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    Oil Analysis Reports: Post & Discuss Here

    Here are all five of mine to date, all on one spreadsheet. Original attached as well.

    Click image for larger version  Name:	Capture.PNG Views:	0 Size:	187.6 KB ID:	5433
    Attached Files
    Last edited by IamFODI; 08-27-2020, 05:59 AM.
    2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
    Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

    2012 Mazda5 6MT
    Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

    #2
    Now at 110107 miles on the engine. 4931 miles on the oil in this sample.

    Ignore the "fluid added" quantity. Consumption has jumped to ~1 L / 1500 mi, which is roughly where it was when I bought the car with leaking valve cover gaskets. I fixed those (which cut consumption in half) and haven't noticed other leaks, though I have noticed what look like traces of oil on some of my spark plugs (pic attached). Wouldn't mind some feedback on that.

    I replaced the oil separators preventatively when I changed the oil. Was going to do the PCV valve as well but chickened out. Had a BMW crankcase pressure test done recently and was right in the middle of the normal range, though that was only at idle.

    EDIT: Fuel dilution was originally reported at 2.1%. Seemed high, so I asked them to re-run that test to verify. New number is 1.6%. Hoping that's the real one!


    Wear Metals

    Iron - 7
    Chromium - 0
    Nickel - 0
    Aluminum - 3
    Copper - 2
    Lead - 0
    Tin - 1
    Cadmium - 0
    Silver - 0
    Vanadium - 0

    Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 12


    Contaminant Metals

    Silicon - 7
    Sodium - 4
    Potassium - 1


    Multi-Source Metals

    Titanium - 0
    Molybdenum - 52
    Antimony - 1
    Manganese - 0
    Lithium - 0
    Boron - 53


    Additive Metals

    Magnesium - 23
    Calcium - 2458
    Barium - 0
    Phosphorus - 824
    Zinc - 935


    Other Contaminants

    Fuel Dilution - 1.6% (GC)
    Soot - <0.1% by vol.
    Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


    Fluid Properties

    Viscosity @ 100º C - 18.3 cSt
    TBN - 4.44
    Oxidation - 12
    Nitration - 11
    Attached Files
    Last edited by IamFODI; 08-31-2020, 11:19 AM.
    2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
    Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

    2012 Mazda5 6MT
    Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

    Comment


      #3
      Looks good. Which company did you use for the oil analysis?
      Spike in lead is something to note, but not enough to worry about.
      BMW / E46M Interior & Trim Restoration.
      https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/c...ch-restoration

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by TexaZ3 View Post
        Looks good. Which company did you use for the oil analysis?
        Polaris Labs. Ordering process is slightly annoying and report format isn't great, but you can get a better test package than Blackstone for less money.


        Originally posted by TexaZ3 View Post
        Spike in lead is something to note, but not enough to worry about.
        That was just in the first sample after I had my rod bearings changed. Probably residual from the original bearings, all of which had visible wear (two were starting to show copper).
        2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
        Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

        2012 Mazda5 6MT
        Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

        Comment


          #5
          Now at 115115 miles on the engine. 5008 miles on the oil in this sample.

          Starting to think my oil consumption is inversely related to how much I drive and how much throttle I use. After reading about oil consumption caused by low cylinder pressures, and noticing I spent a fair amount of time at midrange RPMs and low/moderate throttle, I tried using less RPM and more throttle in everyday driving and taking more opportunities to wind the car out. Since then, despite finding at least one new oil weep (oil filter housing gasket), 1 L top-off intervals have improved slightly to 1700+ mi.

          Fuel dilution in the previous sample is blanked out because it turned out not to be reliable.


          Wear Metals

          Iron - 8
          Chromium - 0
          Nickel - 0
          Aluminum - 1
          Copper - 2
          Lead - 1
          Tin - 1
          Cadmium - 0
          Silver - 0
          Vanadium - 0

          Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 12


          Contaminant Metals

          Silicon - 6
          Sodium - 4
          Potassium - 3


          Multi-Source Metals

          Titanium - 0
          Molybdenum - 55
          Antimony - 0
          Manganese - 0
          Lithium - 0
          Boron - 51


          Additive Metals

          Magnesium - 26
          Calcium - 2716
          Barium - 0
          Phosphorus - 875
          Zinc - 972


