I was reading some motor oil studies and it appears that some oils evaporate or leave residue more than others. It was a oil study done by Amsoil but through a 3rd party. I was wondering if anyone is running Amsoil and they can comment on low oil consumption between oil changes and condition of valves from using Amsoil vs RP or Mobil 1 0w-40. This study included Redline, RP, M1, Amsoil and others. I learned from this study about the oil evaporating rates and how usually one brand of oil isn't good at doing everything usually u have to choose an oil that provides the properties most important to you generally speaking - or that was my thought after reading the study anyway. For example, some are better at cold start others are better at not leaving oil deposits while some are better at not evaporating or breaking down over time. Pretty interesting. Of course any approved high quality synthetic is probably good enough. I'm mainly concerned with providing good lubrication and an oil that can keep the turbo cooled down sufficiently.

But has anyone noticed a lower oil consumption rate and less valve carbon buildup for the N14 by switching to a particular brand of oil?

Have a catch can but trying to do all that I can to reduce oil loss and build-up.

 

adding meth injection is one surefire way to limit buildup...and make more power.
on most cars I have found the very act of switching brands CAN cause a temporary spike in oil use....
Amsol is a decent oil...but i have always found their Multilevel marketing approach tends to create lots of hype and some folks can lie or stretch the truth to try to move more product, so take it with a grain of salt....the paper you discuss sounds pretty fair...you have a link?

 

Quality brand of full synthetic oil with frequent oil changes. The rest is just noise.

 

Amsoil synthetic oil study:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...DoOBfd5slDmIAg


Oil comparision test:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...gNHAYZjia9Ls6Q

 

going to a slightly thicker oil can reduce consumption. At least in my M54 engined BMW Z3, I switched from 5W-30 fully synthetic to 5W-40 fully synthetic and have reduced the amount of oil added between oil changes.

 

In the real world, you should expect ZERO change in oil consumption between different quality oil brands. If you run fully synthetic motor oil, all brands of equal weight oil will perform equally well.

Slightly heavier oil may yield slightly lower oil burn rate, at the expense of slightly higher fuel consumption. Unless you have a compelling reason to change, stay with the factory oil weight recommendations.

If you are going racing, other considerations will apply.

All of these studies measure some esoteric oil properties that have little to zero real world usefulness. For example, tests reserve alkalinity or some other weird additive that one oil has more of than others, or comparing viscosity between different weight oils and concluding brand X is best (and they tested lowest weight oil for Brand X ;-)

Nor surprisingly, Mobil 1 sponsored tests find Mobil to be the best at something, Amsoil sponsored prove Amsoil is best at something, etc, etc.

You can spend hours tracking down this BS, or just observe what racing teams run (different brands), the the correlation between the oil they run and the sponsorship they get.

Basically, all major synthetic oil brands work well when proper amount of proper weight oil is present in the crank case, and all fail when owner allows oil levels and pressures to drop too low. All you can do it ensure that you have enough of fresh oil in the engine.

If you worry about oil freshness, collect your own sample and send it to BlackStone labs for analysis:
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free-test-kits.php


a

 

Thanks for the input. Although I do enjoy reading these forums, and they can be very useful, as an engineer I need to have more information than "I have been using Mobil 1 for 10 years......and that's why it's the best".

I believe that some oils must be better for our turbo engines than others and that not all synthetics are born equal.

The articles I posted are at least a good starting point, for my research, to finding out which synthetic oil evaporates or burns less in the N14.

I understand there are PCV issues but I wonder if the reason the N14 loses
so much is because at any given time one or more oil gaskets are leaking. Ha.

Was hoping for a breakthrough from some members.....saying something like "I ran a super heavy weight oil and oil consumption dropped by half"

Haha

 

My local BMW shop tells me that BMW recently had Liqui Moly spec this oil that addresses the consumption issue. I've only recent bought my MCS and changed the oil only once so far. I've added about 5 ounces after several tanks of gas...so far so good. Liqui Moly 5/40 High Tech

http://www.liqui-moly.com/liquimoly/...cument&land=gb

 

I live in a warm climate and have switched from 5W-30 to Mobil1 0W-40 because I hear the thinner weight increases oil pressure and I'm sure it helps the tensioner action, many member's who had the chain rattle report that switching to a lower weight cured the tensioner problem for a couple of months.

I believe that my oil consumption increased switching to a lower weight oil.

 

I have used a bunch of different oils over the 3 years and 50k miles that I've had the car. Mobil 1 euro, amsoil, MINI, Penzoil platinum have all had similar consumption on my car. I've been changing oil every 5k miles, and check oil level weekly. I have replaced the valve cover, and have no oil leaks. I fill the oil to halfway between the bulbs on the dipstick. I get 2000-2500 miles before the oil is at the lower bulb, then I add 1/2 quart. I normally then will have to add oil two more times before I get to the oil change.

What this translates to is that I go through 1/2 quart consumption in 2500 miles, and then go through 1 to 1-1/2 quarts in the second 2500 miles before the oil change.

This consumption seems pretty consistent whether using MINI oil or Mobil 1. I only ran Amsoil and Penzoil once a couple of years ago, but didn't notice any dramatic change. I normally run Mobil 1 because it seems to be consistent, economical, and easy to get.

If someone has had success with a different brand, I would be happy to switch. My car has always used oil, and the usage has not changed since I fixed the leaks.

Have fun,
Mike

 

Thanks Mike. Exactly the info I was looking for.
I haven't had my JCW long enough to document oil consumption....or even change the oil.
I do however see a small oil leak across the entire front of the valve cover. Valve cover gasket already ordered.

I do have the extended maintenance until 12/31/16 so mini will put in their oil when i take in to them but the oil changes in between their service I just plan on Mobil 1 0w40 and OEM oil filters.