BMW HP Synthetic 5w-30 5958 mi 2003 BMW 330Ci

[shanneba]

Here is my lastest UOA. Most of the miles (4500) were from 4 days, 1125 miles each. Two round trips Houston to Indianapolis. About 18 hours on the road each day. Mileage average was about 31.0 mpg at 70 - 75 mph. Highest mileage was 34.6 mpg on one tank at about 65 mph. I did use FP60 on the last trip. The mileage was about 1.6 mpg better on the return trip (second thousand miles using FP60)

code:

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Sample Date 6/19/2006 3/31/2006 10/15/2005 5/7/2005

total miles 37365 31407 26100 21130

Miles on oil 5958 4300 5000 5011

Brand BMW Castrol Castrol BMW

Type HP Synthetic GC Gold GC gold/Green HP Synthetic

Viscosity 5w-30 0w-30 0w-30 5w-30



Aluminum 2 2 2 4

Chromium 0 0 0 1

Iron 4 6 7 9

Copper 18 15 22 28

Lead 1 2 2 2

Tin 0 0 1 0

Molybdenum 104 4 19 124

Nickel 0 0 0 1

Manganese 1 1 1 3

Silver 0 0 0 0

Titanium 0 0 0 0

Potassium 1 6 1 9

Boron 21 3 9 38

Silicon 3 3 3 5

Sodium 5 3 4 2

Calcium 2463 1704 2125 3446

Magnesium 83 455 311 18

Phosphorus 662 781 748 853

Zinc 847 964 889 1050

Barium 0 0 0 0



SUS @ 210 64.1 63.2 62.5 65.6

Flashpoint 415 325 375 375

Fuel %
Antifreeze % 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Water % 0.0 trace 0.0 0.0

Insolubles % 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3

TBN 3.2 4.7 4.0 1.8

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Blackstone comments:
Copper is stubbornly hanging around. But if you look at copper in terms of how much you're
getting per mile, the rate improved, and that's great. Its level increased in this sample because you ran
this oil longer than the others. Other wear looks great, and since copper is not getting worse, we think
you can continue to run 6000 miles on the oil and it should continue to wash out of the system. The
TBN read 3.2, still active additive remaining. A reading of 1.0 or lower is too low. No fuel, moisture, or
antifreeze found. Check back to monitor.

Back to GC now, all green this time.
BMW stock air filter was changed at around 21,000 miles. Still seems to be doing well.
There were two AutoCross days and 6 back to back dyno runs on the OCI.

[ June 23, 2006, 07:01 PM: Message edited by: shanneba ]

 

[dkryan]

Did you have a "fuel" problem with the GC Gold on your last UOA? The flashpoint looks low from the Gold sample, but the TBN is respectable, in spite of the lower miles.

Overall, I think your report(s) look good. Copper is a question mark, but everything looks to be " in line."

 

[The Critic]

There's absolutely no way this oil can safely last 15K in this application, based upon these results.

 

[shanneba]

Dkryan,

I did have all the coils replaced during the OCI that had the 3.0% fuel. There weren't any codes stored, it was a recall by BMW for coils that were failing prematurely. They were replaced in December and there was a trip to Indy at Christmas afterward. I am not sure I believe the 3.0% fuel. From Jan 1 to the end of the oci it was mostly my normal short trips, less than 2 miles to work. The GC Gold does seem to hold it's TBN better than the BMW oil.
The flash point is low but the viscocity didn't seem to be affected. The sample was taken with the oil cool. This sample was taken shortly after getting the oil to 200F.

 

[dkryan]

I think I'd stick with GC in your vehicle. The fuel issue aside, the results appear to be noticeably better than using the "BMW" oil.

I find it's best to take the sample after the oil has reached normal operating temperature.

 

[goodvibes]

More miles, less wear. I don't see the same except for TBN but he's not doing extended OCIs.