Without causing a huge uproar on oil change length, I thought I would post what Blackstone stated about my oil. I have a 06 Mini which is about a year and 3 months old. I confess I don't drive it much because I use my BMW motorcycle more and with the weather this year in Maryland, it has meant miles of smiles on two wheels. So my concern was a year on Amzoil, milage low but a year old none the less. I spoke with Amzoil and they said I should change it. Sell more oil, maybe. So off to Blackstone.

Everything looked good, but what caught me off guard was their contention I should try 6000 mile change intervals, not my current 5000 mile. Mini says 15,000, seems to be a wide gap there. I will error on Blackstone's side, but I just thought I would throw it out there and show their results.

Thanks,
Gene
www.bugguardsforbeemers.com

 

Your report won't load properly, so I am unable to comment on it.

 

I just clicked on the thumbnail and it opened fine for me. Let's see if others are having an issue.

Gene

 

As far as I'm concerned it's the gospel according to Blackstone. I do what they say, however I have gone over 50,000 with my F250 Powerstroke and changed the oil only because ...I needed the room on the shelf and got rid of the oil I had sitting around.

 

Says the image cannot be displayed because it contains errors. I have tried Firefox and IE.

 

What you'll find is that they are conservative (a good thing) and your interval may extend even more. If everything looks great when you get to 6,000 you can extend again.

 

No bueno on the thumbnail.

 

Croc, I'm not sure what's going on with the thumbnail, but I see you posted it in your reply so all can see. Thanks.

Gene

 

Ditto

 

It may be asking a lot, but can you post the UOA numbers since we can't see the pic? Or perhaps upload the pic to your gallery?

 

Am I the only one seeing the report on my computer? The thumbnail seems to be having some opening issues on some computers, but Croc #69 opened it and put the whole report in the reply, or at least I can see it, can anybody else?

Gene

 

Just tried and can't see it.

 

Nope, in ignote's reply, I still only see the dreaded RED X.

 

I think the reason you see it and we don't is somehow the browser is calling the thumbnail from your local system. Upload the pic to your gallery and that should solve the problems for th rest of us.

 

I will attach a PDF file.

 

I can see it now.
Can you post the comments section from the report?
Did you get a TBN number for that sample.
What was the grade of Amsoil oil you used?

 

PDF did the trick! Thanks

 

TBN was still good at over 5. There's definitely a good amount of additive left. Blackstone might just want you to slowly extend drain intervals instead of making a huge jump.

 

Here is the section you asked for. The grade with 5w-30.

Gene
www.bugguardsforbeemers.com

 

The report looks really good overall. The iron is up just a tad but nothing to worry about. Perhaps you make a lot of short trips.
With a TBN of 5.1, I would say you could even go 7000 miles on your next change. I'm not certain where your TBN starts out at unless you post the exact type of Amsoil you used.
As far as BMWs recommended 15K change interval goes, I think that it is unrealistic. I would never run my oil that long.

Another oil option you could consider is the BMW 5w-30 synthetic you can get at BMW Towson. The price is not bad at around $5 a quart and holds up pretty well on 6-7K intervals.

 

I have never bought in to the 15,000 mile changes unless it's a leased car and you follow the manual exactly, then get rid of the car in 3 years. I use Amzoil or Mobil 1 in my wife's Volvo Turbo and change that around 7000 miles as well, with a filter change. Amzoil claims their oil will last close to 25,000 miles if you change the filter at 12,000. Maybe so, but I won't be the tester on that claim, unless the car will be gone in 3-4 years. The last new Blazer I bought new, I sold at 10 years, 185,000 miles. So I tend to keep cars for a while.

Gene

 

Hey Gene! I think I got one of your prototype bug guards for my old BMW K1200LT. Probably 3+ years ago now. Almost positive that was you I got it from. FWIW they both stayed on during the crash! Bike was totalled, but the bug guards held on tight.

 

My first two changes used MINI's recomendations. I didn't know any better, so fat, dumb and happy, I went along with the 15000 interval. I won't do that again. Although there was no obvious damage, it became apparent -- almost too late -- that although I NEVER had any leaks, the car certainly burned some steadily. Now I check it for level and looks every month, and have decded to "split the difference" on the changes and use a 7500 mile interval for next change at least, unless it appears too grungy some time before that.

 

You can always just drop the plug and drain the oil every 7 and have the dealers do the full monte every 15. At least you get some peace of mind and don't have to fiddle with the oil filter.
I was at the dealer this week and asked about when I should change my oil next. I have 9500 left according to the car, but I'm going to put the car away for the winter starting on Thanskgiving. The service guy said to just bring it in in the spring. I'm thinking I really don't want that dirty oil sitting in the engine all winter. At the very least I'll bung the oil before storing.