aussiem3 wroteThat is quite the spike in lead. Hopefully a particle streak. Looks too low to be from leaded fuel.Hmmm!
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08-12-2026LAST POST
Make this thread a sticky already.
Bought my 2010 M3 used with an extended warranty which is about to expire. So wasn't too worried about Rod Bearings until now. Just had first oil test done which doesn't look good. I do track the car regularly.
What do you guys think? Try and extend the warranty? Replace the rod bearings? Trade-it in for something else? Or just roll the dice and keep driving :-)
What do you guys think? Try and extend the warranty? Replace the rod bearings? Trade-it in for something else? Or just roll the dice and keep driving :-)
Do something and do it sooner rather than later. I’d just replace the rod bearings but if you want a different car, sell the car and put the proceeds plus the rod bearing cost towards the new car.
Extending the warranty would also work but if your motor blows up you could be without the car for months while it gets inspected and the company haggles with you and eventually the repair or used engine gets done.
Extending the warranty would also work but if your motor blows up you could be without the car for months while it gets inspected and the company haggles with you and eventually the repair or used engine gets done.
pbonsalb wroteif it is my car i'd just replace the RB... but then you'd still have to decide what replacement to use... which is not a easy decision to make...Do something and do it sooner rather than later. I’d just replace the rod bearings but if you want a different car, sell the car and put the proceeds plus the rod bearing cost towards the new car.
Extending the warranty would also work but if your motor blows up you could be without the car for months while it gets inspected and the company haggles with you and eventually the repair or used engine gets done.
Got my first report, second owner with a spotty service record. Bought it with 67K miles. Might go buy a lotto ticket.
Still going strong 
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Good report this time around...and I like the 7-8K mile interval...as is recommended anyways.
The engine runs as smoothly and strong (if not better) since purchase.
GM
The engine runs as smoothly and strong (if not better) since purchase.
GM
VOA of the Shell branded 10w60 made in EU.
MTROIS wroteHey Everyone,Following the example of JonM, I decided to have Blackstone Labs analyze the oil when I recently had it changed.
Just to clarify the report:
* the engine had 16,094 miles and the oil had only been used for 7,181 miles (I double the frequency of oil change).
* type of use: I would say rather mild/medium 85% of time, one track day (4 X 20'), engine always warm when spirited driving
* As you will see, overall everything looks ok, with the exception of the lead value. I remember having taken gas after my track day at Lime Rock Park but that was only 2.240 gallons of 112 and I did not use it during the track session, only on my way home. I still believe that this is the root cause for the above average lead value but I need to double check that that gasoline was indeed leaded.
Anyhow, please start posting your oil reports in this thread and down the road we could start trending these reports using some multi variate data analysis tools to see if we can detect engines that wear abnormaly fast, average trends, etc...
I did my Oil Analysis to check for bearing wear. Everything appears to look okay. I am at 95K. This is a summer vehicle. The fuel amount was below average but I think that could have been caused by my thermostat being bad. Not sure, but I was having some bad gas mileage and the car took quite some time to warm up.
I changed that and it runs awesome now. I am also on DME 2.41. I ran Castrol 10w60 TWS at first and run BMW Twin Power 10w60 now. I usually try to change the oil before 7500 miles.
Good luck to everyone with this issue. I just wanted to add to the repository here.
Premo
I need your guys opinion on these reading..
what oil and weight are you using?
Need another analysis to develop a trend and more data especially if you don't know previous owner's maintenance standards
Are you the white e93 I see on STaten Island ?
Iron is definitely high. The highest I've ever registered was 7ppm on 7,000 miles of Castrol Edge 10w-60.
The bigger surprise to me is the 0 for lead (rod bearings). That's pretty much unheard-of, and spectacular news.
For reference, my most recent report, which just happens to be my best to date:
My Molybdenum is super high as a result of running Cera Tec, which I started using ~25,000 miles ago.
The bigger surprise to me is the 0 for lead (rod bearings). That's pretty much unheard-of, and spectacular news.
For reference, my most recent report, which just happens to be my best to date:
My Molybdenum is super high as a result of running Cera Tec, which I started using ~25,000 miles ago.
Here's an example - had high iron when I bought my car. Had no clue when previous owner did oil change. After some oil changes, it went away
The iron is abnormally high, yes. I would suggest pulling a sample after a few thousand miles and sending it in for analysis -- could be something like particle streaking which causes false positives.
As others have said, it's one report in isolation and is of limited use.
As others have said, it's one report in isolation and is of limited use.
GRUESOM3 wroteYes sir that's probably meAre you the white e93 I see on STaten Island ?
dparm wroteLike you said I think I'm just going to ride it out for the next 4-5000 miles and see what readings come up. ThanksThe iron is abnormally high, yes. I would suggest pulling a sample after a few thousand miles and sending it in for analysis -- could be something like particle streaking which causes false positives.
As others have said, it's one report in isolation and is of limited use.
Droptope93 wroteDid you have a e60 m5 White before ?GRUESOM3 wroteYes sir that's probably meAre you the white e93 I see on STaten Island ?
kawstik wrote2011+ cars have tin/aluminum bearings, so no lead.
The bigger surprise to me is the 0 for lead (rod bearings). That's pretty much unheard-of, and spectacular news.
GRUESOM3 wroteHaha yes I did. Boy do I miss it.Droptope93 wroteDid you have a e60 m5 White before ?GRUESOM3 wroteYes sir that's probably meAre you the white e93 I see on STaten Island ?
