifty degrees. BMW is pretty clear that this engine needs a heavy oil.) Installed new Mahle oil filter.

Observations to date:

- The filter had lots of tiny-but-visible black particles in it which I assume are deposits released by the treatment. Not a large volume of them - if I hadn't opened it up and looked closely it would have looked completely normal.

- Peeking in the oil filler hole, I can now say with certainty that some visible cleaning has taken place.

- I have noticed no difference in mileage, performance, or noise during the cleaning phase.

- I didn't notice any irregularity in the darkening of the oil with A-RX. It looked fairly clean while draining after 3291 miles in the engine.

- No substantial consumption took place during the 3291 mi oci.

I will be interested to see how this progresses through the first rinse phase, as I've noticed a lot of people begin to see accelerating results during that part of the process.

- Glenn

 

[andyd]

I have essentially the same engine in my 528es. I am veerrrry interested in your results.

 

[Russell]

I am in the rinse phase of my 95 525i with 118,000 miles. I am having a similar experience. I am also posting my experiences as I go through the ARX process. I also plan on a second treatment per Franks's recomendations.

 

[glennc]

Andyd: Glad to know this will be helpful. By the way I love the E28. Constantly keeping my eyes open for the right one to come along. How many miles on your eta?

Russell: I've been following your thread as well. I too have an E34, a '90 535i with 123k. One of the best balanced cars BMW has ever put on the road, in my opinion.

- Glenn

 

[andyd]

Glenn, I have 3 528es. The 88 has 308k on it. Timing belts, a couple of waterpumps, and a set of used injectors is all Ive had to do other than ignition tuneups to the engine. Routine maintenance stuff. Ive never had the valve cover off it in the 9+ yrs I've owned it. The 2 86s have been just as durable. They have about 250k on them. None have had "professional" care in over 5 yrs. I enjoy working on them and they are a blast to drive. Ive never owned a car this long or driven it this far.

 

[glennc]

Mid-phase checkup with about 1k miles on the first rinse. No difference in performance, fuel mileage has been lousy due to weather, and under the valve cover I don't see any sign of continued cleaning since my last post.

The engine oil appears to be darkening at the usual rate.

I have been thinking that I'd do 2k on the first rinse and 3k on the second, under the assumption that contaminants would be flushed out quickly on the first rinse, with fewer left for the second. Given the slow darkening of the oil, though, should I extend that first 2k?

- Glenn

 

[Russell]

I am thinking about extending my first rinse to 2,500 miles at least for the same reason. Not much change in oil color or anything. Not sure what the filter will show when I remove it. If there is a lot of gunk, it should show up then.

1995 bmw 525i 118,000 miles

 

[glennc]

Frank,

Who are you talking to? What application instructions have been altered? Sorry, I don't see anything here where that is being suggested. Can you explain?

- Glenn

 

[Frank]

2500 miles or 3000 miles in rinse mode is NOT corect application.You will see no significant change until final rinse oil is dumped. Nothing you can feel or measure happens until application is done.

 

[glennc]

The instructions say 1500 miles clean phase, 2000 - 3000 miles "completion" phase. People here universally refer to the OCI after the "clean" phase as the rinse phase, though I see you call it the completion phase. I guess that means the rinse phase in the instructions isn't really a phase, just an oil/filter change?

Also, respectfully, how can you not feel or measure a difference until application (meaning all clean and rinse and completion phases I assume) is done? I just don't see how any process can make no change for 8000 miles, then suddenly, once everything is done, a variety of major benefits show up?

- Glenn

 

[bfort44]

Glennc.....You have to finish the rinse cycle of ARX and dump the dirty oil and put in clean fresh oil to finally see how it all worked. The reason being, the rinse cycle get's out all the sludge and gunk from the wash cycle, and now your engine is clean. Now with fresh new oil, your engine is now getting lubrication in every nook and cranny it might not have been getting to before due to a dirty engine. There is no way you can get top performance from your car's engine if it is dirty, once clean you should see a difference in performance and improved gas mileage. Just make sure you changed your oil filter at 2,500 miles on the rinse cycle if you plan to drive it to 3,000 or more before a new oil change.

 

[glennc]

Thanks for the explanation bfort44.

I think I understand the cleaning process the way Frank and the Auto-RX FAQ/Instructions explain it. What I don't understand is, once the cleaning process is well under way, and much of the junk has already moved to the oil filter or is suspended/dissolved in the oil, why would there be not already have been a difference in the various things A-RX is supposed to improve? It seems like there would be a slowly increasing benefit over the course of the process.

I decided to try A-RX based on other peoples' results here, but there are still things about A-RX that don't really seem to add up, and it keeps me a little skeptical. I don't necessarily doubt there is an explanation, but I haven't heard a good one yet.

- Glenn

 

[Frank]

A lot of contaminants are liquified and just laying on the oil lubricated parts of the engine. To complicate it more synthetic oil has "additives" that poloarize oil to metal. This is why we want you to use non synthetic oil to rinse away these contaminants. After rinse is finished, use any oil you want.

 

[glennc]

Thanks again, Frank. On that particular subject, isn't all oil heavily polarized? Perhaps this is a misconception, but isn't surface adhesion just the result of polarized molecules? I thought all oil was very strong in this regard and that this is one of the fundamental reasons it IS a lubricant.

One thing I don't understand is how additives in the oil "encapsulate" contaminants to carry them away to the filter. Is this just the same polarization building a shell around everything it can find? Or is there something chemically going on beyond that level? Not really A-RX related, just curious.

This is somewhere most of us could really learn a few things from the true experts I'm sure.

- Glenn

 

[Frank]

Oil does not deep clean M1-Redline they lubricate and may or may not clean top surfaces of metal . They definitely don't clean deep down into the crevices of the block and oil lubricated rotating parts. Why do you have to alter the application instructions? at 2000 miles (after rinse) just drain the oil. Get an oil analysis and document your results.