[Snowman811]

Decided I wanted to change my oil after the break-in period, just because I'm old school and can't sleep well at night thinking that I haven't yet. Call it neurotic, OCD, whatever - I can't wait for 15k miles on the original oil after the break in period.

The oil came oil semi-black and quite sparkly. Just like a can of metallic black paint - which is ironic given I drive a black sapphire 330i. Anyway... I'm glad I changed the oil given the sparkly nature of the oil as I'm assuming those sparkles are caused by very tiny metal shavings that occured during break in. The darkness of the oil was perfect, in fact I was surprised that it wasn't midnight, deep black. You could still see some amber in the color.

To be perfectly honest, the car is a little bit smoother running. Purrs like a kitten and still roars on the onramps!

[shimshimhada]

I'll be changing my oil too at 3K miles.

[Ghunger]

Don't take this the wrong way but I find it hard to believe you can tell the quality of your oil by just looking at it. Why don't you send a sample of it off to an oil testing company like Blackstone to really find out what's going on?

[epiphone3]

Good job on the oil change!

I changed my oil at 2200 km, at 7500 km, and at 12500 km, and now have 19250 km and am thinking about changing it again before I get my free one.

I do sleep better at night and my 323i runs smooth, purrs beautifully, and is fast.

Good on you!

And to the other guy... why bother with analysis when you can SEE the metal in the oil? Sometimes you can't tell, but when you shine a light in the oil and see the sparkles, that is not just pretty oil... it is metal in the oil... albeit, very well lubricated metal from break in. Normal.

[- Paul -]

I'm surprised my car still works.... over 16k miles and no oil change... not for another 9k miles anyway..

[Snowman811]

No offense taken. I would no sooner be able to tell the "quality" of the oil than be able to determine contaminated well water. I'm just saying I can see a shiny, metallic sheen in the oil - and I'm 'assuming' its from the breakin period. To be unambiguous, I'm not saying that's what it is. Albeit, I'm highly suspicious.

"If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it just might be a duck ... "

I'm surprised I've not been flamed by not posting pics. I still have the old oil, so might be able to do this. No promises, we'll see.

Originally Posted by Ghunger

Don't take this the wrong way but I find it hard to believe you can tell the quality of your oil by just looking at it. Why don't you send a sample of it off to an oil testing company like Blackstone to really find out what's going on?

[Ghunger]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

...why bother with analysis when you can SEE the metal in the oil? Sometimes you can't tell, but when you shine a light in the oil and see the sparkles, that is not just pretty oil... it is metal in the oil... albeit, very well lubricated metal from break in. Normal.

You bother because you have no way of knowing how much particulate is actually in the oil and also how much the oil is designed to handle. Oil is designed to carry particulates. That's part of how it keeps things lubricated, it carry's away things that wear on the engine and keeps them from wearing directly on parts. I'm not saying it was bad that he changed the oil, but I've just heard too many times that people look at their oil, and somehow know it was bad, then they get in their car, and they're sure it runs smoother. If you have enough crud in your oil aftre 1200 miles to noticably affect the engines performance, you have bigger problems with your engine than just needing an oil change.

[STE92VE]

Originally Posted by Snowman811

I'm surprised I've not been flamed by not posting pics. I still have the old oil, so might be able to do this. No promises, we'll see.

[Ghunger]

Originally Posted by Snowman811

No offense taken. I would no sooner be able to tell the "quality" of the oil than be able to determine contaminated well water. I'm just saying I can see a shiny, metallic sheen in the oil - and I'm 'assuming' its from the breakin period. To be unambiguous, I'm not saying that's what it is. Albeit, I'm highly suspicious.

"If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it just might be a duck ... "

I'm surprised I've not been flamed by not posting pics. I still have the old oil, so might be able to do this. No promises, we'll see.

Hey, if it gives you peace of mind, it's well worth it. Like you said, pics would be interesting, if they could even do it justice. I don't think I've ever seen oil that looked like metallic paint so it might be worth sending it to get tested just to find out what's up. Seems like it would have to have alot of particulates to cause it to "shine" like you say.

[nhhiep]

i don't understand why some of you guys here are being cheap on oil when spending $40k for a car? It doesn't hurt to change it more than 1 time a yr. I changed at 3K, will do again at 9K, and 16K. After that, every 6 months/7.5K. Again, oil is a cheap insurance.

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by nhhiep

i don't understand why some of you guys here are being cheap on oil when spending $40k for a car? It doesn't hurt to change it more than 1 time a yr. I changed at 3K, will do again at 9K, and 16K. After that, every 6 months/7.5K. Again, oil is a cheap insurance.

100% agree. If for nothing else, its worth it to me for the psychological effects! I treat my stuff right and it stays brand new the whole time I have it.... my motorcycle too!

[Ghunger]

I don't think I'm necessarily being cheap. I think the full synthetic oils these days are lightyears more advanced than the standard oils used years ago when 3k-5k oil changes were recommended. I don't put a huge number of miles on my cars so I expect the 1 change a year will do fine. It'll probably be in the neighborhood of 10k miles. The fact that it's a 3 Liter engine with 7 quarts of oil (which is quite a bit compared to many cars) also gives me confidence.

