# Nickel and aluminum in oil report - MKVI Golf R...HELP!!



## MD_DubR (Oct 2, 2003)

Just sent off my oil from the last oil change to be analyzed and it came back with more aluminum and nickel than prior. 30k miles on my Golf R total. Have done 3 oil changes since purchase with 12k miles. 1st with Liquid Moly 5W-40 and the last 2 with Motul Specific 5W-40. Blackstone comments on piston or bearing wear so I am trying to get some further advice on future changes or precautions.

I am going to decrease the interval mileage prior to my next change but would love to hear any additional insight or advice from fellow VDubs.

Cheers,

Jake

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wrvgtfaxqvr78vj/13%20GOLF%20R-170625.pdf?dl=0


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## PowerslavePA (Dec 9, 2014)

Aluminum:
Aluminum is most commonly from wear (scuffing) on piston skirts as they repeatedly travel along the length of a cylinder. 
Other sources would be aluminum engine blocks, certain types of bearings, and heat exchangers (oil coolers).


Nickel:
Nickel can be found in certain alloys of steel for internal engine parts, and also is used as a coating on bearings.
You may not have nickel present in the next or future tests if it was a coating on the bearings. It is not widely used 
anymore.


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## Thy_Harrowing (Dec 7, 2014)

> Just sent off my oil from the last oil change to be analyzed and it came back with more aluminum and nickel than prior. 30k miles on my Golf R total. Have done 3 oil changes since purchase with 12k miles. 1st with Liquid Moly 5W-40 and the last 2 with Motul Specific 5W-40. Blackstone comments on piston or bearing wear so I am trying to get some further advice on future changes or precautions.
> 
> I am going to decrease the interval mileage prior to my next change but would love to hear any additional insight or advice from fellow VDubs.
> 
> ...


Odd, one would certainly expect the wear rate to go down, especially as compared to the first oil change done on the car as there will be more metals from initial engine break-in. Speaking of which, every manufacturer has different recommendations for break-in (as in exactly what mileage to do your first oil change at) but I don't honestly know what VWs recommendation is as I've never owned a brand new VW... I'd recommend you look at that. Hopefully you didn't way overshoot their recommendation on that first OCI in case that could somehow skew things. Rather doubt that would be the case though. You reaaaally ought to follow Blackstone's advice on reducing the OCI as you said. If you want this car to wear and age in the most ideal way possible, in regards to oil, I'd recommend shooting for 3k-6k mile OCI. 3k is pretty extreme and really unnecessarily low for modern full synthetics but I would personally not be comfortable letting my oil change go much past 6k so I just aim to do it in that range when time permits. Cheapest and quickest insurance for your car ever, especially if you're doing them yourself. All this nonsense VW spouts about 10k OCI and Liqui-moly saying that theirs can go up to 15k OCIs... ridiculous. Sure they CAN but that doesn't mean it's remotely ideal. VWs 10k OCI claim is aimed at being marketable to the average joe who wants to just skirt by on the standards for engine care but we are enthusiasts and we love our cars... we shouldn't accept the lowest standard of acceptable, right? End of sermon LOL.

So yeah, cut your OCI in half and monitor your oil level carefully, make sure she's always topped off and see what the sample looks like in 6k. That's basically all you can do. Don't fall prey to overpriced additives like Ceratec, etc. You're using high quality oils, that's all you need. Don't put anything else in. Just be patient and see what the next sample looks like. You will want to use one of the two oils you've already used so you have a known sample with which to compare it to, rather than using something new. At least for now. Then after your next sample consider a different oil and see what changes. M1 0W-40 is an excellent oil for an unbeatable price. Liqui-moly is good, of course, though I'd recommend the Leichlauf (sp?) 5W-40 over the more common one. If I recall correctly the Leichlauf is still a true group 4 full synthetic but LM has changed the formulas for the other stuff you're using back and forth so the stuff you're using (can't remember exact name) has been group 4 and group 3 off and on. I think it is group 3 at the moment. If that is still the case then that means it is not a full synthetic; rather it is a "synthetic blend". If it uses any other language than "full synthetic" on the bottle then it is not a full synthetic. Examples of tricky phrasing that indicate they are only a partial-synthetic is "synthetic technology" or "synthetic blend" or "synthese technology" etc. Now, don't automatically assume that group 4 is always better than group 3. For technical reasons that are not worth getting into, a group 3 could out perform a group 4 but, in general, group 4 full synthetics are preferred if you're picky. My research on Motul oil led me to prefer the Motul X-Cess 8100 over the Motul Specific but I can't honestly remember why. I just know I never make a decision without thorough research and complete confidence, that's all I can say. There are other good ones out there too. I hear good things about Rotella T6, some Valvoline SynPower, Redline, Amsoil, and others. At the end of the day they are all high quality group 3 or group 4 oils and will do well for 6k intervals so there comes a point where you are just overthinking it but for peace of mind I personally just stay with M1, LM, or Motul. I've had excellent samples over the years with M1 and LM. M1 does just as well and is half the price as far as I have seen. It burns a bit faster than the LM on my car though. I have not had the Motul analyzed yet. I'm curious to see how it looks...

That was probably a lot more than you asked for but hopefully it was helpful/informative... good luck!


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