Blackstone Oil Report: Cause for Concern?

[M0nk3y]

Report shows some extra metal that is usually contributed to rod bearings. My temperatures do rise alittle ONLY when I'm autocrossing. Immediately after the temps fall under 210F again and never get above that during DD. As well, anything that can explain the gas?

Thoughts?

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8819/oilanalysisz4m.png

[danewilson77]

My first thought is: Stop autocrossong. I know that's what I would do. It's not my hobby though either.

Delivered from SIGFest USA

[Oli77]

I had the same first thought 20 seconds ago (but I don't know nuthin').

[kayger12]

What oil are you running, Kyle? And how long was it in there?

I couldn't make out the report on my phone.


I wish this was sent with a Galaxy S3

[kayger12]

My first thought is: Stop autocrossong. I know that's what I would do. It's not my hobby though either.

Delivered from SIGFest USA


I had the same first thought 20 seconds ago (but I don't know nuthin').

Nah, I think he was interested in getting this car specifically with autocross in mind.

Should be able to get this worked out.


I wish this was sent with a Galaxy S3

[M0nk3y]

My first thought is: Stop autocrossong. I know that's what I would do. It's not my hobby though either.

Delivered from SIGFest USA


I had the same first thought 20 seconds ago (but I don't know nuthin').

Sorry guys, this is going to come off kinda dick-ish...but that's never going to happen. Sorry.

The S54 known weak part are the rod bearings. Replacement parts with VAC ones are $250. Not the end of the word (except labor). Of course I'm not going to draw any conclusions until another sample is done.


What oil are you running, Kyle? And how long was it in there?

I couldn't make out the report on my phone.


I wish this was sent with a Galaxy S3

I'm running Castrol TWS 10w-60. There was 6,451 miles on the oil.

It was in the car for about 11-12 months (car sat over winter).

[Hornung418]

I would definitely drop the pan and inspect the conrod bearings. Couldn't hurt, especially if you have time and a DD. Wait til the next sample to come back before investigating though...just to make sure this isn't a fluke.

[brettbimmer]

Kyle, what about cutting the next oil change interval to 3,000 miles, and send another sample out to Blackstone? If the S54 is known to have internal wear troubles, perhaps a shorter oil change interval would be beneficial to get any metals caught in the oil out sooner and keep the innards clean & happy, thus helping to keep the engine cooler during autocrossing. On another note, If you think about it, most autocross courses offer you little time at speed (maybe 60 MPH for a short burst max), so the engine does not have the typical natural air flow that it would have driving at speed. In addition, you are driving it pretty hard (loud pedal down for max speed, obviously) at slower overall speeds, which is atypical to street use. I would suspect this lack of natural airflow over the engine is probably causing your elevated temperatures more than anything else. When I come off the track, I see the temps spike on whatever BMW I have been driving. Usually I come back and after letting the car run at slow paddock speeds for a few minutes, go park and pop the hood to let the excess heat escape. Anyway, just my two cents. Is the engine temp. gauge "dampened" in the M cars like everything else BMW has built from E36 chassis onward?

[danewilson77]

Not dick-ish at all.....and figured you would say that. That's just the first thing to pop into my head.

I would pose your dilemma at www.bobistheoilguy.com

They may have some good suggestions.

[M0nk3y]

Kyle, what about cutting the next oil change interval to 3,000 miles, and send another sample out to Blackstone? If the S54 is known to have internal wear troubles, perhaps a shorter oil change interval would be beneficial to get any metals caught in the oil out sooner and keep the innards clean & happy, thus helping to keep the engine cooler during autocrossing. On another note, If you think about it, most autocross courses offer you little time at speed (maybe 60 MPH for a short burst max), so the engine does not have the typical natural air flow that it would have driving at speed. In addition, you are driving it pretty hard (loud pedal down for max speed, obviously) at slower overall speeds, which is atypical to street use. I would suspect this lack of natural airflow over the engine is probably causing your elevated temperatures more than anything else. When I come off the track, I see the temps spike on whatever BMW I have been driving. Usually I come back and after letting the car run at slow paddock speeds for a few minutes, go park and pop the hood to let the excess heat escape. Anyway, just my two cents. Is the engine temp. gauge "dampened" in the M cars like everything else BMW has built from E36 chassis onward?

From what I know, the temp gauge isn't dampened. When I come off the course the temp is sitting around 220. Once I start getting to padlock it's cooling down. I do pop the hood and let the engine cool down. Other people have told me while tracking the S54 it's completely normal to see excess of 250F on the oil.

I'm not going to be putting many miles on the car this year (just because Im talking a Scion to work, and not driving 400 miles combined to and from autocross events and home.


Not dick-ish at all.....and figured you would say that. That's just the first thing to pop into my head.

I would pose your dilemma at www.bobistheoilguy.com

They may have some good suggestions.

Registered, waiting activation. Thanks for the suggestion.

Emailing my report to my BMW service advisor. He's great. Going to find out if the rod bearing recall applies to my car and take further action.

[kayger12]

BITOG is a good option. That's where I got the best info about my diff results.

I would shorten up the change interval this time around as Brett suggested and see what kind of results you get.



I wish this was sent with a Galaxy S3

[echo46]

My first thought was that the oil remained too long. I agree with the the above and would advocate 3,000 mile oil interval changes. You're beaten that oil but good.

[bimmeryota]

I agree with echo, I'd change it no less than 5k, 3k is even better. If you're going longer on time than 1000 miles/month you may want to consider changing it every 4-5 months even if you're not reaching the mileage.