<E30> Oil Change Interval - Oil Analysis

[Michiel van Wessem <jmvw@xxxxxxxxx>]

It seems that everybody has a different opinion on how often engine oil
should be changed. Some people say every 3000 miles, others say 7500 miles.
My car has a service interval indicator, that supposedly monitors the way
the car is driven and keeps track of when it's time to change the oil. But
some people say the indicator is useless. I thought I'd give it a try. 

After the first oil (Mobil 1 15W50) and oil filter (Purolator) change that
I did on the car, I reset the service indicator and drove until it
indicated it was time for Oil Service. This turned out to be as much as
11123 miles of fairly aggressive driving, mixed short trips and highway.
The odometer reading after that was 155.168 miles.

When I changed the oil again, I took a sample of the oil and I had it
analyzed. I used a Titan Checkup kit. The kit includes a small plastic
bottle to catch some oil in, a label that you should fill out and a box
with prepaid postage to send it in. I ordered this kit by phone, but
apparently the kits will soon be available in K-Mart stores (among others).
After you send the bottle in all kinds of good tests are done on the oil
sample and they can tell you not only if the oil is still good, but also
all kinds of things about the condition of your engine. The nice thing is
that the analysis can warn you about some conditions before they might
aggravate. In addition, you get a warranty on your engine that lasts for
4000 miles or for 4 months. See the Titan Checkup web site at
http://www.titancheckup.com for more information. 

Yesterday I got the results back. They're good. The oil was fine. My
conclusion is that I have not waited too long before changing the oil and I
will for the service indicator again before I change my oil. 

As to the other results from the analysis, this is from the Maintenance
Recommendations part of the analysis result sheet:

THE WEIGHT OF YOUR OIL IS WITHIN LIMITS. NO CONTAMINATION BY WATER, FUEL OR
ANTIFREEZE. WITH CHROMIUM AND ALUMINUM IN ACCEPTABLE RANGES IT INDICATES
THE AIR FILTER IS WORKING PROPERLY AND NO ABNORMAL CONDITIONS IN RINGS OR
PISTONS. COPPER AND LEAD IN ACCEPTABLE RANGES INDICATES NO ABNORMAL
CONDITIONS IN BEARINGS. CONTINUE TO FOLLOW MANUFACTURERS RECOMMENDED
MAINTENANCE SCHEDULE AND RESAMPLE AT NEXT OIL CHANGE. 

The caps are theirs, not mine - I maintained them for authenticity. :)

Michiel (1987 325es <http://www.vramp.net/~jmvw/cars/BMW/> )

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