[m6pwr]

Originally Posted by JB135MDCT

Question is will this one clean as well as the Shell oil you are using: http://oilstore.stores.yahoo.net/peuleu5wfusy.html

Well look at how clean it got my dog. Its the latest and greatest from Shell. Shell says so.

[JB135MDCT]

Originally Posted by m6pwr

Well look at how clean it got my dog. Its the latest and greatest from Shell. Shell says so.

I see 3 black spots. ... I was wondering if the ferrari penzoil will clean as well as the shell. Shell is not available in MD.

[m6pwr]

Shell/Penzoil, Pennzoil/Shell, its all the same company, same family. I think Shell elected to market the new oil in the U.S. under the Pennzoil brand because it has greater name recognition here. As far as I know the Ultra is Shell's latest, newest formulation, with the best deposit control - - that's the hype. The same identical oil is sold as Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 in Europe. That's the Ferrari factory fill/service fill in Europe.

[Brandon26pdx]

Originally Posted by m6pwr

Shell/Penzoil, Pennzoil/Shell, its all the same company, same family. I think Shell elected to market the new oil in the U.S. under the Pennzoil brand because it has greater name recognition here. As far as I know the Ultra is Shell's latest, newest formulation, with the best deposit control - - that's the hype. The same identical oil is sold as Shell Helix Ultra 5w40 in Europe. That's the Ferrari factory fill/service fill in Europe.

I may give this a try. I've got a 1200 mile oil service needing done in the next 600 miles or so. (Was planning to use German Castrol.)

[Turkeybaster115]

What do you guys think about using motor flushes in N54 powered vehicles, at least every other oil change. They are pretty heavily kerosine based, and do a good job from my esperience. I've used them in my 335I, and Audi A6 3.2. I would think if the op used them in his vehicle, the sludge build up might have been a lot less. This approach might even be better, than using an oil catch can.

[enrita]

the more i think about this and by looking at your engine i am convinced that the status of your pistons and block are definitely a result of heavy tracking at the ring . As you mentioned you probably hit some bends that made the oil pick up stop and together with high temp the motor suffered.
with 5000 miles less than you my engine was in pristine conditions (minus the piston number 2 grenated) . I tracked very very little but drive quite hard. I will try to take some pictures of my other 5 pistons and post them here for comparison. i also had very very little carbon build up and i wonder if meth is really what made the difference here.

[Penn999]

Originally Posted by enrita

the more i think about this and by looking at your engine i am convinced that the status of your pistons and block are definitely a result of heavy tracking at the ring . As you mentioned you probably hit some bends that made the oil pick up stop and together with high temp the motor suffered.
with 5000 miles less than you my engine was in pristine conditions (minus the piston number 2 grenated) . I tracked very very little but drive quite hard. I will try to take some pictures of my other 5 pistons and post them here for comparison. i also had very very little carbon build up and i wonder if meth is really what made the difference here.

Im interested to see your pics, also the theory about the meth...do you think that has helped keep your engine cleaner(better burn)?

[onefastman]

It helps clean the valves.

[Penn999]

Originally Posted by onefastman

It helps clean the valves.

Thanks, I have yet to go down that path. I am just worried about the daily maintenence, how often are checks warranted?

[m6pwr]

Remember that anything you put in the gas in a di engine winds up in the oil, too. I guess that's how meth injection will help clean the intake valves in a N54. I have to admit I know practically nothing about meth injection. But from what I've read, it was never intended as a valve cleaner or deposit cleaner in an engine. It can be be a pretty strong solvent. Having said that, here is a link to an N54 run on some kind of meth injection. I would be very, very happy if my N54 valves look this (right side of intake port) after 12k miles of hard running -
http://www.n54tech.com/forums/showth...ntake+deposits

Also here's a link to a fuel additive designed to prevent and clean up intake deposits. Note that it was tested in a twin turbo di engine. I'm not saying this stuff works. Frankly, I'm skeptical -
http://www.bgfueltest.com/

[vladberca]

[bavarian19]

[JB135MDCT]

Originally Posted by Brandon26pdx

I may give this a try. I've got a 1200 mile oil service needing done in the next 600 miles or so. (Was planning to use German Castrol.)

I too, but 5w30 LLO1 for the winter and 5w40 in the hot. Have been using BMW oil in all my toys for the last 10 years.

[Alpina_B3_Lux]

Originally Posted by E92Fan

Honestly, I wouldn't order a 335i for use on the 'Ring if you are a dedicated 'Ringer and know how to drive properly there. It depends how many laps you will be doing, and how fast you'll be driving. The N54 engine needs so much modification to make it reliable and suitable for the track. You're better off springing the extra 10k for an M3 if 'Ringing is your main aim for the car.