          Other Contaminants

          Fuel Dilution - 1.8% (GC)
          Soot - <0.1% by vol.
          Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


          Fluid Properties

          Viscosity @ 100º C - 18.3 cSt
          TBN - 4.33
          Oxidation - 13
          Nitration - 12
          Attached Files
          Last edited by IamFODI; 01-21-2021, 03:34 PM.
          2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
          Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

          2012 Mazda5 6MT
          Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

          Comment


            #6
            Honestly, seems like a nice report and healthy engine.
            BMW / E46M Interior & Trim Restoration.
            https://nam3forum.com/forums/forum/c...ch-restoration

            Comment


              #7
              120167 miles on the engine, 5052 miles on the oil in this sample.

              1 track day on this oil (NJMP, novice pace, street tires), near the end of the OCI. I had to top off with 1L shortly after that track day, so these numbers are probably mitigated slightly by that.

              Tempted to blame the rise in Al on the track day. However, the number is still really low and no other potential wear indicators have changed. #ShrugLife

              Big bump in fuel dilution!

              In the pic, fuel dilution in a previous sample is blanked out because it turned out not to be reliable.


              Wear Metals

              Iron - 8
              Chromium - 0
              Nickel - 0
              Aluminum - 7
              Copper - 2
              Lead - 1
              Tin - 1
              Cadmium - 0
              Silver - 0
              Vanadium - 0

              Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 11


              Contaminant Metals

              Silicon - 5
              Sodium - 2
              Potassium - 0


              Multi-Source Metals

              Titanium - 0
              Molybdenum - 52
              Antimony - 3
              Manganese - 0
              Lithium - 0
              Boron - 61


              Additive Metals

              Magnesium - 38
              Calcium - 2591
              Barium - 0
              Phosphorus - 857
              Zinc - 1038


              Other Contaminants

              Fuel Dilution - 2.4% (GC)
              Soot - <0.1% by vol.
              Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


              Fluid Properties

              Viscosity @ 100º C - 17.6 cSt
              TBN - 4.72
              Oxidation - 12
              Nitration - 11
              Attached Files
              Last edited by IamFODI; 07-22-2021, 01:18 PM.
              2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
              Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

              2012 Mazda5 6MT
              Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

              Comment


                #8
                125133 miles on the engine, 4966 miles on the oil in this sample.

                2x 2-day track events on this oil (NJMP Thunderbolt, intermediate pace, street tires); one event at the beginning of the OCI, and one at the end.

                Aluminum is back down to previous levels and all other wear markers remain low, though fuel remains high.

                In the pic, fuel dilution in a previous sample is blanked out because it turned out not to be reliable.


                Wear Metals

                Iron - 8
                Chromium - 0
                Nickel - 0
                Aluminum - 4
                Copper - 2
                Lead - 0
                Tin - 1
                Cadmium - 0
                Silver - 0
                Vanadium - 0

                Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 11


                Contaminant Metals

                Silicon - 5
                Sodium - 6
                Potassium - 1


                Multi-Source Metals

                Titanium - 0
                Molybdenum - 70
                Antimony - 0
                Manganese - 0
                Lithium - 1
                Boron - 56


                Additive Metals

                Magnesium - 25
                Calcium - 2744
                Barium - 0
                Phosphorus - 937
                Zinc - 1006


                Other Contaminants

                Fuel Dilution - 2.4% (GC)
                Soot - <0.1% by vol.
                Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


                Fluid Properties

                Viscosity @ 100º C - 18.2 cSt
                TBN - 5.24
                Oxidation - 13
                Nitration - 12
                Attached Files
                2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
                Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

                2012 Mazda5 6MT
                Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

                Comment


                  #9
                  129808 miles on the engine at the time of sampling (minor typo in the report). 4672 miles on the oil.

                  1x 2-day track event on this oil (NJMP Lightning, intermediate pace, street tires). Also, a few exhaust leaks and minor emissions system gremlins found and fixed, hence the marginally earlier change; once I saw the problems, I realized I might have been dumping a bunch of fuel and byproducts in the oil for who-knows-how-long, so I wanted to get the oil out of there and start fresh. If the fuel dilution number in this report is any indication, maybe I was right.

                  Seems like the formulation has changed. Maybe this is due to BMW's recent switch back to Castrol. Might explain the Ti and higher Mo (Castrol has been using Ti as an additive for a while). Different wear metals profile in this report, too. Starting to wonder if I now have to throw out most of my UOA history. Ugh.

