Kirkland 5w30 - 5019 miles - 2012 BMW N63

[LukeT32]

This is my first UOA. The engine has 38,000 miles on it (OEM BMW Reman - Kirkland 5w30 it's entire life). The fuel injectors are originalish (I believe a few were replaced early on under factory warranty prior to my ownership) and have 140,000 miles on them. I have run a few bottles of OEM BMW fuel system cleaner thru as well. I religiously change the oil every 5,000 miles. The vehicle does have downpipes and a piggyback tune as well. I do have an occasional rough cold start that I believe is due to leaking/dirty spray pattern fuel injector. No misfires are ever reported though.

I am guessing the low viscosity rating is due to a minor amount of fuel dilution. Which I would also suspect increased cylinder wall wear from that causing the higher then normal iron amounts. Any thoughts/information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[JavierH19]

So ever since you got this reman engine you've been running kirkland 5w-30 for it's entire 38k mile life I am understanding. This isn't the right oil for the engine. It won't hurt to accidentally use once or a few times if the intervals aren't extended but I'd never run this exclusively. It doesn't meet minimum performance requirements bmw sets with their specification being LL-01.

 

[frankbee3]

I suspect the Kirkland 5w30 is not a proper Euro spec 5w30 motor oil? One can find a decent euro spec engine oil at Walmart, such as Castrol Euro 5w30 A3/B4 or Mobil 1 FS 0w40 or 5w40 euro.

I

 

[JavierH19]

I would change this fill out very very soon.

 

[JavierH19]

I suspect the Kirkland 5w30 is not a proper Euro spec 5w30 motor oil? One can find a decent euro spec engine oil at Walmart, such as Castrol Euro 5w30 A3/B4 or Mobil 1 FS 0w40 or 5w40 euro.

I've been using bmw ll-01 rated oil in my 6.2 gm engine for almost its whole life starting at 14k although it doesn't need anything beyond a 0w-20 so what I'm using is overkill. Meanwhile this twin turbo v8 n63 which should get nothing but ll-01 oil hasn't had it once. Kind of wild to me.

 

[kschachn]

You go to the trouble of purchasing an OEM BMW manufactured engine but you don’t use the proper oil for it?

Really.

 

[rijndael]

Regarding their comments ... the iron count seems to be outside of the 5ppm/1K miles, right? Am I missing something?

 

[JavierH19]

You go to the trouble of purchasing an OEM BMW manufactured engine but you don’t use the proper oil for it?

Really.

I think he didn't look into the owners manual enough and only saw the grades but not the spec which you can't fault some people for. People are taught to look for the grade that matches before buying and using and most assume full synthetic to be good enough for everything.

I don't think this engine is "done for" or anything like some will claim later on even though it's essentially running on an underadditized 5w-20 right now with the shearing but he should definitely change to the right oil. At least he didn't do extended intervals.

 

[Rand]

Nice first post hotbutton topic.

First thing to do is use the proper oil in it.. which isnt kirkland anything.

M1 0w40 comes to mind. or Euro oil preferably in 40wt.

 

[fantastic]

Welcome, As noted the iron is higher than I'd assume but knowing it's a re-manufactured engine hard to know what shape it was in. Seems to be running for you though. While I agree w/the specification 100% I do think the tune could be causing some elevated Fe.

 

[LukeT32]

So obviously everyone is pretty worked up about the Kirkland not meeting BMW LL01. It's to my understanding a manufacturer has to pay to get the BMW approval, same with dexos. So to meet the price point of the oil I get Kirkland not paying to have the BMW rating on the container. The oil is changed every 5,000 miles so the long life rating BMW requires for a 15,000+ interval seems irrelevant.

The engine was replaced due to massive amounts of oil consumption. The original engine had only OEM BMW oil until 102,000 miles. At 52,000 miles it burned almost two quarts every 1,500 miles. I changed the oil every 5,000 miles at the dealer to document the oil consumption properly for the warranty extension. It still had to be topped off TWICE between 5,000 mile oil changes.

So IMO the BMW LL-01 rating is irrelevant from my personal experience. To get back on topic it appears the Kirkland 5w30 tests out properly as a 5w30 when new. https://pqia.org/kirkland-signature-full-synthetic-sae-5w-30-motor-oil/
Which slightly confirms my suspicion it's a fuel dilution issue causing the lower rating after 5,000 miles.

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

I applaud OP for this effort. Very cool experiment.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

This is my first UOA. The engine has 38,000 miles on it (OEM BMW Reman - Kirkland 5w30 it's entire life). The fuel injectors are originalish (I believe a few were replaced early on under factory warranty prior to my ownership) and have 140,000 miles on them. I have run a few bottles of OEM BMW fuel system cleaner thru as well. I religiously change the oil every 5,000 miles. The vehicle does have downpipes and a piggyback tune as well. I do have an occasional rough cold start that I believe is due to leaking/dirty spray pattern fuel injector. No misfires are ever reported though.

I am guessing the low viscosity rating is due to a minor amount of fuel dilution. Which I would also suspect increased cylinder wall wear from that causing the higher then normal iron amounts. Any thoughts/information would be greatly appreciated.
View attachment 254399

Obviously iron is higher than normal. I do not believe the N63 uses sleeves and if true the iron would not be coming from the bore.

LL01 or LL04 oil for this powerplant. 40 grade wouldn't hurt. Run it twice then sample the after the second run.

