Oil analysis is it worth doing

[alane29]

I am about to do an oil change on my 2007 Z4M couple , i was considering taking a sample of the oil for analysis is it worth doing ?
A little background
the car has covered 96000 miles
last oil service was 2500 miles ago but 2 years has passed so its over due in my opinion
the rod bearing were replaced at 93000
engine runs great and i always warm it up properly


So
Is it worth taking a sample and if so where would i send it for analysis ?

Thanks

 

[B21]

Oil analysis is only really useful if you sample on a repetitive basis and then look for divergent trends or sudden increases compared to previous samples…

We use it extensively in the aviation business as an engine letting go mid flight can ruin your day…

 

[Mr Tidy]

Soon after I bought my MC I had an Inspection 2 done by Ross at RBM Hampshire and he took an oil sample, but as we were in lockdown nobody was accepting samples for testing!

Anyway a few months later I bottled it and got the bearing shells (and engine mounts) replaced at 78K miles, which was lucky as at least half the shells were showing copper! (My car had 7 previous keepers).

At that point there didn't seem any point getting the old sample analysed and as I baby it until it is properly up to temperature I'm not sure if there would be any point getting future samples analysed. From what I have read I believe they resultsd only really tell you anything if you keep getting samples checked so you can see any degradation, but that's about where my knowledge runs out!

Millers offer analysis, but there are probably others.

It woud be interesting to see what other longer-term owners do.

 

[XMetal]

I've continued to do oil analysis prior to and post rod bearing changed for reasons stated by "B21".

 

[alane29]

Thanks for the advice
Well ive done the oil and filter service using castrol edge supercar 10w-60 ,the oil that came out looked in decent condition .I have split the filter and checked the filter for any particles and the oil drain pan and cant find any .The rod bearing were changed in april 2020 at Autoworks BMW and the oil was changed again after approx 1000 miles . I feel confident the engine is in good shape .

 

[Milz4y]

Most specialists I spoke with said it's a false economy if you only do it once.

It's useful it if you'll continue to do then in the future and plan on keeping the car a while and look for a trend in wear, checking for spikes in the results as a warning sign. Analyse at regular intervals (or if you track the car and get paranoid)

 

[GT Spec]

This suggests not!

https://youtu.be/QNVJwh-3o58

 

[Milz4y]

This suggests not!

https://youtu.be/QNVJwh-3o58

Did you watch the video to the end? 14 mins onwards explains why doing a sample just once can be misleading

 

[B21]

This suggests not!

https://youtu.be/QNVJwh-3o58

I watched the video..he re-iterated that the primary benefit is repetitive sampling to spot wear trends…

 

[XMetal]

This suggests not!

https://youtu.be/QNVJwh-3o58

Why would the oil analysis that showed lead level of 15ppm as "normal"? 15ppm is considered to be on the high side according to Blackstone.

 

[B21]

This suggests not!

https://youtu.be/QNVJwh-3o58

Why would the oil analysis that showed lead level of 15ppm as "normal"? 15ppm is considered to be on the high side according to Blackstone.

This is amongst many issues why oil analysis is a complex and really needed as a repetitive process…

The oil used to lubricate the engine, the frequency of oil changes , the time since the last oil change, the design of the engine, any 3rd part engine parts all effect the numbers and the trends..

Things like parts wearing their protective finishes away and initial bed in all cause variations in various levels as does for example changing to open air inlet where silicon rises from the dust injected..

A SME on the engine that’s au fait with a specific oil analysis company msy be able to divine more information as he’s bench marking several known and similar engines..

 

[srhutch]

I get my oil analysed every time its changed which is every 2 years and 3-4k. Been done 3 time so far so have a benchmark.

 

[Simon 3.2M]

I’d say with only 3k miles on them then no. If only you use the car and you warm her up sympathetically, then they will last 60-80k - they aren’t made out of cheese. I’d personally enjoy the car with out the worry of “are the bearings ok, are they breaking down?”
Regardless of driving style, it is good practice to get them changed anywhere between 70-100k so nearly 200k on your engine by which time these cars will be priced off the the road anyway!!
I’m all for proper preventative and planned maintenance but I think these spinning a bearing is far more rare than you might think.

 

[Mr Tidy]

Regardless of driving style, it is good practice to get them changed anywhere between 70-100k so nearly 200k on your engine by which time these cars will be priced off the the road anyway!!

After getting mine replaced at 78K miles that was my thinking too! At mu current rate of mileage they'll be good for 20+ years. :lol:

 

[Simon 3.2M]

Regardless of driving style, it is good practice to get them changed anywhere between 70-100k so nearly 200k on your engine by which time these cars will be priced off the the road anyway!!

After getting mine replaced at 78K miles that was my thinking too! At mu current rate of mileage they'll be good for 20+ years. :lol:

And your car is lush Mr Tidy!!

 

[Mr Tidy]

And your car is lush Mr Tidy!!

Thanks Simon.

Yours looks stunning too!