                  In the pic, ignore the anomalously low fuel dilution reading on the earliest visible sample. It was not reliable.


                  Wear Metals

                  Iron - 6
                  Chromium - 0
                  Nickel - 0
                  Aluminum - 1
                  Copper - 2
                  Lead - 2
                  Tin - 0
                  Cadmium - 0
                  Silver - 0
                  Vanadium - 0

                  Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 11


                  Contaminant Metals

                  Silicon - 6
                  Sodium - 3
                  Potassium - 1


                  Multi-Source Metals

                  Titanium - 36
                  Molybdenum - 166
                  Antimony - 0
                  Manganese - 0
                  Lithium - 0
                  Boron - 33


                  Additive Metals

                  Magnesium - 18
                  Calcium - 2816
                  Barium - 0
                  Phosphorus - 809
                  Zinc - 986


                  Other Contaminants

                  Fuel Dilution - 2.6% (GC)
                  Soot - <0.1% by vol.
                  Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


                  Fluid Properties

                  Viscosity @ 100º C - 19.4 cSt
                  TBN - 5.23
                  Oxidation - 13
                  Nitration - 10
                  2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
                  Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

                  2012 Mazda5 6MT
                  Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

                  Comment


                    #10
                    136939 miles on the engine at the time of sampling. 7134 miles on the oil.

                    Figured the longer OCI wouldn't be horrible given that a lot of these miles were from multiple 7+ hour road trips.

                    Just after this OCI, I had a crazy misfire issue that seems to have been due to an O2 sensor fault. Assuming that failure didn't happen overnight, I'm sure it affected this sample.

                    Looks like the formulation change I thought I was seeing is real. Much more moly, titanium making an appearance, ~half as much boron, and a little less phosphorus vs. the Shell version. Also looks like this new formulation has better viscosity retention. Maybe this product is back in the TWS lineage.

                    In the pic, ignore the flag on titanium. They probably flagged it because it wasn't showing up in previous samples and they didn't know this engine has no titanium in it.

                    Copying the numbers here because I don't like how Polaris's reports are formatted:



                    Wear Metals

                    Iron - 7
                    Chromium - 0
                    Nickel - 0
                    Aluminum - 3
                    Copper - 2
                    Lead - 0
                    Tin - 1
                    Cadmium - 0
                    Silver - 0
                    Vanadium - 0

                    Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 12


                    Contaminant Metals

                    Silicon - 7
                    Sodium - 3
                    Potassium - 0


                    Multi-Source Metals

                    Titanium - 44
                    Molybdenum - 178
                    Antimony - 0
                    Manganese - 0
                    Lithium - 0
                    Boron - 30


                    Additive Metals

                    Magnesium - 18
                    Calcium - 2772
                    Barium - 0
                    Phosphorus - 791
                    Zinc - 950


                    Other Contaminants

                    Fuel Dilution - 2.0% (GC)
                    Soot - <0.1% by vol.
                    Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


                    Fluid Properties

                    Viscosity @ 100º C - 19.0 cSt
                    TBN - 4.45
                    Oxidation - 13
                    Nitration - 8
                    Attached Files
                    2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
                    Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

                    2012 Mazda5 6MT
                    Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

                    Comment


                      #11
                      142308 miles on the engine at the time of this sample.

                      As mentioned above, had a significant bank 2 misfire issue right at the beginning of this OCI. After the O2 sensor swap, a bottle of Liqui Moly Fuel System Cleaner (no idea if that helped), and a few hundred miles, all seems well.

                      Close to the end of the OCI, I had the bank 1 valve cover and oil filter housing gasket replaced. Figured there was significant potential for dirt ingress during those repairs, so I drove mildly and ran another bottle of Liqui Moly Fuel System Cleaner before draining the oil ~550 miles after the repairs.

                      Given all that, I imagined I'd see record-breaking fuel dilution, elevated silicon levels, and potentially elevated wear metal numbers. Not sure if I should be happy or puzzled that none of those panned out...


