I thought I'd share the results of a UOA on my 09 Coope (non-turbo despite what Blackstone noted) after 12,400 miles on the original from-the factory oil.

UOA09Mini.pdf

 

So much for the theory that the synthetic oil won't last 12,500 miles.

Did Blackstone mention where they derived their "universal" averages from? Was it from all the samples they're tested, or just the ones from MINI engines?

Thanks for posting this.

 

 

Depends what you mean by "last." While the oil hasn't broken down, it "has enough metal in it to make it abrasive."

This is at 12,500 miles. My OBC would have had me going 19,000 miles if the annual change hadn't occurred first. Few have reported the OBC counting down less than 15,000 miles, and some have reported over 22,000. Do you really think it is a good idea to be running abrasive oil for 2,500-10,000 miles?

I did two oil changes myself. The first was at around 1,600. The second 5,200 later. I sent this second batch of oil to Blackstone. They said the excess wear metals in my oil were to be expected for a new engine with less than 7,000 miles on it. Since the engine was still breaking in, they recommended no more than 6,000 before the next change. To give you an idea of how high KenO's metal number are, here are mine:

Aluminum 6
Chromium 0
Iron 28
Copper 11
Lead 0
Tin 0
Molybdenum 159
Nickel 2
Manganese 5
Potassium 3
Boron 56
Silicon 9
Sodium 11
Calcium 2240
Magnesium 54
Phosphorus
Zinc 1060
Barium 0

Silicon is from sand cast parts, so that is definitely an abrasive. KenO's is 456% higher than mine.

Looking at both sets of number convinces me that the 1,500 initial oil change, followed by another at 6,000 miles is a good choice.

Once the engine is well broken in, oil change intervals could be lengthened. Periodic checking with Blackstone could help determine the best interval. My last two changes were free annual changes at the dealer, and no analysis was done. I only have a total of 11,600 miles on the car.

When the free maintainance is over, and I'm doing my own changes again, I'll send samples to Blackstone to find the best interval.

 

I think the analysis shows plainly that the oil was doing fine at nearly 12,000 plus miles. It's my own fault that I didn't do a post-breakin oil change. My viscosity was still well in grade and the TBN was still effective. If my own results are normal, and I don't know whether such a condition exists, my conclusion is that conditions-based monitoring probably works well enough, just not on the first interval. I think Mini should be recommending an initial oil and filter change at 600 to 1000 miles. Just a guess.

 

Your synthetic oil is fine in terms of viscosity, but I interpret the results as your engine having bad junk suspended in the oil and not caught in the filter. It is eating away your cylinders so all your metal contents are high, particularly iron, aluminium, and magnesium, all things from your engine. Oil viscosity is not the only parameter to look at, but also consider what is suspended in the oil causing harm.

Perhaps some of it does come from a lack of a first 1000 mile oil change but I am not sure how you can conclude that conditions based monitoring is working based solely on this info.

Looks like you do need an oil change right now.

 

So doing a post breakin change @ 2000 miles than 6 months/6000k miles (or however miles you do in ayear divided by 2).

 

I do not know if this is a linear function and can be extrapolated this way.

 

The "conditions-based monitoring" is based on driving habits (number of starts, distance of trips, speed, things like that) it does not measure oil quality. I don't think one can depend on it entirely.

The break-in metals do not just happen in the first few K miles. It is a slow process that tapers off gradually. You may still find elevated metals in your next oil change.

Yes, the synthetic oil is holding up, but it is so full of contaminants that it is probably doing harm.

One thing that is interesting is that your TBN is higher than mine, while mine is after less than half the miles of yours. Not sure why that is. My car is an MCS. Is your an MC?

After the engine is well broken in, there are still other contaminants and conditions to be concerned about. Note that the flashpoint of your oil is getting close to minimum levels at 380F. The starting value is 445F. Mine was down to 400F. I've read that flashpoint is an indicator of fuel contamination, but your fuel % is no greater than mine. Not sure why that is.

In another thread, someone posted the numbers for new MINI brand 5W-30:

 

I don't think we need to worry about the oil...our engines will blow up from cold start/timing chain problems first!

 

buttered, or plain?

 

hee hee no kidding! some already have!

 

You do know that oil is involved with the timing chain tensioner, right?

However, it may not have anything to do with oil change intervals.