[espo]

Originally Posted by nhhiep

i don't understand why some of you guys here are being cheap on oil when spending $40k for a car? It doesn't hurt to change it more than 1 time a yr. I changed at 3K, will do again at 9K, and 16K. After that, every 6 months/7.5K. Again, oil is a cheap insurance.

One word: Lease!

[Kyoshi71]

Snowman,
I have seen oil that look like metallic paint on several occasions. Usually, it was during a break-in period with an engine that had cast piston rings and a rough honing job on the cylinder walls; a conventional cam & lifter; not pre-oiled sufficiently before initial start up; or casting flash from the block. These are things that, in my opinion, are common and don't lead to anything serious. However, I would change the oil! Although synthetics lubricate and handle heat much better than conventionals, all oils have similar abilities to protect moving parts by suspending debris; and that is limited to small carbon particles that are created by exhaust gases, not metallic pieces!!

Additionally, oil filters are never functional for the duration between changes. I would change the oil, run the car for a few days and re-check.
Contrary to a previous post, I do think you can tell a lot about a car by inspecting the oil.

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by Kyoshi71

Snowman,
I have seen oil that look like metallic paint on several occasions. Usually, it was during a break-in period with an engine that had cast piston rings and a rough honing job on the cylinder walls; a conventional cam & lifter; not pre-oiled sufficiently before initial start up; or casting flash from the block. These are things that, in my opinion, are common and don't lead to anything serious. However, I would change the oil! Although synthetics lubricate and handle heat much better than conventionals, all oils have similar abilities to protect moving parts by suspending debris; and that is limited to small carbon particles that are created by exhaust gases, not metallic pieces!!

Additionally, oil filters are never functional for the duration between changes. I would change the oil, run the car for a few days and re-check.
Contrary to a previous post, I do think you can tell a lot about a car by inspecting the oil.

Good call. Just because your car runs synthetic, it doesn't mean that it is invincible. People think that Synthetic oils are some magical fluid that defies the laws of physics and chemistry. Sure they do have favourable qualities to conventionals, but they are not alchemy!

My motto is: An engine has never suffered from running in fresh, clean oil. (They have, however, suffered from running in old, dirty oil).

[Ghunger]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

Good call. Just because your car runs synthetic, it doesn't mean that it is invincible. People think that Synthetic oils are some magical fluid that defies the laws of physics and chemistry. Sure they do have favourable qualities to conventionals, but they are not alchemy!

My motto is: An engine has never suffered from running in fresh, clean oil. (They have, however, suffered from running in old, dirty oil).

I never said synthetic oil was some miracle fluid but I did say it was much better than standard oil. While I think 15k miles is a bit optimistic by BMW I do think 7k-10k is perfectly reasonable.

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by Ghunger

I never said synthetic oil was some miracle fluid but I did say it was much better than standard oil. While I think 15k miles is a bit optimistic by BMW I do think 7k-10k is perfectly reasonable.

Sorry! Didn't mean to sound sarcastic and I wasn't pointing my comment directly at yourself.

I know that from looking at the Oil Analysis results that other people have done and recommendations from those results, the best move to make and the process that I actually did is this:

1. Do post-break in oil change (~2000km)
2. Do oil change 5000km later. (7000km - 7500km)
3. Do another oil change 5000 - 7500 km after that. (12000 - 15000km)
4. Do oil changes every 10000km - 12500km or at least once per year, preferrable once every 6 months, for life of car unless something happens to dictate more rapid intervals.

This is my own thoughts after studying oil analysis results from other E90s on this page. I am coming up on 20000 km so I will be looking at doing one now and then getting the free one or waiting until 25000km roles around and getting my free one and the doing every 10000 - 12500 km after that.

[Kyoshi71]

Epiphone3,

I think you are right on the money. When I had my '96 328is (wow, '96 seems so long ago) BMW called for an oil change every 10k; which I agree with because we all know about the 3000 mile oil change gimmick; a la Detroit!! When I got my '04 330ci, it jumped to 15k. Now I think the engineers at bimmer are much smarter than me but I don't think the technology in piston rings, valve stem seals and crankcase ventilation has been radical enough to warrant a 50% increase in the duration of an oil change. I think a lot of it has to do with creating a maintenance-free appeal to the average Joe, who never checks oil and runs 87 octane. Unfortunately, there are more of those than there are of us!

Cheers

[windnsea00]

Originally Posted by Ghunger

I never said synthetic oil was some miracle fluid but I did say it was much better than standard oil. While I think 15k miles is a bit optimistic by BMW I do think 7k-10k is perfectly reasonable.

Yup, well said.

[rolling18]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

100% agree. If for nothing else, its worth it to me for the psychological effects! I treat my stuff right and it stays brand new the whole time I have it.... my motorcycle too!

I would buy a used car from a guy like you