Why mess around with non-recommended oils?

[Ross]

Some threads here start with things like "I used blah, blah super duper oil and now I have XX problem" or "By the way I'm using snake oil-100/500 with Seafoam" I take back the Seafoam part, that seems to be the domain of E39 owners.

Something tells me BMW's engineers put some effort into what they recommend and it doesn't make sense to mess with success. Me, I'll stick to the book.

Perhaps some is because of new owners who never had an owners book to referrence and are swayed by ads or the nit-wits at Greasy Lube.

[repenttokyo]

Seafoam has always worked great in my cars, especially vehicles with secondary intake runners that often clog bc they are not always in use.

I would think the basic reason that people use non-bmw oils is bc with 400,000 km's on my engine, it's not really in the same spec it was when it left the factory. If I use anything other than 5w50 syntec, it clicks like a bitch.

I do have all of the paperwork back to the date of purchase, all of the books stamped by bmw, etc. I am second owner.

[bad_manners_god]

I don't think this thread applies to Royal Purple, does it?

[632 Regal]

0w30 is good in my V8 mobil one... but I still have the old stock that is full synthetic... dont know what I will change to. 0wt is great here year round except its getting a tad colder now. -6F

[winfred]

cause i don't really give a **** what bmw says :D the company that brought you the 9k mile oil change that upped it to 15k miles when the changes became free under warranty, and converted all other fluids to lifetime fill at the same time, the same company that brought you the wonderful plastic dissolving blue coolant and my favorite the cyclonic pcv system ;)

[BigKriss]

i use the cheapest mineral oil I can find these days and I don't notice any difference.
http://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/3542

[632 Regal]

but remember our cars were invented before they wanted catastrophic damage. So I would stick to the "old" book here


cause i don't really give a **** what bmw says :D the company that brought you the 9k mile oil change that upped it to 15k miles when the changes became free under warranty, and converted all other fluids to lifetime fill at the same time, the same company that brought you the wonderful plastic dissolving blue coolant and my favorite the cyclonic pcv system ;)

[Paul in NZ]

because when they published the owners manual for my car in 1988 synthetic oils were far from mainstream.....

[Zeuk in Oz]

because when they published the owners manual for my car in 1988 synthetic oils were far from mainstream.....
+1

I use Mobil 1 0W-40 every 8,000 km (5,000 miles) in all my cars. Cheap insurance.

[Ross]

I didn't consider intervals. Yeah those are far too long. Perhaps I change too frequently but I'd rather err on the side of caution.
Do you think the intervals being extended have anything to do with BMW being on the hook for oil changes with new cars??

[Ross]

cause i don't really give a **** what bmw says :D the company that brought you the 9k mile oil change that upped it to 15k miles when the changes became free under warranty, and converted all other fluids to lifetime fill at the same time, the same company that brought you the wonderful plastic dissolving blue coolant and my favorite the cyclonic pcv system ;)

"my favorite the cyclonic pcv system"
It doesn't clog like old vacuum cleaners.

[Russell]

cause i don't really give a **** what bmw says :D the company that brought you the 9k mile oil change that upped it to 15k miles when the changes became free under warranty, and converted all other fluids to lifetime fill at the same time, the same company that brought you the wonderful plastic dissolving blue coolant and my favorite the cyclonic pcv system ;)

+1 on everything you said. First thing I did was change all the fluids on my e34 when I bought it 6 years ago.

[Rick L]

Advancement in oil has improved in last 15 years. Just like the advancement in tire technology even though they look the same. But weight of oil remain the same as it is classed by flow rate.

[Grantus]

Remember, we are not talking new pristine cars here, Other sets of rules start to apply.

Owners of well used second hand cars need to have a different perspective from those who could afford our type of cars new.

[pcross]

I believe high-mileage vehicles should be approached a little differently as far as engine oil is concerned. My 1995 525i has 235,000 miles on it and hums along like a well-adjusted timepiece. I use (and have used for years) Chevron Delo 10W40 oil. Delo is very heavy duty oil that is primarily blended for diesel engines. I also change my oil every 3,000 miles without fail (a regular oil change is, in my opinion, the cheapest preventative maintenance one can perform). But, opinions are like noses...everyone has one.

[Rick L]

Just wondering if anyone here is using "high mileage" oil? I heard mixed opinions regarding this. I thought about it but decided to keep my current oil setup as it works perfectly since purchasing my E34 525i and she loves it. For me, I have always used Mobil 1 (0w-40) for spring, summer, fall and Mobil 1 (5w-30) for winter. And my car still runs like it came out of the factory and no leaks. :)

[M20Turbo]

Red Line Oil http://www.redlineoil.com/ is what I have been running in my E34 since 1992, works well for me.....

[Ross]

My understanding of th eso called high mileage oils is they contain additives intended to swell old seals. I had a bad experience with an additive like that long ago so stay away from "high mileage" oils even though I have a few worthy candidates.

[pcross]

Delo 10W40 is not a high mileage oil. It is primarily a heavy duty oil for hard-working diesel engines. It has no seal swelling additives or other junk like that. I just happen to use it in my high-mileage 525i.

[attack eagle]

I don't think this thread applies to Royal Purple, does it?

poor mans' royal purple = go down one number on the oil weight for 1/2 the quarts used. that's all it is+ some purple coloring.

RP can be very very bad news if you don;t know you should buy one weight higher than normal for equal oil pressure. Seen far to many high specific output cars go BOOM within5-15 minutes of switching to RP.

[winfred]

delo is great oil and does wonders in m20s and m30s it reduces the valve train noise by a noticeable amount


Delo 10W40 is not a high mileage oil. It is primarily a heavy duty oil for hard-working diesel engines. It has no seal swelling additives or other junk like that. I just happen to use it in my high-mileage 525i.

[ryan roopnarine]

I also believe that the SAE has said that the (IIRC) zinc in the additive packages of diesel oil may shorten catalytic converter life if changed too frequently. i think that they said 5,000+ miles was a safe interval. if you only have chunks of cadillac (sic) converter left, you're good to go, though.

[BigKriss]

Do you think this is the same oil? There is no Chevron brand in Australia.

http://www.caltex.com.au/products_oil_detail.asp?id=211


delo is great oil and does wonders in m20s and m30s it reduces the valve train noise by a noticeable amount

[bubba966]

0w30 is good in my V8 mobil one... but I still have the old stock that is full synthetic... dont know what I will change to. 0wt is great here year round except its getting a tad colder now. -6F

Use 0w30 Amsoil as it's still full synthetic. Runs better than the mobil one I had in my M60 when I bought it. And the PO was nice and changed the oil for me right before I bought it as I was going on a 3,750 mile drive back home. Told him it wasn't needed as the oil had around 1,000 miles on it before he changed it. But he changed it anyways.

[winfred]

maybe, probably any diesel truck rated oil will have the same general property's


Do you think this is the same oil? There is no Chevron brand in Australia.

http://www.caltex.com.au/products_oil_detail.asp?id=211