Mobil's million-mile 325i

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars...d-cars#slide-8

"1990 BMW 325i
Owner: Mobil Oil

In 1990, the Mobil Oil company bought the six-cylinder model of the 325i as a test car for its synthetic oil, and since then it's been on the road for about 40,000 miles. However, it has been droning on a treadmill-like dynamometer for the equivalent of a million miles. They weren't easy miles either—the car was set to run at an equivalent of 85 mph for four years. The engine was stopped for regular maintenance and oil changes according to the BMW schedule, and at the end of the million-mile test, the engine was disassembled and measured for wear. The results were tolerance levels that reportedly were the same as a new engine's."

I have seen a V8 7 series ran at 15k oil service intervals at over 100K miles torn down and the tolerances measured all within spec and "no" sludge, so yes this does not surprise me.

and its name was kpeng

Wait, so an engine was properly designed, used top of the line oil, regularly maintained, and run in a controlled environment without any issues? No way.

Originally Posted by kuksul08

Wait, so an engine was properly designed, used top of the line oil, regularly maintained, and run in a controlled environment without any issues? No way.

my BMW cant make it to 50,000 miles in the real world

Originally Posted by InVisib0L

CEL not pictured

Originally Posted by Five_seveN

my BMW cant make it to 50,000 miles in the real world

I think that's a driver related issue

Originally Posted by kuksul08

Wait, so an engine was properly designed, used top of the line oil, regularly maintained, and run in a controlled environment without any issues? No way.

Maybe you missed the part where it ran for 4 years straight besides for servicing, and the equivalent of 1 MILLION miles (or the equivalent of it on a dyno).

Don't most engines wear because they are cold while running?

Since that BMW ran straight for 4 years without being shutdown to cool off overnight its not the same as a real life result.

Did they check the window regulators?

I'd love to see how long a S54 would run. Either get lucky and have no issues or the motor gets toasted because of the VANOS. Plus I would imagine needing new rod bearings at regular frequencies.

I think pretty much any production engine is capable of "standing up" to a laboratory test like this. Still a pretty cool marketing gimmick, though.

that's nice, but the wear and tear on the rest of the car in the real world would not allow that motor to reach that mileage

that said, i remember a vw mech when i was a kid, and he was GOOD

4cyl or under castrol gtx

over 4 cyl , mobil

never forgot it


however the bmw oil is cheaper in this case and a good alt to the mobil , made by castrol

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

Did they check the window regulators?

Hahahahahahahaha!

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

Did they check the window regulators?

What about the passenger side door lock?

I wish to know.. How many cases of water pumps and expansion tanks they went through..

Originally Posted by bimmerfan08

I'd love to see how long a S54 would run. Either get lucky and have no issues or the motor gets toasted because of the VANOS. Plus I would imagine needing new rod bearings at regular frequencies.

It'd be fine. The rod bearings are okay once recalled. The Vanos hub failures seem larger than life because everyone who has a failure posts online. Everyone who doesn't have a failure- doesn't say anything. It's true with the subframe issue as well.

Originally Posted by wasp9166

that's nice, but the wear and tear on the rest of the car in the real world would not allow that motor to reach that mileage

that said, i remember a vw mech when i was a kid, and he was GOOD

4cyl or under castrol gtx

over 4 cyl , mobil

never forgot it


however the bmw oil is cheaper in this case and a good alt to the mobil , made by castrol

No offense intended, but do you know how far motor oil has come since you were a kid? I'm sure he was good, but that doesn't mean that what he said holds true today. (This assumes you were born in 1966).

Originally Posted by CollinsE90

Did they check the window regulators?

Originally Posted by Treburkulosis

What about the passenger side door lock?

Originally Posted by sammk

I wish to know.. How many cases of water pumps and expansion tanks they went through..

Hate to rain on the sh!t-slinging parade but it's an E30. It doesn't have regular window regulator, door lock, water pump or expansion tank issues.

Originally Posted by zhp43867

Hate to rain on the sh!t-slinging parade but it's an E30. It doesn't have regular window regulator, door lock, water pump or expansion tank issues.

I was just kidding.. But wait a sec, I thought the cooling system gremlins are somehow intrinsically built into the DNA of the 3 series, no..?

Anyways, it's pretty interesting to know that the engine has a chance at going a million miles with proper care..

Although, I'd like to know exactly which parts they measured for wear post-test. Piston/bore clearance for sure, main and rod bearing clearances and eccentricities, cam bearing clearances as well?

I'd also love to know more about the test conditions.. Running at a steady 85 mph on a fully warmed engine is nothing like the real world where there's cyclical heating and cooling and moisture entrapment that oxidizes the oil faster. Also, acceleration and deceleration tend to cause more wear and tear.

So there's some differences there, but it's still a pretty awesome feat nevertheless..