[pw0n]

Not sure if this belongs here, but please move if/as necessary.

Figured others w/ tuned N55's might be interested in seeing another owner's Blackstone Labs oil analysis.

2014 BMW F32 435i @ ~63k mi. At the time of the analysis:
- Performed engine oil changes every 5-7k mi (except for the first one - I changed it after 10k mi)
- BM3 OTS Stage 2 91 octane since 58k (ran Stage 1 91 oct. between 53-58k mi)
- Replaced OEM Bosch plugs (I believe it was the one from the factory) w/ NGK 97506 gapped at 0.026" @ 58k mi

Other notes:
- I use Castrol Edge 0w40
- This analysis was done on a cold sample - Blackstone recommends running the engine prior to gathering the sample, but I was unable to do so
- I poured 20 fl oz of Techron directly into all six combustion chambers (don't ask...) before gathering this sample, so most likely the engine oil sample contained Techron - not sure if/how this affects the analysis.
- As mentioned, I didn't perform my first oil change until 10k mi (8 mo.) into my ownership; and there's no mention of an oil change being performed by the dealer (non-BMW)
No mention of an oil change in CarFax anywhere near the 35k mi/purchase date either - for all I know, it might've been much more than 10k mi between the two oil changes
- CP, catless DP, FMIC, Borla ATAK catback exhaust at the time of oil analysis - not sure if these are relevant, but in case you're curious
- I had a mishap after this engine oil analysis which caused ceramic shards to fall into two of the combustion chambers - noticed scoring on some of the walls, but not sure if this was directly caused by the shards
- Reverted back to OEM Bosch plugs (stock gap) due to misfires on NGKs, but engine feels good/strong now


Questions:
1. Noticing a high level of titanium - I imagine this is due to the engine oil (Castrol Edge) containing "Fluid Titanium Technology" (titanium additives?). Can anyone confirm? Any thoughts/concerns?
2. Engine seems to be running rich (which is consistent w/ what I've observed), but is 3% tolerable? Could also be attributed to the sample being a cold sample/added Techron (?)
3. Silly/basic question - can a custom tune prevent my car from running too rich or lean? And if so, which custom tuner do you guys recommend on the BM3 platform?


Blackstone Labs Engine Oil Analysis Report:

[thejeremyman9]

Well bearing material metals look low, which is good. As do the abrasives, suggesting good air filtration.

Are you sure the high fuel is not from the techron poured into cylinders? I recall you said it all went past the rings into the oil? Did you tell BlackStone about this? They are usually able to interpret the report in the context of fuel, oil, and other additivies.

I would suspect that the low viscosity and low flashpoint are due to the fuel contamination.

What else besides this report makes you think you are running rich? Logs? The DME is quite good and keeping AFRs in check using fuel trims.

[pw0n]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

Well bearing material metals look low, which is good. As do the abrasives, suggesting good air filtration.

Are you sure the high fuel is not from the techron poured into cylinders? I recall you said it all went past the rings into the oil? Did you tell BlackStone about this? They are usually able to interpret the report in the context of fuel, oil, and other additivies.

I would suspect that the low viscosity and low flashpoint are due to the fuel contamination.

What else besides this report makes you think you are running rich? Logs? The DME is quite good and keeping AFRs in check using fuel trims.

You're right - I forgot to mention Blackstone did mention my high fuel may be due to the Techron. And yes, your memory is correct - it did go straight through the rings and into the oil pan.

I'm assuming I'm running rich due to the carbon deposits I noticed on my cylinder heads combined w/ the fact that my catless DP setup smells obnoxiously strong. But again, the latter is an assumption since smell is 100% subjective and I didn't do a "sniff test" on another catless N55

I also noticed a small pool of oil near my turbo (compressor side) from blow by and on the exterior of my exhaust clamp, part #18307620349 (DP-midpipe clamp) - and again, I'm assuming these two are attributed to running rich. But then again, the assumptions here are that the small pool of oil is above average (could be completely normal) and the engine oil around my clamp is due to running rich - which, now that I think about it, is most likely attributed to a number of other reasons (leak, perhaps?) lol

[thejeremyman9]

Originally Posted by pw0n

You're right - I forgot to mention Blackstone did mention my high fuel may be due to the Techron. And yes, your memory is correct - it did go straight through the rings and into the oil pan.

I'm assuming I'm running rich due to the carbon deposits I noticed on my cylinder heads combined w/ the fact that my catless DP setup smells obnoxiously strong. But again, the latter is an assumption since smell is 100% subjective and I didn't do a "sniff test" on another catless N55

I also noticed a small pool of oil near my turbo (compressor side) from blow by and on the exterior of my exhaust clamp, part #18307620349 (DP-midpipe clamp) - and again, I'm assuming these two are attributed to running rich. But then again, the assumptions here are that the small pool of oil is above average (could be completely normal) and the engine oil around my clamp is due to running rich - which, now that I think about it, is most likely attributed to a number of other reasons (leak, perhaps?) lol

I think your assumptions about running rich don't really make sense, for a variety of reasons. Unless your datalogs explicitly show that you are off of your lambda targets, and/or your lambda targets are for some reason richer than other people's running the same tune (wouldn't make sense), there's really no data to support the running rich assumption.

