Synthetic Oil

And at $90+ per barrel of crude, I doubt you can still get BMW synthetic for $6 - even after the BMWCCA discount offered by many dealers! If Scott wants to know the difference between an Oil Service and an Oil Change, he needs to RTFM.

Tom K.

There are lots and lots and lots of opinions. Most of them are half baked at best.

I get the oil in my 325 every 7500 miles. Since my car sees mostly local driving, I believe that it pays to be cautious. And, the suggestion is every 15000 miles for my car.

Yes, oil changes are more expensive than they were once upon a time. Synthetic oil is not cheap, nor are filters, nor are workers.

Jim

BMW dealers in the UK charge 12 gbp a litre for the BMW spec oil. So that's well over $100 for the materials alone.

But it makes absolutely no sense to pay top dollar for a long life oil then change it early. If you really must do 3,000 mile oil changes stick to a good quality dino or semi-synthetic. To the spec BMW used before they increased the service intervals.

The cheapest I've found Mobil 1 5W/30 for (taking that as a bench mark) in the UK is the equivalent of $17 a quart. I now see why you guys change oil with abandon. ;-)

Eight quarts of synthetic. That's crazy.

On the E28, which has a pain-in-the-neck canister placement and needs a special tool to easily get the canister out from the top without burning yourself (a wooden rod with a loop of rope on it), I can do the full oil change in 15 minutes, including time to get the ramps out of the garage. Even on the 2002, it doesn't take me half an hour to do a full oil change including greasing all the fittings.

But it's true, I'm not dumping eight quarts of synthetic in each time.

I think the last time I had the 2002 done at the dealer, they charged me $38 for it. That was... well... it was some time ago.

--scott

I think I pay $4.50/qt for Castrol Syntec (the 5W-40 variant) when I get

--scott

I can buy a 6-pack of that at Costco for around $25. Even the 0W/40 that meets the BMW long-life standards is only around $8/quart at the local Shuck's auto supply.

FloydR

How come I have never seen your 2002? My first BMW was a brand new 2002Tii in 1972.

Bob

It sits under cover pretty much all the time these days, and Mike says he'll kill me if I ask him to work on it because it's older than he is. However, it's not spouting oil like the E28 is... I am right now trying to figure out if I can get the oil pan off the E28 without pulling the engine completely.

It appears to be easier to change the transmission on the E28 than the oil pan gasket. Incidentally, I failed to get Mike's driver's seat to match the originals.... the upholstery shop wouldn't touch it and suggested I dye it myself... I got the job very even, but it's noticeably less red than the other seats in the car. I've been hitting the other seats with neatsfoot oil in hopes of darkening them up a bit.

--scott

A guy I used to work with ran a really old 80's 318 (not even a 318i If I remember)

He used to change the oil twice a year and up until a couple of years ago when i left work his car I admit sounded just like a sowing machine - really smooth better than my (then) nearly new 325 convertible

Check your local WalMart for Mobil 1 0W-40 in 5 qt jugs. Price is under $30.

Check the actual spec of that oil. Mobil 1 isn't just one oil. And there's more to an oil than the viscosity rating.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote

But he specifically mentioned the M1 0w-40. That particular M1 grade meets the BMW spec.

Pete

"Pete" wrote

Exactly. The 0W-40 meets ACAE A3 B3/B4 and "BMW Longlife 01" None of the other available weights of Mobil 1 do so.

But interestingly, BMW's current oil is 5W30 formulated by the folks at Castrol. I think you can be quite safe replacing it with Mobil 1, particularly if you're not enamored with 15,000+ change intervals.

R / John

"John Carrier" wrote

But it's not the actual grade that matters. A variety of grades can be used, as long as they meet the BMW specs... 0w-30, 5w-30, 0w-40, 5w-40...

I'm currently running Castrol 0w-30 in my 530i.

Pete

AHHAaaa! I love hearing you guys in the US!. Here in the UK the right oil for my e46 coupe (BMW longlife01) is =A345 for 4 litres, the basic other oils are all at most =A345 for 5litres, and the car needs 6 litres. Also - no free oil changes at BMW here! -and they charge =A380-140 per hour. So and oil change is pushing $500 with filters and disposal of waste oil. Ain't they sweet.

Chipping in - the 5w30 or whatever is important but you also need to look at the SAE, A1, B2, CF etc codes on the oils. I beleive this is something to do with the purity. Same as tolerance on Unleaded-97 and unleaded-99 (99% goodstuff).

I've heard BMW Longlife 01 wasn't up to the job when they went to synthetic and extended life. That's why ther'e BMW Longlife04 now.

Also - here's a thought - everytime I start the car I lose 25 miles off my service interval. Assuming I start the car twice every day, ove a year thats 15,000 miles.

FYI I'm actually driving 30 miles to work each day, 60m round trip but it's mainly cruising at 80. Ahem I mean 70.mph (At least one benefit to the UK)

I prefer using Pennzoil and have it on both my cars. Works great in the cold, harsh climate of Norway. My cars regularly see temperatures below

-20C during winter...

Oil is not where you want to save those pennies. My 2 cents worth.

SNIP

FYI I'm actually driving 30 miles to work each day, 60m round trip but it's mainly cruising at 80. Ahem I mean 70.mph (At least one benefit to the UK)

With all the photo-radars in th UK? Generally, you can cruise around 80 in most of the US if the trucks and the left-lane nazi's don't clog things up.

R / John