Resolute

iTrader: (2)

TBN is a little low for your mileage, compared to most engines. The VQ is just hard on oil. It has definately sheared down, which explains the slightly low TBN for 4900 miles. The VII's are always the first to shear down from oxidation, and this is what forms the acids that makes up the sludge. The higher the acid amount, the lower your TBN value. We know the acids are from the VII's breaking down and shearing because your oil's cSt is only 8.9... this oil is no longer a 30 weight, but a thick 20 weight oil. That's really the only thing that stands out here. Even so, M1 has tons of additive in it and you could easily use this for a 6k mile interval if you wanted. Your wear metals look good and the Al is not bad. High Fe is a M1 trademark for some reason, it's nothing to worry about. Amsoil TSO looks better in the HR, that's for sure. I'd say, just as I posted in the analysis sticky, that if you want to use M1, try the 0W-40. It has shown much better results than the other M1 weights. Thanks for posting, I'm going to move it into the sticky and start a HR comparison chart there.

Will

sibble

Thanks Will

I planned on trying out the m1 0w-40. My next oil change is coming up (castrol syntec with lucas oil stabilizer.) I think I might try out the Amsoil but my goal really is to find something good for a dd.

I'm rollin up on 23k soon and im anxious to find something I like. I'm also wanting to stick with an oil for a few changes to compare the elements of each change.

More so, I just want to find something and stick with it

Nexx

iTrader: (41)

<------ waits for racepedals to backpedal.

Resolute

iTrader: (2)

I don't think he needs to backpedal, I think he just might want to clarify his thoughts.

If he thinks a 30 weight in general is too thin for him to run, then that's different than him specifically pointing out that a 0W-30 is too thin, since the first number of a multi-grade oil has nothing to do with its operating temperature viscosity.

If he thinks a 30 weight will destroy an engine and a 50 weight is the way to go, then that's a little odd, and I don't agree. But, he also said it was for track use, and that makes more sense since the HTHS is higher with a heavier oil. Again, it just depends on the context and it isn't clear from his post exactly what he's tryng to say.

A 30 weight oil is just fine for use in the VQ, the UOA's show this to be a fact, and the weight alone won't determine anything about the oil's ability to perform. Even for track use, where a heavier weight does make sense, some 30 weights will be fine, like German Castrol, that have an HTHS as high as most 40 weight oils. It just depends on the formualtion and chemistry used. To make a blanket statement that a particular weight of oil is bad, is wrong. If you want to use a 50 weight, by all means you can and it won't blow up your engine. No API certified oil would. Of course, remember the the CVTC is hydraulic, and the extra pumping loss of the thicker oil when cold has been shown to alter start-up cam phasing.

There are lots of good oils out there to use, and many of them are 30 weights, and most of those are 0W-30 oils like the TSO and German Castrol. There are also some 30 weights that suck, like the RP 5W-30 and Motul. It's better to go with what shows excellent UOA results than judge an oil by weight alone.

Will

itsjiggajames

iTrader: (5)

I'm about to put mobile1 0W-40 in my car... I have 3k miles on motul 8100 5w-30 that im dying to get out, i'll order a blackstone test for the 0w-40.. didn't seem to the need to order one for the 8100 because that oil seems like crap..

0w-40 plus mobile 1 m1-110 filter.. i'll run this to 5k miles.

I recall mobile 1 5w-30 being good few years ago.. then after the castrol vs. mobile lawsuit m1 5w-30 went to ****. so the last true m1 group IV synthetic is 0W-40. and 5w-40

and oil prices have definitely gone up.. 6.19 a quart at autozone for m1-ow-40.. ouch.. i was close to buying just standard GTX but I've always used synthetics on everycar so I swayed away. Couldn't find the GC Ow-30 let alone US castrol 0w-30..

Btw resolute, have you seen anybody use bmw full synthetic oil? Supposedly it has good protecting agents added for extended drain intervals.

The oil that drained out last time I filled with motul 8100 was extremely dark, not even close to translucent. So I'm guessing it somewhat protected the engine.. I drained at close to 3k miles. But nothing is sure without a UOA.

edit.. n/m on the bmw synthetic.. it is a group III and not considered true synthetic in europe. It only does well because it has extended drain interval agents added..

Resolute

iTrader: (2)

All the M1 weights are a G4 base oil. The question isn't whether they use a PAO, it's how much they use. They also use AN, which is a G5 base oil. XOM is the world's largest producer of each.

There was never a XOM vs Castrol lawsuit. Internet myth that has run it's course and then some. I think it was Car and Driver that cleared this story up about two or three years ago, but it still comes up. Check BITOG, there's a sticky about it there.

M1 0W-40 is the only one I like, simply because it does wel in the UOA's. I can care less about the formulation specs or base stocks by themselves. Picking an oil on base stock without regard to how it performs is akin to buying a car by color without regard to how it performs. If you get a nice color, but it's a crappy ride, will you still feel like you got a good buy? The same with oil. You can buy some Motul and feel great about it's Ester base stocks, but if the UOA is crappy, then what does it matter? So, it's not a question of 0W-40 being a "true synthetic" base stock or not, it's just a simple fact that it peform better than the other weights for the same price, so why get anything else? The 5W-30 isn't a bad oil, it's just not the best performing M1 weight for the money.