 

[Reloader59]

So obviously everyone is pretty worked up about the Kirkland not meeting BMW LL01. It's to my understanding a manufacturer has to pay to get the BMW approval, same with dexos. So to meet the price point of the oil I get Kirkland not paying to have the BMW rating on the container. The oil is changed every 5,000 miles so the long life rating BMW requires for a 15,000+ interval seems irrelevant.

The engine was replaced due to massive amounts of oil consumption. The original engine had only OEM BMW oil until 102,000 miles. At 52,000 miles it burned almost two quarts every 1,500 miles. I changed the oil every 5,000 miles at the dealer to document the oil consumption properly for the warranty extension. It still had to be topped off TWICE between 5,000 mile oil changes.

So IMO the BMW LL-01 rating is irrelevant from my personal experience. To get back on topic it appears the Kirkland 5w30 tests out properly as a 5w30 when new. https://pqia.org/kirkland-signature-full-synthetic-sae-5w-30-motor-oil/
Which slightly confirms my suspicion it's a fuel dilution issue causing the lower rating after 5,000 miles.

I agree. It's not the oil. If this engine can't run a decent 5w-30 oil, then it's junk.

 

[kschachn]

So obviously everyone is pretty worked up about the Kirkland not meeting BMW LL01. It's to my understanding a manufacturer has to pay to get the BMW approval, same with dexos. So to meet the price point of the oil I get Kirkland not paying to have the BMW rating on the container. The oil is changed every 5,000 miles so the long life rating BMW requires for a 15,000+ interval seems irrelevant.

The engine was replaced due to massive amounts of oil consumption. The original engine had only OEM BMW oil until 102,000 miles. At 52,000 miles it burned almost two quarts every 1,500 miles. I changed the oil every 5,000 miles at the dealer to document the oil consumption properly for the warranty extension. It still had to be topped off TWICE between 5,000 mile oil changes.

So IMO the BMW LL-01 rating is irrelevant from my personal experience. To get back on topic it appears the Kirkland 5w30 tests out properly as a 5w30 when new. https://pqia.org/kirkland-signature-full-synthetic-sae-5w-30-motor-oil/
Which slightly confirms my suspicion it's a fuel dilution issue causing the lower rating after 5,000 miles.

So you’re saying the approval is only a money grab and has no technical merit?

Well, you know best.

 

[kschachn]

I agree. It's not the oil. If this engine can't run a decent 5w-30 oil, then it's junk.

That’s the spirit. Another excellent technical evaluation.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

So obviously everyone is pretty worked up about the Kirkland not meeting BMW LL01. It's to my understanding a manufacturer has to pay to get the BMW approval, same with dexos. So to meet the price point of the oil I get Kirkland not paying to have the BMW rating on the container. The oil is changed every 5,000 miles so the long life rating BMW requires for a 15,000+ interval seems irrelevant.

The engine was replaced due to massive amounts of oil consumption. The original engine had only OEM BMW oil until 102,000 miles. At 52,000 miles it burned almost two quarts every 1,500 miles. I changed the oil every 5,000 miles at the dealer to document the oil consumption properly for the warranty extension. It still had to be topped off TWICE between 5,000 mile oil changes.

So IMO the BMW LL-01 rating is irrelevant from my personal experience. To get back on topic it appears the Kirkland 5w30 tests out properly as a 5w30 when new. https://pqia.org/kirkland-signature-full-synthetic-sae-5w-30-motor-oil/
Which slightly confirms my suspicion it's a fuel dilution issue causing the lower rating after 5,000 miles.

The blender buys the additive pack, follows the receipe and gets the approval. It costs a couple of grand.

Your consumption has nothing to do with the choice of oil. It's a design problem (i.e. Heat).

Anyways, 30 grade LL01/LL04 oils have a higher HTHS compared to non-LL01/LL04 30 grades.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I agree. It's not the oil. If this engine can't run a decent 5w-30 oil, then it's junk.

The OP is running an engine with an aftermarket tune. But ya the N63 is not held in high regard in the BMW community.

 

[OVERKILL]

So obviously everyone is pretty worked up about the Kirkland not meeting BMW LL01. It's to my understanding a manufacturer has to pay to get the BMW approval, same with dexos. So to meet the price point of the oil I get Kirkland not paying to have the BMW rating on the container. The oil is changed every 5,000 miles so the long life rating BMW requires for a 15,000+ interval seems irrelevant.

The engine was replaced due to massive amounts of oil consumption. The original engine had only OEM BMW oil until 102,000 miles. At 52,000 miles it burned almost two quarts every 1,500 miles. I changed the oil every 5,000 miles at the dealer to document the oil consumption properly for the warranty extension. It still had to be topped off TWICE between 5,000 mile oil changes.

So IMO the BMW LL-01 rating is irrelevant from my personal experience. To get back on topic it appears the Kirkland 5w30 tests out properly as a 5w30 when new. https://pqia.org/kirkland-signature-full-synthetic-sae-5w-30-motor-oil/
Which slightly confirms my suspicion it's a fuel dilution issue causing the lower rating after 5,000 miles.

Phosphorous, which is the primary anti-wear component of the ZDDP compound is typically around 900-1000ppm in LL-01 oils. Your UOA shows phosphorous at 497ppm, which is about half that.

LL-01 also mandates an HTHS of 3.5cP or higher. Your typical plane-Jane PCMO 5W-30 has an HTHS of around 3.0cP. This is what protects rod and main bearings from wear.

Having an engine crap the bed and then decide to use a worse lubricant in the replacement engine is not wise decision making.

 

[4WD]

A thread about using the “wrong” oil is not new here - and even the wrong oil in the wrong direction is not new here …
But some are actually seeking a higher level of protection …
That’s not this thread …