long life BMW oil filter??

[Russell]

Yesterday I watched Pat Goss' s Motorweek segment regarding extended oil changes. He implied 7,500-15,000 miles as extended oil changes?

He stated that OE BMW oil filters were designed for extended oil changes. This is news to me. If true, does Mann and Malhe filters make them as well and for the E34? Perhaps I should use only OE BMW oil filters

It was my understanding that OE filters were made by Mann and Malhe. Just wondering :)

[Bill R.]

longlife extended oil are for these cars. However if i were to guess i would think that all the newer evo filters are made of the same material. I wouldn't use a filter for that long anyway though.http://www.bimmernut.com/%7Ebillr/images2/longlifeoilfilter.jpg



Yesterday I watched Pat Goss' s Motorweek segment regarding extended oil changes. He implied 7,500-15,000 miles as extended oil changes?

He stated that OE BMW oil filters were designed for extended oil changes. This is news to me. If true, does Mann and Malhe filters make them as well and for the E34? Perhaps I should use only OE BMW oil filters

It was my understanding that OE filters were made by Mann and Malhe. Just wondering :)

[Russell]

Can these be used with the M50TU engines. Should they be used even if they physically fit and you do not plan to extend your oil change interval.

I guess I am asking are they better filters? Bill, thanks for your reply.

[Tiger]

If you look at your owner's manual... it probably stated 7500 miles oil change... so even if you want to use synthetic extended oil change... just change filter twice. However, I wouldn't go post 10,000 miles on Mobil 1 just to be safe.

You can use those oil analysis services... but the price you paid for that service, you might as well change the oil.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Aren't BMW's recomended extended intervals the problem behind the sludge issue? I use Mobil 1 and change the filter everytime, and I still won't go past 5k. What's the price of oil and a filter compared to a new engine?

[ThoreauHD]

Pat Goss doesn't drive a car with 500,000 miles. He is selling cars/auto supplies.

For the optimal condition of your engine, you are supposed to change the oil every 5-6 thousand miles on dyno derived synthetic. Going to 10 and 15K miles on mobil 1 will lead to breakdown and buildup. As with bmw "lifetime" transmissions, nothing lasts forever.

The 10K mile oils as labeled are just derived synthetic with seal expander for leaking and gunk detergent for the buildup that you'll get. 3K for dyno. 5-6K for synthetic. We aren't running diesel engines.

[Russell]

Have used oil analysis services a couple of times to establish a baseline. have used a rane of mobil 1 synthetic oils. May use castrol 5w50 next. N

[Russell]

The question remains. Are there BMW OE extended life "oil filters" not oil, that work with our e34s? If so, should we use them?

[Jon K]

Why bother. The OE filter is $5. If you want to ride around for 12,000 miles on synthetic long life oil, then swap your filter a couple times in between. On an M50TU swapping a filter takes about 2 mins. I usually swap filters every 3k miles and run my oil for about 6k miles.

[Russell]

Done the same. Even so, I do want to use the best filter, even if for only 3,000 miles.

[BillionPa]

If you really want a long life filter, replace your filter canister with an Amsoil bypass system.

[Jon K]

Done the same. Even so, I do want to use the best filter, even if for only 3,000 miles.


I live literally down the street from Zygmnuts aka www.bimmerparts.com They sell filter kits for $5. I bought I think 8 of them last time I was there.

[Tiger]

Amsoil has 25,000 miles oil... very tempting...

[Jon K]

Is it really that bad changing oil every ~6k miles? If so, feel free to mail me your title and keys.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

bingo! change the oil and filter, then reset after the second round when it hits the yellow.

[SRR2]

The problem with "miles" is that it doesn't have a good correlation to oil service. My 540, for example, was previously owned by a guy whose usage was mostly highway service. The car ended up with more miles than BMW dealers like for CPO-ing it so they wholesaled it. The car was serviced according to BMW's prepaid maintenance policy, which means fairly long oil change intervals. However, because of the easy usage, the engine did just fine with 13K-15K on the oil and is pristine clean. Contrast that to someone who runs 5 miles each way to and from the office, and who turns in the car with 22K on it. The dealer is happy because they get a low-mile car to unload at high $$. The engine, on the other hand, isn't happy at all, because it's all sludged up from the short trips. So you tell me, which is a better buy? 47,000 miles or 22,000 miles? 15,000 on BMW Castrol worked just fine in my car's engine.

Case in point: There's a guy "ketchup" over at the E39 forum at bimmerfest who has just such a low-mile car, and his engine is a mess.

[Russell]

Is it really that bad changing oil every ~6k miles? If so, feel free to mail me your title and keys.

Jon K, what does that post mean? Are you missing the point of my post? All I want to know is there a long life filter for our cars.

BTW, I change my oil and filter myself more often than 6,000 miles. In fact, it has been every 2,500 miles for he past four changes since I been going through two cyles of the Auto-RX engine cleaning/rise process. See the bobistheoilguy forum for details

I find your post just a bit insulting even if you may think it is witty and/or funny.

[Jon K]

Jon K, what does that post mean? Are you missing the point of my post? All I want to know is there a long life filter for our cars.

BTW, I change my oil and filter myself more often than 6,000 miles. In fact, it has been every 2,500 miles for he past four changes since I been going through two cyles of the Auto-RX engine cleaning/rise process. See the bobistheoilguy forum for details

I find your post just a bit insulting even if you may think it is witty and/or funny.


I was just making the joke that @ $6 why does it matter if there is a long life filter available or not? There's 15,000 mile oil available, but I don't believe anyone should use it. When you go to the dealer they give you one choice of filter - sometimes its exciting and you get to pick mann or mahle. Eitherway, if you do want to run your oil for something like 10,000+ miles, is a long life filter (if they exist for the car) worth it or would it be better insurance to replace the filter multiple times in the duration of oil use? I do the latter.

On another note - i do hope that after you're done the cleaning process you change back to a longer interval before changes - most engines on 2,500 miles are not even using the oil to its capacity.

[joshua43214]

The newer style of long life filter is constructed completely differently, it would not be possible to install it in the e34.

All filter manufacturers build the filters to OE specs, They all claim to excede OE specs when they sell aftermarket.

Mann and MAhle are probably the best filter manufacturers on the planet.

So to answer your question, the OEM filter is the best you can buy. There maybe better "systems" available, such and the above mentioned Amsoil rig that is a pain to install and is expensive.

If all you want is the best "drop in" part, the one with the BMW label will be it.

[Russell]

Sure will let oil run longer. I will be switching back to synthetic, possible Castol 5w50 and run 4-6,000 miles between changes. The 2,500 miles was with dino oil/filter change per the cleaning instructions to make sure sludge etc is dislolved, suspended and flushed out