BMW brand oil?

[Jehu]

I asked the shop who has my car about an oil change.They use BMW oil[synthetic]? 5w30? I told them to do the change as it needs it ,should i cancel that order? I suppose i could make the two hour rund trip Bavarian Auto and grab a few gallons of Lubro Molly , is BMW brand Oil ok? I'm sure this shop owner would be non-plussed hearing me ask this. He's an OEM by the book to a fault guy.

[markus]

BMW oil is made by castrol. I dont see how this can be bad. It has a few addatives in it that the stuff off the shelves doesnt.

[fkong777]

BMW oil is good but Lubro Moly is better.
Royal Purple is also great.

[Jehu]

BMW oil is made by Castro. I dont see how this can be bad. It has a few addatives in it that the stuff off the shelves doesn't.

Well i guess i can scratch the drive to Bav Auto for now.If its adequate for a few thousand miles I'll try something else next time.

[BillionPa]

BMW 5W30 is a heavy 30wt (almost a light 40) with an adequate flashpoint, medium TBN, and is an API SM oil.

it does contain moly and boron (thats good)

[Jehu]

BMW 5W30 is a heavy 30wt (almost a light 40) with an adequate flashpoint, medium TBN, and is an API SM oil.

it does contain moly and boron (thats good)

Ahh, thanks. Current mood: Elevated from content to delighted with a hope of relief arising around 5.

[markus]

how much do they charge per quart anyway? id be willing to try it.

[ryan roopnarine]

how much do they charge per quart anyway? id be willing to try it.

it isn't the greatest syn oil in the world, but its certainly as acceptable as mobil 1. i've never seen it at the dealership for more than what a quart of mobil 1 would cost at walmart. been meaning to try it.

[Jehu]

he quoted me $97.00 to do the oil change while they have it replacing the alternator ($590.00)

[Traian]

Just do it yourself. It only takes a few min and, here in Canada, using BMW syn oil and OEM filter, it only costs me about $75 CAD in parts inc. 14% tax. And everything in Canada is more expensive.

I've been wondering about the BMW syn too. I use Mobil 1 which is about $1 more per L, so I guess I'd save about ~$16 a year using the BMW stuff. Also, the 5W rating should be better than Mobils 10W for the cold weather here (I've never once - anywhere - seen the mysterious 0W40 ppl keep mentioning). But the Mobil works (no leaks, clean oil, no problems, knock on wood).

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

I just did both my cars.

5 qts 0w-40 Mobil 1 (M20)

6 qts 5w-50 Syntech (M50TU)

2 Mann oil filters

1 Mann air filter (M50TU).

1 Fram air filter (M20)

$89.00

You should learn to do some these things and save some $$$$ while spending some quality time getting intimate with your BMW.

[granit_silber]

how much do they charge per quart anyway? id be willing to try it.
My stealer, who's very high in the pricing matrix, charges almost $8 a quart.
-ashley

[markus]

i see castrol makes 5w-50 i bet this would work real well in the M60.

[BillionPa]

$95 for BMW oil!?!??!?! thats outrageous. labor is about 10 mins, and another half an hour to let it pour out of the pan, plus $50 for the oil. there is now way in hell they charge $270 an hour.

[BillionPa]

5W50 actually does quite well in our engines, but i wouldnt run it more than 4500 miles as it thins out at about 5000 to below 50wt spec. if that doesnt matter though, you should be able to run it to 6000 miles before it stops protecting the engine.

[bigtisas]

I use Valvoline syn blend 10w30. Bought them when they were onsale for US$2 a qt. For California weather, I think 10w30 is fine. I will use Moble1 next time.

[Airborne001]

I just went out and bought the stuff to start doing my own, and with the weather here I bought Dino Castrol 20w50 based on the Owners Manual recomended chart. Did I get the right oil? Seems like most of you are buying a lot lighter oil.

[BillionPa]

20W dino oil is like molasses at ambient temp. buy a single bottle of made in germany castrol syntec 0W30, and do a pour test side by side. you will be amazed how much better the 0W30 flows.

but the important thing you need to remember, is that 0W30 when cold is THICKER than 20W50 when hot. the dino oil will then out considerably. what this means is that at ambient temp starting a cold engine, the dino oil isnt gonna wanna pump!

a used oil analysis will tell you for sure, but you will probably see larger amounts of lead, iron, and aluminum after 3000 miles than you ever would with api rated synthetic oil at any viscosity, indicating higher wear at all points in the engine that lubrication is critical to.

that doesnt mean your engine will die because of it, but you will get things like a decrease in compression due to piston ring wear, rod knock due to bearing wear, and it will wear down the camshaft and rockers, making the valves open a shorter distance, which will permanently decrease the power output of your engine, and you wont be able to "go the distance" and have the engine operate at peak performance for another 100-300 thousand miles.

a 20W50 synthetic oil on the other hand will not only be significantly thinner at cold, but will adhere better to the metal naturally as the engine is cooling off.

not that im saying run 20W50, because i still think its way too thick during the warmup phase, but the dino option has too many issues.

