Oil type and weight for a 540i?

[LukasBMW]

The first oil change is coming up on my 540i.

What type of oil does BMW recommend for the 540i?
How often does BMW recommend changing the oil?

As an enthusiast, I always do 3,000 mile changes with synthetic oil. Yet the shop I take my cars to keeps telling me this is overkill. They say I could easily drop down to 6,000 mile changes with synthetic oil. Should I listen to them?

[ashamans]

id say go 6k to 15k, its easy to get that on a 540 with good synthetic

look in your maunal and it would say 5w40, some people use higher, i just use 5w40

oem bmw i think is pintosyn, not sure but thats what i use, and oem filter

[HomeSlice]

5-15K 5w 30 (bmw manual) Mobil One (wal-mart 21.60 for large container 2X)

[ashamans]

mobil one is great oil

[Qsilver7]

...I always do 3,000 mile changes with synthetic oil. Yet the shop...say I could easily drop down to 6,000 mile changes with synthetic oil. Should I listen to them?

In my opinion, I'd say yes. And you can easily know when to do an oil change. It's generally referred to as an "intermediate oil change". This is where you do an oil change midway between your Oil Serv light/Inspeciton light illuminating.

Since there are 5 green and 1 amber Service Lights that illuminate before the red "service" WARNING light illuminates...when you get down to the 3rd green light...right before or right after it goes off...do an oil & filter change. This normally puts you half way between services...which usually averages out between 5k-10k miles...dependent on the way you drive etc.

Then the next time you change your oil & filter would be between the time the amber light comes on but before the red warning light illuminates. At this Oil Serv/Inspection I or II...you change the oil (or do the service) and have the lights reset. This way you are taking advantage of the full synth oil you're using but still satisfiying your need for more frequent oil changes than the long interval that adhering to the Service Lights would give you.

Remember, you only need to reset the Service Lights when you get to the Amber one...don't reset them while you still have green lights illuminate. Doing so will throw off the next Inspection interval.

If you are using dino oil...then stick with your 3k oil/filter change interval...or when every 2 green lights go off with the 3rd change being when the amber light goes off.

[AppleJacks]

In my opinion, I'd say yes. And you can easily know when to do an oil change. It's generally referred to as an "intermediate oil change". This is where you do an oil change midway between your Oil Serv light/Inspeciton light illuminating.

Since there are 5 green and 1 amber Service Lights that illuminate before the red "service" WARNING light illuminates...when you get down to the 3rd green light...right before or right after it goes off...do an oil & filter change. This normally puts you half way between services...which usually averages out between 5k-10k miles...dependent on the way you drive etc.

Then the next time you change your oil & filter would be between the time the amber light comes on but before the red warning light illuminates. At this Oil Serv/Inspection I or II...you change the oil (or do the service) and have the lights reset. This way you are taking advantage of the full synth oil you're using but still satisfiying your need for more frequent oil changes than the long interval that adhering to the Service Lights would give you.

Remember, you only need to reset the Service Lights when you get to the Amber one...don't reset them while you still have green lights illuminate. Doing so will throw off the next Inspection interval.

If you are using dino oil...then stick with your 3k oil/filter change interval...or when every 2 green lights go off with the 3rd change being when the amber light goes off.

Fantastic information.

[franka]

Forget the lights. Go 6-8,000 miles depending on conditions. If you've been driving in very dust conditions then 6,000. And other such conditions like if you've been tracking the car a lot.

[ashamans]

i have putbetween 5k - 10k and no oil lights have come on

[hadalgo]

i personally would never go 15k.. 5000 if you only do around town driving, 7500 if you highway/around town and 10k if youre always on the highway..

i use castrol 5w-30 fully synthetic with purolator filter.. all bought at advance auto parts. they have great sales from time to time, last time i bought 1 quart and got one for free, makes that 8 quart purchase of synthetic alot easier on the wallet that way..

[rcatank]

Hey man, last time (which was like 2 days ago) I asked this type of question, I got flamed from a lot of ppl. I would watch out.

Anyway, I just added a quart of 5W-30 Castrol Synthetic to my 03 530i. This is what BMW recommended. Hope this helps.

[ArmySweitzer]

5w 30 castrol syntec for me as well. Seems to work well in my car, im on my second oil change.

I changed it at 4k and I really wish I had gone further (i thought I had before i checked my records)

[540IASport]

In this regard, what is the pros and cons of a 0W-50 or 0W-30 motor oil? The Euro Castrol is 0W-30 I think and is LL01.

The weather around where I drive is quite warm. Winters maybe see close to freezing but most of the year the temperatures will not dip below 40 and the high temps are over 100.

[quattro PETE]

The benefit of 0w-XX is better circulation at cold startup, but mainly in very low temps (say below 0F). At higher temps, there is no real benefit, but it doesn't hurt either. The Euro Castrol 0w-30 (GC) is a very special oil due to its formulation - mostly esters (group V). It has also been proven to deliver outstanding UOA results. I use it at 7.5k mile intervals.