                      Wear Metals

                      Iron - 8
                      Chromium - 0
                      Nickel - 0
                      Aluminum - 1
                      Copper - 2
                      Lead - 1
                      Tin - 0
                      Cadmium - 0
                      Silver - 0
                      Vanadium - 0

                      Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 11


                      Contaminant Metals

                      Silicon - 8
                      Sodium - 3
                      Potassium - 1


                      Multi-Source Metals

                      Titanium - 44
                      Molybdenum - 187
                      Antimony - 4
                      Manganese - 0
                      Lithium - 1
                      Boron - 33


                      Additive Metals

                      Magnesium - 18
                      Calcium - 2982
                      Barium - 0
                      Phosphorus - 859
                      Zinc - 1006


                      Other Contaminants

                      Fuel Dilution - 2.0% (GC)
                      Soot - <0.1% by vol.
                      Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


                      Fluid Properties

                      Viscosity @ 100º C - 19.5 cSt
                      TBN - 5.04
                      Oxidation - 14
                      Nitration - 11
                      Attached Files
                      Last edited by IamFODI; 08-26-2022, 05:14 PM.
                      2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
                      Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

                      2012 Mazda5 6MT
                      Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

                      Comment


                        #12
                        148159 miles on the engine at the time of this sample.

                        For once, I don't think I have anything interesting to say about this OCI. All I did was drive the car. Average fuel economy is better than it has been for most of the time I've owned the car, so maybe I'm going easier on it.

                        I did have to top off about a week before changing the oil. That's gotta be part of why the numbers look so good.


                        Wear Metals

                        Iron - 6
                        Chromium - 0
                        Nickel - 0
                        Aluminum - 2
                        Copper - 2
                        Lead - 0
                        Tin - 0
                        Cadmium - 0
                        Silver - 0
                        Vanadium - 0

                        Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 10


                        Contaminant Metals

                        Silicon - 6
                        Sodium - 2
                        Potassium - 1


                        Multi-Source Metals

                        Titanium - 47
                        Molybdenum - 198
                        Antimony - 2
                        Manganese - 0
                        Lithium - 4
                        Boron - 33


                        Additive Metals

                        Magnesium - 18
                        Calcium - 3010
                        Barium - 0
                        Phosphorus - 857
                        Zinc - 1034


                        Other Contaminants

                        Fuel Dilution - 1.8% (GC)
                        Soot - <0.1% by vol.
                        Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


                        Fluid Properties

                        Viscosity @ 100º C - 19.9 cSt
                        TBN - 6.1
                        Oxidation - 13
                        Nitration - 10

                        Attached Files
                        2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
                        Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

                        2012 Mazda5 6MT
                        Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

                        Comment


                          #13
                          154112 miles on the engine at the time of this sample.

                          One HPDE right at the beginning of the OCI. Nothing else worth noting, as far as I remember.


                          Wear Metals

                          Iron - 5
                          Chromium - 0
                          Nickel - 0
                          Aluminum - 4
                          Copper - 2
                          Lead - 0
                          Tin - 1
                          Cadmium - 0
                          Silver - 0
                          Vanadium - 0

                          Particle Quantifier (PQ) Index - 12


                          Contaminant Metals

                          Silicon - 5
                          Sodium - 2
                          Potassium - 0


                          Multi-Source Metals

                          Titanium - 41
                          Molybdenum - 166
                          Antimony - 0
                          Manganese - 0
                          Lithium - 0
                          Boron - 27


                          Additive Metals

                          Magnesium - 20
                          Calcium - 2534
                          Barium - 0
                          Phosphorus - 743
                          Zinc - 883


                          Other Contaminants

                          Fuel Dilution - 1.9% (GC)
                          Soot - <0.1% by vol.
                          Water - <0.1% by vol. (FTIR)


                          Fluid Properties

                          Viscosity @ 100º C - 19.6 cSt
                          TBN - 4.79
                          Oxidation - 14
                          Nitration - 11
                          Attached Files
                          2008 M3 Sedan 6MT
                          Slicktop, no iDrive | Öhlins by 3DM Motorsport | Autosolutions | SPL

                          2012 Mazda5 6MT
                          Koni Special Active, Volvo parts

                          Comment


                            #14
                            This car is a recent purchase for me. Previous owner had it for 10 years. It's a 2008 with original bearings and presently at 111k miles. Even before I saw this report I was nervous about the bearings. I plan to get them done but I'm low on funds for the next few months.

                            Click image for larger version

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                            Attached Files

                            Comment

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