First UOA in our new-to-us 2011 BMW 328i sedan 6MT. This was the last model year of this car that came with the naturally aspirated, port-injected, 3.0L I6 (N52B30M1).
Second oil change since taking delivery of the car, though. Didn't know what oil was in there before, so I wanted to wait until the second oil change to start oil analysis.
Concerned about the silicon. A fairly recent VOAs of this oil here indicates no Si as an additive. I'm running BMW OE filters, so I'm guessing poor filtration is unlikely. I changed the spark plugs shortly after taking delivery, right at the beginning of this OCI, so maybe there was some dirt ingress from that. I also heard from the selling dealership that they replaced the valve cover gasket before listing it, so maybe they went too hard with the gasket paste. Will probably find out in a few months as it's already leaking. I guess I should also check for leaks in the intake or vacuum system.
Hard to tell if wear has been affected. Nothing looks bad in isolation, though everything's slightly higher than our M3 has been putting out for the most part, and that's an 8400 RPM V8 with a rep for chewing rod bearings. Not sure what to make of that copper number, either.
Time will tell...
Wear Metals
Iron - 10
Chromium - 0
Nickel - 0
Aluminum - 6
Copper - 8
Lead - 0
Tin - 1
Cadmium - 0
Silver - 0
Vanadium - 0
Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 12
Contaminant Metals
Silicon - 69
Sodium - 6
Potassium - 0
Multi-Source Metals
Titanium - 16
Molybdenum - 106
Antimony - 0
Manganese - 1
Lithium - 0
Boron - 28
Additive Metals
Magnesium - 854
Calcium - 1098
Barium - 0
Phosphorus - 707
Zinc - 807
Other Contaminants
Fuel Dilution - 0.9% (GC)
Soot - <0.1%
Water - <0.1% (FTIR)
Fluid Properties
Viscosity @ 100º C - 9.5 cSt
TBN - 3.66
Oxidation - 13
Nitration - 12
Second oil change since taking delivery of the car, though. Didn't know what oil was in there before, so I wanted to wait until the second oil change to start oil analysis.
Concerned about the silicon. A fairly recent VOAs of this oil here indicates no Si as an additive. I'm running BMW OE filters, so I'm guessing poor filtration is unlikely. I changed the spark plugs shortly after taking delivery, right at the beginning of this OCI, so maybe there was some dirt ingress from that. I also heard from the selling dealership that they replaced the valve cover gasket before listing it, so maybe they went too hard with the gasket paste. Will probably find out in a few months as it's already leaking. I guess I should also check for leaks in the intake or vacuum system.
Hard to tell if wear has been affected. Nothing looks bad in isolation, though everything's slightly higher than our M3 has been putting out for the most part, and that's an 8400 RPM V8 with a rep for chewing rod bearings. Not sure what to make of that copper number, either.
Time will tell...
Wear Metals
Iron - 10
Chromium - 0
Nickel - 0
Aluminum - 6
Copper - 8
Lead - 0
Tin - 1
Cadmium - 0
Silver - 0
Vanadium - 0
Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 12
Contaminant Metals
Silicon - 69
Sodium - 6
Potassium - 0
Multi-Source Metals
Titanium - 16
Molybdenum - 106
Antimony - 0
Manganese - 1
Lithium - 0
Boron - 28
Additive Metals
Magnesium - 854
Calcium - 1098
Barium - 0
Phosphorus - 707
Zinc - 807
Other Contaminants
Fuel Dilution - 0.9% (GC)
Soot - <0.1%
Water - <0.1% (FTIR)
Fluid Properties
Viscosity @ 100º C - 9.5 cSt
TBN - 3.66
Oxidation - 13
Nitration - 12
