Redline 5W30, 6130 miles, BMW X5 4.4 V8

chefwong · Oct 19, 2004

3rd Run of RL 5W30 on my BMW X5 4.4 V8.
Odometer is around 18, 430 with FP on almost every fillup (1 oz / 5 gal).

Love to hear your thoughts on this UOA.

ThePrevious UOAwas skewed but you can see it here.

haley10 · Oct 19, 2004

Hmmm. Aluminum a bit high, new engine, TBN shot already and oil thickened...I'm thinking blowby.

Insolubles are @ .5, too.

A decent report, but my 2 cents ain't worth 2 cents. It would be interesting to see what Dyson would say.

I'm not sure Redline agrees with this engine, especially at the price.

TEXDOG · Oct 19, 2004

what color was the oil just before sampled?

chefwong · Oct 19, 2004

I don't drive fairly hard but I don't baby the pedal also. The oil was brownish black - typical color of an oil change. Then again.....you're asking someone who may not be as perceptive to the *colors* as you oil nuts .

Here's another take that may *skew* this UOA. There may be a slight chance my dealer changed it to factory OEM BMW 5W30. I brought the car in to have a mirror module changed and I advised the service advisor that I changed my own oil already and they just need to reset my *oil change service* light. When I picked up the car, it did note that they *reset light per customers request*. I'm sure ya'll can read the UOA much better than me, but can UOA's reveal signatures/characteristics that my not be of a particular oil ?

Another note which I've been told would not affect anything at all is my FP mix. I was making the *mola brew* in the garage and I ended making a FP/LC brew of 3:1. This Brew is what I've been using on almost every fillup at the rate of 1 oz to 5 gallons.

[ October 20, 2004, 02:02 PM: Message edited by: chefwong ]

haley10 · Oct 20, 2004

Yep, that's Redline. All the dealer did was to reset the monitor.

I'm just puzzled by the TBN being shot @ only 6K?? You paid a lot for a performance oil and I'm not sure you got it.

I'm not so sure that the dealer BMW stuff might not work as well or even GC.

Cary · Oct 20, 2004

I'll say it as a big redline fan, their motor oil doesn't cut it for longer intervals. There is no excuse for the oil to be depleted after 6,000 miles, when the standard BMW Group III oil would troup on to 10,000 miles without a problem. This is the third interval for this oil on a low mileage motor, so there can't be any excuse that Redline was cleaning.

I run redline in my tranny, diffs and transfer cases, and have for many years, but Mobil 1 goes in the motor.

If it were my car, I would stop wasting my money and go to the BMW 5w-30 Synth, GC, or M1 0w-40. My bais is M1 0w-40.

chefwong · Oct 20, 2004

I'm still waiting for TD's analysis but I dumped GC in the car since I ran out of my case of RL.

I will have a run of GC for the winter and come spring, the car will be due for it's annual maintence checkup & oil change. I may run the car with the OEM BMW oil that the dealer changed with, but most likely I'll just drive it home, dump it and refill with GC and then get a UOA come again, Oct/November 2005 to compare/contrast the GC results to the RL.

Seth_TJ · Oct 20, 2004

I tried to post from school but couldn't. That TBN is bad... Toasted. And the insolubles are somewhat high also. What filter are you using? I'd check everything intake wise

Quattro Pete · Oct 20, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by chefwong:
I'm sure ya'll can read the UOA much better than me, but can UOA's reveal signatures/characteristics that my not be of a particular oil ?

With this much moly, it sure looks like Redline to me.

I'm not even going to attempt to interpret a Redline UOA. I'm sure Terry will have some insights for you.

Alan · Oct 20, 2004

Redline motor oil has nothing over M1 except for a higher price tag.

Pablo · Oct 20, 2004

Thickened and TBN is quite low.

Wear metals look OK.

How do you drive?

A4NCAR · Oct 21, 2004

Coming from 7 years with Red Line oil use in VW/Audi 1.8t's and a few UOA with my Audi 1.8t (4 & 8K miles with 5W-30/40), that TBN is awfully low after only 6K miles. I just had an 11K mile UOA from Motul 300V 5W-40 in my Audi 1.8t and TBN was better and it's not even considered a "street" oil for extended drains. I use Motul 8100 E-Tech 0W-40 too. They carry BMW LL approval as well. You should consider this one. Also look at M1 0W-40, Castrol SLX 0W-30, AMSOIL European Formula 5W-40.

Dr. T · Oct 21, 2004

Is Redline even ACEA A3-rated? Is it BMW LL-98/01 rated? Why even use it then in a BMW? Kinda like using M-1 5-30.

This UOA is just so-so IMO...(worth less than 2cents)

Bror Jace · Oct 24, 2004

I agree with Carey and others. This is a very disappointing report. The oil should have held up better than this, for sure.

I've pretty much given up on Red Line motor oils. Still use their gear oils and other products .... but can't see spending $8 on this stuff.

Want to use somethin' special? Buy some Schaeffer Oil.

--- Bror Jace

buster · Oct 24, 2004

quote:

Want to use somethin' special?

Schaeffer's for sure but also German Castrol. Still can't get over how consistant that oil is.

goodvibes · Oct 25, 2004

It may be his brew. Where do you put a 3 to 1 mix of FP to LC.

fuel tanker man · Oct 25, 2004

I nominate Redline for the most over-rated oil in production.

chefwong · Oct 25, 2004

How does this UOA compare. It's on the same exact engine / make / model with 4200 miles on the oil with OEM BMW 5W30 oil. The mileage on the car is just about the same as the mileage on mine.

buster · Oct 25, 2004

Report is very similar. Is this engine known for causing oils to thicken?

chefwong · Oct 25, 2004

hmmm...let me check around. I think we share similar engines with the older E38 (older 7 series).

Redline 5W30, 6130 miles, BMW X5 4.4 V8

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