Royal Purple 10W40, 5,100 miles, BMW 1998 M3

hc1001 · Sep 2, 2009

Hi, first time posting a UOA. i've had the oil in there since September 8 2008, did two track days on it, did a oil filter change two months ago. This sample was taken at the filter housing hot last weekend and sent to blackstone.

The oil is still in the car, is it safe for two more track days at the end of September? I think ill add another quart to it soon. Oil level is almost at the lower point of the dipstick(my car burns oil).

Should i be worried about any of the #'s? Whats up with the higher than avg calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc?

i bought about 30 quarts of GC cause its cheaper than RP, im not too concerned about the 0w30, i think it will be fine for my engine. Anyone track a E36 M3 with GC? is it too thin? im planning to run the GC the same way i ran the RP. Yearly oil changes, 4-6 track event days. im in NY. i guess ill do a UOA on the GC when that time comes.

Any comments would be great! thanks.

saaber1 · Sep 2, 2009

Looks really good! I wouldn't worry about any of those wear numbers at all. Also, you want higher Calcium, zinc and P so don't worry about that either. It a good thing!

I would leave it in for the track days, looks really good.

BTW, is this one of those BMW M engines that calls for 10W60? Just curious.

hc1001 · Sep 2, 2009

Thank you for the comments.

No, this engine does not need the 10w-60 oil. the next generation M3's did.

FZ1 · Sep 2, 2009

Looks pretty good,though I prefer 6 month ocis. Agree with putting new oil in in the Fall. Nice low silicon.

JoeFromPA · Sep 3, 2009

That oil looks great considering you had two track days on it. Nothing to worry about at all. Impressive viscosity holding as well, considering track use.

With the same conditions, I'd say 6-7.5k should be zero issue.

09rexwagon · Sep 3, 2009

e46s and e90/92 M3s get 10w60

hc1001, have your run M1 0w40 in your e36 before?

My bro in law ran that last time and he said it burned a lot more than GC.

hc1001 · Sep 3, 2009

Originally Posted By: 09rexwagon
e46s and e90/92 M3s get 10w60

hc1001, have your run M1 0w40 in your e36 before?

My bro in law ran that last time and he said it burned a lot more than GC.

no i never ran m1 0w-40. i heard good things about it. im glad to hear GC burns less for him. i hope to have similar results. i used m1 5w-30 and always felt it wasnt thick enough. i ran a mixture of m1 15w-50 and 5w-30 for a while. been on rp for about 2 years. i will try my hands on GC in nov.

09rexwagon · Sep 4, 2009

Originally Posted By: hc1001
Originally Posted By: 09rexwagon
e46s and e90/92 M3s get 10w60

hc1001, have your run M1 0w40 in your e36 before?

My bro in law ran that last time and he said it burned a lot more than GC.

no i never ran m1 0w-40. i heard good things about it. im glad to hear GC burns less for him. i hope to have similar results. i used m1 5w-30 and always felt it wasnt thick enough. i ran a mixture of m1 15w-50 and 5w-30 for a while. been on rp for about 2 years. i will try my hands on GC in nov.
I forgot to mention that my brother in law has an e36 M3 if it wasn't obvious. He's coming to visit tomorrow so I'll see if the GC is burning this OCI....I don't think he knows how to check his oil so this will be the first time it was checked since I changed a few months ago

. Now I just have to fix the weeping PS pump reservoir on it for him and he should be good to go.

ZZman · Sep 4, 2009

Looks great especially with track abuse on it.

Lots of TBN left and strong Add pack.

hc1001 · Sep 4, 2009

Thanks!

If the powersteering whines when you are full lock left or full lock right or when turning the wheel.
The ATF fluid is old or its low.e36 M3s use ATF for powersteering. This can be confirmed by seeing "ATF" on the PS reservoir cap. you can remove the old fluid by siphoning the old fluid out of the reservoir. turkey baster works well. Then refill with new ATF fluid.

It would be great to know if he burned oil or not. thanks and plz keep me informed.

09rexwagon · Sep 4, 2009

I'll let you know about the oil burning. However he doesn't really maintain it very well. He's a spoiled 17 year old who got an M3 for his first car and all he cares about in regards to the vehicle is big wheels, blindingly bright angel eye headlights, stereos that make the car buzz.....etc you know the insecure teenager stuff

.

I don't the PS whines, just has 'damp' connections with the reservoir which is very common on the e36s (non M3s as well). But I'll listen more intently now that you mention it.

hc1001 · Sep 4, 2009

Great!

Yes you are correct, most E36s have leaky PS reservoir hoses...

Clark6 · Sep 5, 2009

By the way what track time E.T. did you run?? just curious.

hc1001 · Sep 5, 2009

it was a HPDE. was on the track for about 2 and a half hours each day.

oliveoil · Sep 6, 2009

No.worries with GC. I've been running it for years. In my 98 .r. 8-9' oil changes with UOA's. Fantastic results. My MR uses oil, 1qt every 4'. Also do 3-4. Track. Days a year.

09rexwagon · Sep 7, 2009

Originally Posted By: hc1001
Thanks!

If the powersteering whines when you are full lock left or full lock right or when turning the wheel.
The ATF fluid is old or its low.e36 M3s use ATF for powersteering. This can be confirmed by seeing "ATF" on the PS reservoir cap. you can remove the old fluid by siphoning the old fluid out of the reservoir. turkey baster works well. Then refill with new ATF fluid.

It would be great to know if he burned oil or not. thanks and plz keep me informed.

So he told me that he changed his oil since last time I did.....himself. Must have been trying to impress my father in law, but I will say I'm impressed. Like I said, he's among the least technically proficient M3 owner I've ever known

. Anyway, he put M1 0w40 in it and it's about a quart low right now...typical with M1 0w40 in his engine....about a quart per 3k miles.

Also, could you do me a huge favor? He recently had his valve cover gasket and spark plug rings replaced and the shop never installed the engine cover and lost the nuts that go on those two studs to hold it in place. Could you check under those pop outs and tell me what those 'nuts' look like? Are they just ~6mm nuts? or are they wing nuts? It doesn't seem that I could get a socket to fit around a nut in that hole, so I thought it maybe a wing nut.

hc1001 · Sep 8, 2009

thanks for the info guys. i cant wait to try out GC. i hope it doesnt create new sounds from the thinner oil. a lot of ppl say thinner oil usually increases lifter ticking.

09rexwagon-
i changed the engine cover and im using different mounting system.
i was looking at the parts catalog and it says the part number you need is 07129900681, Hex nut with plate, AM6-ZNS

i believe i used a 6mm socket on a 1/4" drive socket wrench for the original cover.

09rexwagon · Sep 8, 2009

I got M6x1.00 locking nuts at Lowes and it was a perfect fit though the head of the nut was a 10mm socket, the 1/4" drive socket had a thin enough wall to work. Thanks for looking it up though.

Oil-wise M1 0w40 is a 14cSt at 100degC and GC is 12.1 cSt at 100degC but some UOAs have shown M1 0w40 shearing down to below GCs viscosity over an equally long OCI. But actual M3 owners display that it is hit or miss....some say they have more lifter noise with GC over 0w40 and some say the opposite. It's worth a try though.

JAG · Sep 8, 2009

Percent HTHS viscosity loss from permanent shearing has been shown to be about 1/2 the percent kinematic viscosity at 100C.

Royal Purple 10W40, 5,100 miles, BMW 1998 M3

Similar threads