Having said that, Marcel (Alpina_B3_Lux) has a fully modified 335i (everything except engine internals) with an all-aluminium radiator as well and he does maybe 50 laps of the 'Ring a year and his car seems fine so far.

Yes, I've done around 90-100 laps with my car so far (since 2009) in a number of different configurations, and it's running very well (except for a new HPFP at the beginning of this year, but this should be unrelated). I haven't noticed any problems with the engine so far.

However, I don't drive it as hard as Tony does, so it's probably under less stress than his - and it's some years newer, too. Mine isn't intended to be a track tool either (as it is and will be my daily driver), but with the current power level and suspension set-up I can have loads of fun - and the torque is great for daily driving too.

Considering that I'll keep my car for a rather long time, I will probably also go down the road of modified internals in the medium term, but right now I'm more of a mind to learn to properly use the immense power the car puts out right now (GIAC stage 2 race with meth).

It's very interesting to see and read all this, of course. And I'm looking forward to see the car in person early next year!

Alpina_B3_Lux

[m6pwr]

Originally Posted by JB135MDCT

I too, but 5w30 LLO1 for the winter and 5w40 in the hot. Have been using BMW oil in all my toys for the last 10 years.

If you're talking about using the Ultra 5w30, DO NOT use it in your BMW. Neither of the Ultra 5w30 oils (there are two versions) meet BMW LL-01 and both are the low SAPS (low phosphorous, fuel economy) oils. The Ultra 5w30 Euro does meet BMW LL-04 specs which is ok if you have a diesel but that is no good for a gas BMW in North America. However, they would work quite well in your Chevy Tahoe.

If you're going to use Ultra, stick with the 5w40 year 'round. It flows just as easily when cold as the 5w30 and when your oil temp gets up to operating temp, it is a tad thicker which is good in the N54.

[JB135MDCT]

Originally Posted by m6pwr

If you're talking about using the Ultra 5w30, DO NOT use it in your BMW. Neither of the Ultra 5w30 oils (there are two versions) meet BMW LL-01 and both are the low SAPS (low phosphorous, fuel economy) oils. The Ultra 5w30 Euro does meet BMW LL-04 specs which is ok if you have a diesel but that is no good for a gas BMW in North America. However, they would work quite well in your Chevy Tahoe.

If you're going to use Ultra, stick with the 5w40 year 'round. It flows just as easily when cold as the 5w30 and when your oil temp gets up to operating temp, it is a tad thicker which is good in the N54.

I have N55 and thanks for doing my homework. Euro L is LLO4.

[E92Fan]

Update pictures

Block all bored and honed beautifully - vertical score marks all gone and the bores are totally true. Just waiting for the big end bearing shells to arrive, then the block can go back together. Should have the cylinder head back in a few days.

The crank has been cleaned up and blueprinted.

[Penn999]

Gorgeous, I will do this as soon as she starts running bad, I plan on keeping the car for a looong time.

[dzenno]

OMG awesome!

[BrianMN]

How much material did you have to take off the crank to get it perfect?

So you did zero boring? The reason I ask is because honing doesn't usually get you to a perfectly round cylinder, rather it just fine cleans and finishes the walls. This is assuming they just used 300 -> 500 grit stone to get a 35 RA (roughness average) or RK. So it's hard to say you got a perfectly round cylinder with just honing.

Would CP think about making a .10 or .20 over piston? I would think many of us rebuilding would like to bore at least 10 over to ensure perfect roundness and clean walls.

I'm really excited for you to get this back together, and curious to see how the brand new engine feels and runs compared to how it was before. Thanks for the updates.


EDIT: Just saw in the first post you had this bored and putting in a one-oversized piston in....do you know exactly how much larger it is?

[BrianMN]

And that last picture with the car on the lift with parts underneath is awesome. Looks like a nice place to do all this.

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by BrianMN

How much material did you have to take off the crank to get it perfect?

Absolutely minimal. More finishing of the surface than anything.

Originally Posted by BrianMN

So you did zero boring? The reason I ask is because honing doesn't usually get you to a perfectly round cylinder, rather it just fine cleans and finishes the walls. This is assuming they just used 300 -> 500 grit stone to get a 35 RA (roughness average) or RK. So it's hard to say you got a perfectly round cylinder with just honing.

Would CP think about making a .10 or .20 over piston? I would think many of us rebuilding would like to bore at least 10 over to ensure perfect roundness and clean walls.

I'm really excited for you to get this back together, and curious to see how the brand new engine feels and runs compared to how it was before. Thanks for the updates.


EDIT: Just saw in the first post you had this bored and putting in a one-oversized piston in....do you know exactly how much larger it is?

The oversize is 0.5mm. And yes, it's bored using Serdi equipment.