UOA showing OEM BMW oil vs Liqui Moly Leichtlauf HT 5w-40

[bobbyh907]

Finally got around to getting kits to send out the samples I've been taking. Here's one between the OEM oil that was changed at the dealership before I got the car then changed it out at 4k miles on the oil with my go to oil LM Leichtlauf High Tech 5w-40. Ran the liquimoly for a little under 5k miles and the results came back better than the OEM oil did in a shorter oci. Both oil changes I had to add a quart of oil at around 3500 miles and that seems to be the norm for my car unless I'm able to get out and work it often. The more I drive the car aggressively the less oil I use. But I digress, here's the UOA!

[agentrnge]

Thanks for the info! Which OEM oil weight was used in the previous change? Also, curious if that oil change was a dealer performed service vs you DIYing. My assumption is that a dealer change will not allow the oil to drip nearly as long and leave more old oil in the bottom of the pan.

[gatorfast]

What grade oil was in your car before?! The viscosity on the report is that of a 20wt.

Also your car is one of the only I have heard where it eats oil. Not that anything is wrong with 1qt in 5k miles, but oil consumption is extremely rare for the s55.

[FlyingLow78]

bobbyh907

Lots of personal info on the UOA you posted. Might want to sanitize that...

[N55Msport]

Are you tracking your car and redlining it? When you mention you had to add oil, is this from the on board system telling you that you need oil? I have 43,000 miles and having to add oil is the last thing I expect to do on such a modern engine.
Nice report though.

[gatorfast]

It's necessarily a modern engine thing. Plenty of current cars consume oil but as long as it is within reason it's fine. The s55 engine though is not known to consume oil.

[bobbyh907]

Originally Posted by agentrnge

Thanks for the info! Which OEM oil weight was used in the previous change? Also, curious if that oil change was a dealer performed service vs you DIYing. My assumption is that a dealer change will not allow the oil to drip nearly as long and leave more old oil in the bottom of the pan.

Originally Posted by gatorfast

What grade oil was in your car before?! The viscosity on the report is that of a 20wt.

Also your car is one of the only I have heard where it eats oil. Not that anything is wrong with 1qt in 5k miles, but oil consumption is extremely rare for the s55.

The change was done at the dealership before I bought it so I assume the OE 0w-30. the 2nd sample was a DIY change. Really shows why you should never listen to the factory reccomendations for OCI if you care about your car.

Originally Posted by N55Msport

Are you tracking your car and redlining it? When you mention you had to add oil, is this from the on board system telling you that you need oil? I have 43,000 miles and having to add oil is the last thing I expect to do on such a modern engine.
Nice report though.

Yes, adding a quart when the computer tells me to. Also yeah, quite a bit of "abuse". Canyon driving competing with friends for the best time up the road, drag strip visits, roll racing. Funny thing is it seems to use the oil when it is being used calmly. When I'm out of town usually the wife just takes it to the grocery store or to her parents house and that's when it seems to use the oil.

[bobbyh907]

All that being said, there are other people who have used Liqui Moly and have experienced some oil evaporation. One quart in 5k miles in a high performance engine that is driven like it is supposed to be doesn't frighten me at all. My N55 used about the same oil per change as the S55 and it was using the same LM Leichtlauf HT 5w-40.

[bobbyh907]

Originally Posted by FlyingLow78

bobbyh907

Lots of personal info on the UOA you posted. Might want to sanitize that...

Thanks for the warning, it was fixed. I chose the wrong image when uploading haha.

[agentrnge]

Originally Posted by bobbyh907

The change was done at the dealership before I bought it so I assume the OE 0w-30. ...

Thanks for adding another datapoint confirming the decision to avoid the 0w30 FE oil.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by agentrnge

Thanks for adding another datapoint confirming the decision to avoid the 0w30 FE oil.

Yea it really sheared down quickly to a 20wt after just a few thousand miles. That said, the UOA posted doesnt show any concerning levels of wear metals and TBN is healthy so its probably still a fine oil to use.

[bobbyh907]

Maybe for a 4k interval. Not for the 10-12k mile reccomended oci.

[F32Fleet]

So what's more important to you?

The UOA which so a little wear consisting of tiny particles or a UOA which so much less wear but is unable to detect the larger particles?

[bobbyh907]

Unable to detect larger particles? Pretty sure if there were larger undetectable particles neither uoa would be able to detect it. And that's what a filter is for. I cut and squeeze my filter every oil change. No shinies.

I'll take a uoa that has less wear.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by bobbyh907

Unable to detect larger particles? Pretty sure if there were larger undetectable particles neither uoa would be able to detect it. And that's what a filter is for. I cut and squeeze my filter every oil change. No shinies.

I'll take a uoa that has less wear.

I'm just saying be weary of drawing conclusions off single-pass UOA's. Blackstone has some really good articles on the limits and more importantly how to interpret a UOA.

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/used-...hat-is-normal/

[aerostar]

Isn't it possible that the oil also isn't efficiently removing those particles?

Also, how do you add oil with an electronic dipstick? Or am I missing something.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by aerostar

Isn't it possible that the oil also isn't efficiently removing those particles?

Also, how do you add oil with an electronic dipstick? Or am I missing something.

What do you mean by "oil also isn't efficiently removing those particles"? The oil wont remove anything but the oil filter will catch any contamination. As for some of the wear metals listed in the report attached, you are talking microscopic particles measured in parts per million.

To your second point, the dipstick has nothing to do with adding oil. If you want to add oil (to the M3 or any other car) you simply remove the oil fill cap and pour some in

[aerostar]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

What do you mean by "oil also isn't efficiently removing those particles"? The oil wont remove anything but the oil filter will catch any contamination. As for some of the wear metals listed in the report attached, you are talking microscopic particles measured in parts per million.

To your second point, the dipstick has nothing to do with adding oil. If you want to add oil (to the M3 or any other car) you simply remove the oil fill cap and pour some in

As in, is it possible that a lesser oil would have trouble removing/circulating the particulate to the filter in the first place.

And my point was that without a dipstick I would find it hard to add an accurate amount without under or over filling.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by aerostar

As in, is it possible that a lesser oil would have trouble removing/circulating the particulate to the filter in the first place.

And my point was that without a dipstick I would find it hard to add an accurate amount without under or over filling.

Got ya. I don't think the first point is a concern. As to the electronic dipstick, it works the same way as a physical dipstick. You simply run the program to measure the oil and see where it displays on the screen. Anywhere between the "min" and "max" mark and you are good.

[bobbyh907]

Originally Posted by aerostar

As in, is it possible that a lesser oil would have trouble removing/circulating the particulate to the filter in the first place.

And my point was that without a dipstick I would find it hard to add an accurate amount without under or over filling.

It pops up on the display and says "add one quart". I add one quart, drive around for a bit and rerun the oil level check program and make sure it's good.

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by bobbyh907

It pops up on the display and says "add one quart". I add one quart, drive around for a bit and rerun the oil level check program and make sure it's good.

I could be cautious about adding an entire qt when the warning pops up. These things can be funny sometimes and go from min to max quickly. I always start with 1/2 qt and then re-check. I have seen instances where a full qt is added and then the overfill warning comes on.

[bobbyh907]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

I could be cautious about adding an entire qt when the warning pops up. These things can be funny sometimes and go from min to max quickly. I always start with 1/2 qt and then re-check. I have seen instances where a full qt is added and then the overfill warning comes on.

That's funny because some people advocate for adding 2 quarts when the "add one quart" alert pops up😂