All cars are going to have carbon deposits on the heads, top of pistons, etc. Catless DPs smell... period. I drive another catless car, but went fabspeed on my 335i specifically for that reason.

If you are talking about oil from the PCV that connects to the inlet, that is normal (although obviously quantity matters). If you are catless then you are definitely going to get soot buildup in the exhaust. (When i installed my DP, my exhaust after the OEM DP was amazingly clean for 40k miles, literally no visible carbon in the catback). If you are talking about "oil" coming out of the exahust clamp, are you sure it was oil and not carbon/soot combined with moisture in the exhast? The latter would be completely normal for a catless DP.

Bottom line - do another analysis at the next oil change and confirm the fuel was indeed from the techron. I wouldnt worry about running rich unless your logs show data to support that.

[pw0n]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

I think your assumptions about running rich don't really make sense, for a variety of reasons. Unless your datalogs explicitly show that you are off of your lambda targets, and/or your lambda targets are for some reason richer than other people's running the same tune (wouldn't make sense), there's really no data to support the running rich assumption.

All cars are going to have carbon deposits on the heads, top of pistons, etc. Catless DPs smell... period. I drive another catless car, but went fabspeed on my 335i specifically for that reason.

If you are talking about oil from the PCV that connects to the inlet, that is normal (although obviously quantity matters). If you are catless then you are definitely going to get soot buildup in the exhaust. (When i installed my DP, my exhaust after the OEM DP was amazingly clean for 40k miles, literally no visible carbon in the catback). If you are talking about "oil" coming out of the exahust clamp, are you sure it was oil and not carbon/soot combined with moisture in the exhast? The latter would be completely normal for a catless DP.

Bottom line - do another analysis at the next oil change and confirm the fuel was indeed from the techron. I wouldnt worry about running rich unless your logs show data to support that.

Yups - completely agreed. Main intention of my thread was to post my oil analysis for reference for fellow N55 owners to compare/check out if curious. If anything, these results are great - I'm hoping it eases the concerns of those who are on the fence about tuning/modding.

Anyways, didn't mean to detract the main point w/ an invalid concern of mine that (I already know) is built upon misinformed/incorrect assumptions. The car feels rock solid so I'm not concerned. Definitely plan on doing another analysis in 5-10k mi as I'm curious about the results after my little "incident" (and without techron/cold sampling...).

[khj24]

My first sample on the BMW oil(shell?) had zero titanium, I switched to this exact oil and my second sample came back with 36 titanium, so I think you can attribute that to the oil. Fuel is usually a lot of short city trips without getting the engine up to temp, sending a cold sample will be a part of that too, with that said that number is high enough to think its likely the techron, a clean sample is needed to really draw anything from that number.

[zinner]

Never had any titanium show up in my reports, 2015 N55, done 3 reports over the years.

[DreamerJoe]

I just got my blackstone labs report and have been topping off with Castrol 0-40 (appx 3 qts) and my titanium reading was at 5.

[AmuroRay]

Originally Posted by thejeremyman9

I think your assumptions about running rich don't really make sense, for a variety of reasons. Unless your datalogs explicitly show that you are off of your lambda targets, and/or your lambda targets are for some reason richer than other people's running the same tune (wouldn't make sense), there's really no data to support the running rich assumption.

All cars are going to have carbon deposits on the heads, top of pistons, etc. Catless DPs smell... period. I drive another catless car, but went fabspeed on my 335i specifically for that reason.

If you are talking about oil from the PCV that connects to the inlet, that is normal (although obviously quantity matters). If you are catless then you are definitely going to get soot buildup in the exhaust. (When i installed my DP, my exhaust after the OEM DP was amazingly clean for 40k miles, literally no visible carbon in the catback). If you are talking about "oil" coming out of the exahust clamp, are you sure it was oil and not carbon/soot combined with moisture in the exhast? The latter would be completely normal for a catless DP.

Bottom line - do another analysis at the next oil change and confirm the fuel was indeed from the techron. I wouldnt worry about running rich unless your logs show data to support that.

All of this. The fuel is likely from the techron you poured into the head, and the titanium is from the oil additives. I'm not aware of any titanium used in our motors.

[TK335iMSPT]

Also just did a Blackstone lab report.
14 335i Xdrive
Liqui moly 5w30/Mann oil filter
I change religiously at 5k miles because I tend to drive spiritedly at times.

Sample taken around 55k miles
Ran stock most of the time but did use the Dinan sport module and dinan stage 2 piggy back intermittently between 19k and 50k. I currently run bootmod3 stage 1.

Mods:
VRSF 5inch HD FMIC/ Charge pipe added at 25k
Dinan CAI added at 22k
Mperformance Exhaust added at 22k

[pw0n]

Originally Posted by AmuroRay

All of this. The fuel is likely from the techron you poured into the head, and the titanium is from the oil additives. I'm not aware of any titanium used in our motors.

Correct, I believe the relatively high level of titanium in my sample is due to the engine oil I'm using, Castrol Edge 0w40 - they claim to use some patented "Fluid Titanium Technology".

Could simply be verbiage, but it looks like khj24 saw something similar after switching to this specific engine oil. Of course, this is still a very small sample size, so would love to hear from others as well, especially from those using similar engine oils.