[Kalevera]

It is my opinion that Mobil 1 is better than BMW Synthetic. The main issue I have with BMWS is its tendency to sludge, which I've documented on this site and others over the past few years. This can be avoided by changing it at more regular intervals than the service indicator suggests.

Good independents use BMWS because they want to limit the possibility of BMW NA using it against their customers during warranty disputes. Use OEM parts and OEM fluids (the reason why KMS uses BMW DOT 4, not ATE Typ 200/Super Blue unless the customer requests it) and NA has one less reason why they can't honor your warranty claim.

[Jehu]

In my case my BMW is way past warranty. I like the enthusiasm for Lubro Molly so i'll try it next time and change it sooner than later.

[BillionPa]

i just sent in lubro moly 5W40 and 0W40 samples to blackstone labs for oil analysis to determine the makeup of its additive package. the 5W40 is API SM, so it has less anti wear additives but is nicer to the cats if your car burns any oil.

also, contrary to their name, those 2 oils are said to not contain any molybdenum for friction modification... but liquimoly does sell a moly disulfide oil additve, which i use religiously regardless of oil brand or grade.

[BillionPa]

since they already changed the oil, buy some LC-20 online and put a "Shock treatment" level into the oil. that will clean the oil passages and desludge some of the problem areas in the engine, making the change to a 0wt oil less likely to leak.

i currently use 0 makeup oil with 0W40, and the dipstick level before draining is EXACTLY where it was when i put the oil in there in the first place. i thank auto-rx and LC20 for that.

[Jehu]

i just sent in lubro moly 5W40 and 0W40 samples to blackstone labs for oil analysis to determine the makeup of its additive package. the 5W40 is API SM, so it has less anti wear additives but is nicer to the cats if your car burns any oil.

also, contrary to their name, those 2 oils are said to not contain any molybdenum for friction modification... but liquimoly does sell a moly disulfide oil additve, which i use religiously regardless of oil brand or grade.

I think i saw that Molly additive on the Bavarian Auto website..


This? http://www.bavauto.com//assets/product_images/prod/lubro2009.jpg
Lubro Moly MoS2 Anti-Friction Engine Treatment - 300ml

[bsell]

since they already changed the oil, buy some LC-20 online and put a "Shock treatment" level into the oil. that will clean the oil passages and desludge some of the problem areas in the engine, making the change to a 0wt oil less likely to leak.

i currently use 0 makeup oil with 0W40, and the dipstick level before draining is EXACTLY where it was when i put the oil in there in the first place. i thank auto-rx and LC20 for that.

I would be concerned that the oil level never drops in any of my engines. A lack of downward movement in the oil level indicates filling by some other liquid.

It is a normal course of internal combustion engines to 'eat' some of the oil due to clearances around the pistons/valves and into the combustion chamber. Granted, a 'tight' engine will 'eat' very little oil and you would expect the oil level to stay the same as when changed; but if you had a fine enough measuring rig, you could see the oil level drop across a normal oil change interval.

The usual replacement liquid is water condensation. This condensation occurs during the warm up/cool down phases. It builds up in the oil due to short trips not heating the oil to a high enough temp to drive the moisture out of the oil. Once the water hits your oil, it can turn into an acid due to the combustion products floating in the oil. Not good.

The same thing happens in the exhaust system, except more so due to water being a byproduct of the combustion process. Every time you make a cold start and take a short trip, you are loading your exhaust with water and to a smaller extent you add water to your oil.

The best cure to both 'water' problems is to drive your car farther or at a higher speed to heat up the oil and exhaust system to drive out the naturally occuring water.

[BillionPa]

on my way home from work everyday, after the car gets past the blue, it sees some high rpm work and the engine is at full operating temp for over 10 mins.

also my last 4 oil changes were at an interval less than 3000 miles, due to auto-rx cleaning treatments.

the oil currently in my car will be there for 5000 miles, in which time i will perform an oil analysis and filter change.

i am currently doing a virgin oil analysis on the oil to determine its TBN for extended drain intervals.

if everything comes back ok, i will continue running additional miles untill i feel the TBN would have dropped to my minimum comfort level.

as for oil usage, the M60 engine is very light. if there is oil loss its usually do to some seal leaking. also the sump capacity is 8 quarts, so what would be measurable on a dipstick on say, a nissan engine, would look like exactly where it used to be on the M60.

also, due to the high amount of moly additive in my oil, i wouldnt expect much oil eating, as it builds a micro thin layer on metal surfaces it comes into frictional sliding contact with, and isnt easily burned off during combustion.

