Oil, 5W-30?

[Jake Casson]

Everyone is saying different things, what should I put in? Considering im in the UK climate. Draining it now of 15W-40.

Cheers

[joshua43214]

Every one here will say different things too. Use what your owners manual recomends.

[Jake Casson]

Oils have come a long way since the manual was made. These new grades of oil are much better and different grades can be used. Its just finding the right one.

[BillionPa]

im in Minnesota, I use 0W40 in the winter, 5W40 in spring and fall, and 10W40 in the summer. All synthetic

your climate will be closer to spring and fall, go for 5W40 synthetic.

[KenB]

The way I've read the owner's manual and the Bentley, 10W40 is good for ambient temps of -20 to 50F, I use this in the winter. 15W50 is good for 0 to 105F, I use it the rest of the year.

I've heard that the newer oils extend this range, especially synthetics. I use Mobil1, so I should be covered. I'm in New Germany, err Jersey.

[SRR2]

You either put a hell of a lot of miles on your car, or are wasting a hell of a lot of money and oil. The 0W40 would work just fine year round for you. So would 5w30 synthetic, most likely. It doesn't get quite as cold here as it does where you are, but all my cars are perfectly happy with 5w-30 even on those few days when it goes sub-zero. 5W-30 is factory fill for most, if not all, BMWs these days, and recommended for all climates.

[KenB]

You either put a hell of a lot of miles on your car, or are wasting a hell of a lot of money and oil. The 0W40 would work just fine year round for you. So would 5w30 synthetic, most likely. It doesn't get quite as cold here as it does where you are, but all my cars are perfectly happy with 5w-30 even on those few days when it goes sub-zero. 5W-30 is factory fill for most, if not all, BMWs these days, and recommended for all climates.

I do drive alot. 20-25,000mi/yr. or more. I try to change oil at 5k so 4times a year. Oil is cheap compared to repairs. The 0W40 Mobil1 is a bit more expensive than the 15W50, my mech thinks I should use 20W50 dino because it's thicker but puts in what I ask, I do it myself when I have time. It's worked well so far, so I'm hesitant to change, no leaks when I changed to synth 2 years ago, also made the motor smoother and quieter, no ticks, uses maybe a half quart between changes.

Do you use 5W30 in your 91?

[Paul in NZ]

i run 5 w 30 all year round.With synthetic ,you should run thinner oil in your car,its all about start up protection,you wont cook synthetic oil.I wouldnt run 20 50 in my lawn mower!

[bmw_ryder]

in my 520i i run whith castrol 10w-40 magnatec,and i'm tempted to put the 5w/30,but i think that the motor is quite old, for the syntethic oil.and i'm afraid to remain whitout oil in the motor.
what sugestions of oil(castrol/mobil1) do you have for my:520iM20/150.000miles,perfect shape??

[SRR2]

I use M1 5W-30 in everything except the Porsche which gets 0W-40 per factory requirements. The iX was switched to M1 at its first oil change. It burns no oil at all, and is pristine clean everywhere.

With the kind of usage you have, you could easily run your oil to 10k-12k at no risk whatsoever. If you're hard to convince, don't take my word for it, get yourself some test kits from Blackstone and do an analysis every 3K so you can see how it degrades. Then you'd know for sure. Check this -- http://neptune.spacebears.com/cars/stories/mobil1.html -- out to see how long M1 can last. It's a lot longer than most people think.

[KenB]

SRR2 - Thanks for the great info, I will definitely reconsider my oil changing intervals and viscosities used. The oil change frequency thing is something that was drummed into my head at an early age. It's a hard habit to change. Thanks again.

[bmw_ryder]

i'll consider this post and at next oil change i'll go most probably for the M1 5w/30.