(2011) Did my first Oil Analysis. I guess i'm a bit surprised.

[grantaf]

Hey all,

Pretty new owner here. Picked up a 58k 2011 E93 in June last year. I recently did my first oil change and decided to also opt for a Blackstone Lab report. I know that the bearing wear is pretty much indeterminate due to the fact that they are aluminum, but I'm curious as to what y'all think. I've put about 5k on the motor since and I can't really think of anything to complain about.

[roastbeef]

Worthless on a 2011+ car.

[PKL]

I got the same analysis done on my 2011 w/ 35k miles, and it was a "stellar report".

Yet I just had my bearings replaced at 37k miles and many of them looked very bad.

[Mvy]

Most of the bearing wear in theory happens early on and either stops or slows so if you were hoping to catch that is prob too late. Change them out then run these reports every time you get an oil change and you can notice trends of wear over time that can help you.

[IanMan]

I'll say it a million times. There are people that have had engine failure after a perfect oil analysis.

[LuckiSevens]

Originally Posted by PKL

I got the same analysis done on my 2011 w/ 35k miles, and it was a "stellar report".

Yet I just had my bearings replaced at 37k miles and many of them looked very bad.

I thought you were going to say the engine blew up, but no, nothing happened

[fatalelement]

"(2011) Did my first Oil Analysis. I guess i'm a bit surprised."

No offense, but what are you surprised about? If a car with less than 60k miles on it shows a garbage oil analysis, or you expected one, why would anyone buy that car? This is a standard, normal oil report and should be what any similar mileage M3 gets back from Blackstone.

[Scharbag]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

Worthless on a 2011+ car.

My 2011 (build date 04/2010) came with the lead/copper bearings. On BE bearings with ARP bolts now.

I am unsure if this oil analysis testing really does most people a lot of good. As others have said, engines have failed soon after a great oil report came back. That said, I have had my oil analysed... :P

[roastbeef]

i had my oil analyzed as well, it was before i fully understood how and why it was worthless to determine engine wear.

[fatalelement]

Originally Posted by Scharbag

My 2011 (build date 04/2010) came with the lead/copper bearings. On BE bearings with ARP bolts now.

I am unsure if this oil analysis testing really does most people a lot of good. As others have said, engines have failed soon after a great oil report came back. That said, I have had my oil analysed... :P

It's certainly functional for other reasons, my last car was on the track all the time and I had regular Blackstone analysis done (as did most other people I drove with) to determine how the oil was holding up and get a good baseline for intervals, as well as check other things (I had rigged together a water/oil cooler, which I wanted to make sure wasn't exchanging fluids with the coolant, for example).

I think Blackstone absolutely has its purpose, as does a set of fresh tires, but neither are going to have much of an impact on knowing when (or if) you should change your RBs.