[Fetch]

I would be concerned that the oil level never drops in any of my engines. A lack of downward movement in the oil level indicates filling by some other liquid.

You theory interests me, however I have never heard somebody say it is bad to have an oil level stay the same over a whole oil change period.

In the 5 cars I've owned, 3 of them never lost a 'drop' of oil over an oil change period. The two that did lose oil: One had a blown headgasket, the 2nd is my current E34, which drips some oil at the least.

160,000 mile jeep Cherokee didn't lose any, 50,000 mile Hyundai didn't lose any, 140,000 mile BMW 750iL didn't lose any.

I would expect my 530 to also not lose oil level either, however I can't tell currently since I have a slight leak somewhere I need to investigate. :p

I do the oil changes (as well as pretty much everything else) on all my cars & haven't seen anything foreign in these cars' oil (if it would be visible)

Also I do not live in a city area (except I'm in college now), my trips are (were) always 'long' when I drove somewhere, giving the engine plenty of time to warm up, etc, so I very highly doubt the levels would stay the same from condensation with my driving.

When I do drive somewhere at college I extend the length of the trip, etc, to try and make the best out of a bad situation for my car :p

[Airborne001]

0W30 when cold is THICKER than 20W50 when hot. the dino oil will then out considerably

HUH? How is it going to pump better cold if it is thicker?

I had originally planned to switch to SNY oil, but this site totally changed my mind on the subject due to problems posted on this site with SYN causing leaking. I am not a total wrenchead by any stretch of the imagination, and don't want to get involved with having to replace gaskets at this point.

Given that we only sometimes see temps below +10F here, what Dino oil would be the best for the winter?

[Bill R.]

you take 20w50 and heat it up to 210F which is the standard testing temp and it will pour like water. You take 0w30 which is thicker than water at room temperature and chill it down to 0 degrees or colder which is the cold testing temp and it will thicken up or pour much more slowly. Put some in the freezer overnight if you want to see for yourself. And then watch hot 20w50 draining out of your engine on an oil change. You'll see what they're talking about.

The concerns on here regarding synthetic leaks are greatly exagerrated. i wouldn't be too worried about changing to it.

If your going to stick to Dino , then i'd probably run a castrol 10w40 in the winter where your at.




HUH? How is it going to pump better cold if it is thicker?

I had originally planned to switch to SNY oil, but this site totally changed my mind on the subject due to problems posted on this site with SYN causing leaking. I am not a total wrenchead by any stretch of the imagination, and don't want to get involved with having to replace gaskets at this point.

Given that we only sometimes see temps below +10F here, what Dino oil would be the best for the winter?

[BillionPa]

the primary reason people see leaks when switching to synthetic is because of damage caused to seals by running dino oil for too long. the sludge traps acid and eats it away.

if you dont have sludge issues, then you can switch to syn and be happy. if you do have sludge, there is a product called Auto-RX which desludges slower than synthetic oils do, over a period of 4000-6000 miles. it also rejuvinates the seals at the same time.

group 4 synthetic oils also do cause seals to shrink slightly, so they add group 5 oil to the base at about 10% by volume to compensate. group 5 causes seal expansion.

Redline oil is a group 5 oil, and they add some group 4 to the base to prevent excessive seal expansion. almost every report you see about redline is that it doesnt leak from the engine, and the engine doesnt burn any during normal operation, thanks to the low volatility and extremely high flash point.

if you wanna try out a synthetic oil thats cheap and good, to see if you are gonna leak, pick up some Castrol Syntec 0W30 that says made in germany on the back. it flows like water when cold, and gains proper viscosity quickly. at hot its more like a thin 40wt than 30wt oil. it is also BMW LL-01 certified.

be sure to change the filter!

[BillionPa]

on the other subject of thickness i better straighten this out.

0W whatever synthetic is thicker when COLD than 20W50 dino is when HOT. however 20W50 dino when COLD is like trying to pour honey. do not be worried about the 0W part in terms of not being to thick for the engine. the only part you need to be concerned about is the next number,which is its viscosity grade at operating temp.

there are many many more factors involved, but thats the basics.

[Paul in NZ]

and the lower the first number the easier it will pump and pour when cold.So a oil tht pumps and pours easier when cold will give protection when your engine is first started.So thats the first thing about synthetics.The second thing is they do not break down like dino and because of the capacity I have bsolutely no qualms about running castrol synthetic for the full srvice interval.And the BMW dealer here would put synthetic into the 535.Its a no brainer.Unless your engine already burns lots of oil or has BAD leaks synthetic is the only way to go

[Airborne001]

Well I don't have a single leak, and if I understood what I read correctly, I should put 5 quarts of group 4 and one of group 5 in order to condition my seals for full syn?

[markus]

im thinking about running the 5w-40 or 50 syntec if i take a ride to wal-mart tommorow.