BMW brand oil?

[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.