Castrol Blend

[JMI]

Life use to be simple before the 89 535i came into the picture. Need oil? Get a good 10w-40 dino oil and forget about it.

Will be doing the first oil change since acquiring the car. The car was well taken car of by previous 2 owners. As far as I can determine it always had dino oil in it. From peering into the valve cover from the oil fill cap, admittedly not an extensive view, the valve gear looks in good shape from a lubrication standpoint. Light varnish but absolutely no signs of sludge, carbon, or other deposits. Not bad for 120,000 miles.

Have read a lot on the forum about synthetics in general and Mobil 1 in particular. The concerns about loosing up crude that will plug the oil galleys/filters or cause previously good seals to start leaking. Read this may have been true with the early blends but not much of a problem now, the leaking seals that is.

Went to the Mobil 1 website:
http://www.mobil1.com/
and they don’t even recommend a synthetic oil, (don’t have one in the correct viscosity range, or so they say), but say to use a high mileage dino oil with seal conditioners, Mobil Clean High Mileage 10W-40.

Checked out the Castrol website:
http://www.castrol.com/
and they where a little more flexible, recommending several types, dino, full synthetic, and synthetic blend.

Leaning towards trying the Castrol blend for the coming oil change to see how it goes. They recommend a 5w-20, but that seems a little thin for the Pacific Northwest (Seattle), so I thinking 10w-30.

Any opinions on the Castrol Blend?

TIA

[Beemr750]

I'm using Dura-blend for the last 6 years/75k mil and see no adverse effects like sludge etc.in my 89 535.I do change about every 5k, thats about when it reaches the low mark.Plus my car has well over 200k on it.
In Fla 20-50 works OK all year round.

[Rigmaster]

Here's my theory on oil and engine damage.

Change the oil on a regular basis, every 3-4-5000 miles, with ANY commercially available oil and filter, and the engine will last for a LONG time.

What kills engines, IMHO, is overheating and running low oil pressure- or out of oil. Once you've overheated or run an engine with low oil pressure- I believe the damage is done. You might be able to continue driving the car, and the performance might be the same as before, but I believe you have decreased the engines lifespan considerably. Extended oil change intervals (10k or more) over time can also roast an engine. You'd be surprised at how many people do not think that it's necessary to EVER change their oil!!

That being said, the M30 535i engine is pretty old technology, solid as a rock, and should be quite tolerant of many different types and weights of oil.
I personally would stick with a good quality dino oil and be done with it. Change every 3-5k miles with a good quality filter and it'll probably last you forever.


Bret.

[632 Regal]

M1 site told me this:

Year: 1994
Make: BMW
Model: 530i
Engine Type: 8cyl. 3.0Liter


Mobil 1 0W-40
A fully synthetic motor oil, Mobil 1 0W-40 with SuperSyn Technology exceeds industry standards and the major leading builder requirements, enabling the product to keep performing well after conventional oils cannot. Mobil 1 is recommended by leading car manufacturers as initial fill.

[SRR2]

My '89 535 had M1 from its first change of oil. 5W-30. To the day I sold it, it never leaked or consumed a drop. I changed on the SI lights which usually worked out to around 9000 miles. The valves were adjusted once in 115000 miles, and they didn't particularly need adjusting even then.

If the engine is clean as you say I'd be very surprised if introducing M1 would cause any problem. If it were my car I'd do it and sit back and enjoy the better cold weather startup, better high temperature protection, and lower frictional losses.

There's no point to a 10W synthetic in this engine. Use a 5W or 0W as long as you don't already have consumption problems.