BMW dosn't make or blend oil. If you buy the dealer oil, then you're getting Fuchs oil I beleive. Or maybe Esso, I can't remember. Either way, who knows who makes it for them, or cares, if you want an oil that meets BMW LL-01 and/or LL-04 there are plenty of them on the shelf at auto parts stores like NAPA. M1 0W-40, GC 0W-30, and Valvoline Synpower 5W-40 being the most popular.

If you have not drained the 8100, get a UOA of it. It would be good to get a better average on it. What weight did you use, btw? I think we have the 5W-30 on file, and that's it from the 8100 line.

If you don't track the car, and are changing every 3k-5k miles, give GTX 5W-30 a shot if you want to save some money. If you really want to stick to syn, then the M1 0W-40 is a proven winner.

Will

Nexx

iTrader: (41)

hey resolute,

i can get german castrol and m1 0w40 at the same exact price. any reason to pick one over the other?

thanks!

Resolute

iTrader: (2)

I'd get the German Castrol then. But if you can ever get one cheaper than the other, like when PepBoys offered 5 qt's of M1 and M1 filter for $30 last month, then get the brand on sale. If they're the same price like you said- then the GC has a slight edge in performance.

Will

KManZ

iTrader: (8)

The one uncertainty on any car forum is the "whats the best oil to use" question! I am coming up on 3000 miles and am starting to think about the oil I want to use. So lets put together a quick list of the preferred choices of oil for the HR SO FAR. No hair splitting here; just give the best for each category:

1) Non-tracked daily driven standard oil - ?
2) Non-tracked daily driven budget conscious synthetic - ?
3) Non-tracked daily driven premium synthetic - ?
4) Tracked NA - ?
5) Tracked FI - ? (obviously we can't finish this one yet)

From what I have read so far, and what pertains to me, this is what I would put down:

1) Non-tracked daily driven standard oil - Castrol GTX 5W-30
2) Non-tracked daily driven budget conscious synthetic - ?
3) Non-tracked daily driven premium synthetic - ? Mobil 1 0W-40
4) Tracked NA - ?
5) Tracked FI - ? (obviously we can't finish this one yet)

I am using the Castrol now, but want to switch up to the Mobil 1.

Justin07Z

IMO, the best non synthetic is Castrol GTX, and my fav full syn are Mobil 1 and Castrol. Sure Redline, Royal Purple, Elf and the like are great, but I'm not paying 9 bucks a quart....that's insane. I'll be doing my first oil change at 1200 miles right at the break in period end point. I'll be changing to Castrol GTX 5W-30 and will change every 4000 thereafter for the life of the car. Plain and simple and will workout just fine.

sibble

So, I finally drained the Castrol w/ Lucas (6,300 miles on oil). I wanted to try something different, but I was slacking on buying oil off the internet and I was due for a change. The only thing I liked at AutoZone was the Mobil 5w/30. So that's what went back in. The interesting is, it's now getting colder and colder out, and the car no longer sputters on warm-ups. I thought it could have been a problem that was not related to the engine, but now I'm starting to think that it could have possibly been.

It's been over a week now on the Mobil1 again, and I haven't had a sputter or a miss or anything. Who knows, I sure as hell don't! I'll be using the german 0/30 next time.

sibble

Here is the report.



From what I see, everything looks like it's getting better. I do wonder how the report would have been without using Lucas. The aluminum really isn't bothering me at this point because 1) it's been pretty much consistant with all the oils I've used and 2) even after more miles on the oil again, it's really not getting worse.

My plans are as follows....

I'm running Mobil 1 5/30 in the car at the moment. I am very interested in seeing a second report from an oil I've used. Will it be better? Will it be the same as the other Mobil 1 report? Who knows stay tuned!

After that.... Well, let's just say there's a truck 2,768 miles (about 1 day 17 hours) away from my house with a couple cases of german 0/30 on it

singh

iTrader: (2)

Castrol Syntec 5w-30?

I've been using that along with a Mobil 1 oil filter since my very first oil change at 1,500 miles. I just recently did my second oil change at 5,000 miles just two days ago with the castrol syntec 5w30 and mobil1 oil filter. Car's running like a champ.

Wired 24/7

iTrader: (2)

from looking at all your reports... seems like the vq35hr is going to be a nice durable engine, wearing in nicely. looks like just about any synthetic will work fine

Resolute

iTrader: (2)

Very nice. The Castrol Syntec 5W-30 has good results in both the DE and HR. Although, just as I told tsabrale, the HR will probably be easier on the oil do to the larger journals and longer rods, and it seems true based on your UOA's.

This is a nice wearing engine you have. I am surprised the Lucas didn't raise your wear metals, maybe I was wrong about how much damage the Lucas OS would do by foaming. Interesting UOA. The Lucas definitely made the oil viscosity go up, to a low 40 wt oil. I wonder what the cSt of the Lucas is when cold, and how this will affect pumping viscosity. I would say 7k is the max OCI you'll get on the Syntec, but it still protects well despite the shearing it goes through. I think the 0W-30 would get you a longer OCI, but maybe not by much.

Will

jmark

iTrader: (1)

Mods can we get a sticky on this thread please.

sibble

changed oil on 12/28/07.
mobil1 5w-30 drained, sent in for second analysis
used castrol 0w-30

i guess expect the mobil1 analysis in a month, and the german castrol in 2 months.

keptman

,,,

singh

iTrader: (2)

^^ Changing your oil at those frequent intervals is ridiculous. I don't think it's bad to do frequent oil changes, but it is unnecessary. As long as you follow the owner's manual, your car will run like it should.

jmark

iTrader: (1)

Mods can we get a sticky please? Thanks.