[540IASport]

Thanks for the response. Does the 0W-30 Euro Castrol hold up to high heat? Meaning 100+ outside temperatures?

Also why is having the most esters (I know it's a type of chemical like ketones or alcohols) beneficial? Also what is UOA?

Noob here

[quattro PETE]

Yes, GC has no problems with high temps.

Ester bases are very stable, which means the oil doesn't have a tendency to shear (turn from Xw-30 into Xw-20 within a few thousand miles, for example). On the other hand Mobil1 0w-40 has been proven to shear pretty quickly.

UOA = used oil analysis

[BMW Loe]

I'm not a fan of Mobil 1 0w40 and never been. There seems to be more valvetrain noise on my 540i as well as my 328Ci on initial start-up that I regret starting and hearing that noise everytime. I've experimented (also brought into the hype of using only BMW LL oil, hey I was a newbie) with other oils on my 328Ci. The engine seems to enjoy (run smoother, less valvetrain noise) on Valvoline Full Synthetic MAX LIFE 5w30 (LL-98) over German Castrol 0w30(though very slight, the German Castrol does idle smoother when cold, that thats it, LL-01) and BMW's own 5w30. But the Vavoline seems to allow the engine to run "cobbier" as it approaches the 7,500mile mark while the GC and BMW oils run smooth up and sometimes past that mark.

Also, I make it a habit to change my oil filter every 3,750miles as well.

[smader12]

Outside heat is not a factor, except for extreme cold. These are water cooled engines and they operate at the same temp regardless of the outside temp. I just put Castrol 0w-30 in mine (Euro Formula).

[chromius]

Outside heat is not a factor, except for extreme cold. These are water cooled engines and they operate at the same temp regardless of the outside temp. I just put Castrol 0w-30 in mine (Euro Formula).

That's not true, outside temperature does have a significant effect on oil temperature, and it's ability to 'air' cool through the oil pan, filter housing etc.

[smader12]

That's not true, outside temperature does have a significant effect on oil temperature, and it's ability to 'air' cool through the oil pan, filter housing etc.

This is true, do your research.

[chromius]

This is true, do your research.

I have done my research, I have installed several Oil temperature gauges in different cars, including track prepped cars, daily drivers, weekend autox cars, and they all show significant oil temperature differences depending on ambient temperature, vehicle speed, and air flow.

[mpowerdave]

I'm not a fan of Mobil 1 0w40 and never been. There seems to be more valvetrain noise on my 540i as well as my 328Ci on initial start-up that I regret starting and hearing that noise everytime.

At one time I was convinced that the vanos was going bad on my e36 m3 because it was starting to make so much noise. Turned out to be the 0w40 Mobil 1 oil I used during the last oil change. I've switched to Mobil 1 truck and SUV 5w40 and noise went away.

[smader12]

I have done my research, I have installed several Oil temperature gauges in different cars, including track prepped cars, daily drivers, weekend autox cars, and they all show significant oil temperature differences depending on ambient temperature, vehicle speed, and air flow.

I'm still going to disagree that outside temp plays a factor in the oil needed, with the exception of cold startups, on these modern water cooled engines. While I cannot claim to have measured my own engine oil temp in varying climates, I have read up on this too. The engine maintains it's own operating temperature regardless of outside temp.

[chromius]

I'm still going to disagree that outside temp plays a factor in the oil needed, with the exception of cold startups, on these modern water cooled engines. While I cannot claim to have measured my own engine oil temp in varying climates, I have read up on this too. The engine maintains it's own operating temperature regardless of outside temp.

The engine does maintain it's temperature regardless of outside temp, but the oil does not. The water jackets don't run around the oil pan. This is why many cars will have a separate oil cooler built into the system that sits below the radiator. Oil for the most part is cooled by air, and the engine cooling system provides a part in it as well.

[smader12]

This is where I did most of my reading: http://63.240.161.99/motoroil/index.html According to this person, the race track is the only place you need to be concerned with this. I guess I'd be interested to see some of your data for the same oil in different climates.

[chromius]

This is where I did most of my reading: http://63.240.161.99/motoroil/index.html According to this person, the race track is the only place you need to be concerned with this. I guess I'd be interested to see some of your data for the same oil in different climates.

Well, I read through some of that link (interesting read), and I think one of the things with the conclusions made about oil temperatures vs ambient temps in that article, is that the writer seems to live in Florida, and probably doesn't see a huge range of outside temperatures. Where I live in Canada, I see -40C in the winter, and all the way up to +40C(105F) in the summer.

As an example In the cold of winter, oil temperatures will never go above 130F no matter how long I drive, where as in the summer oil temps can go as high or higher than 240F. On a summer day I can even see a difference of 40F just between highway driving and stop and go. And of course even different cars will see significantly different temps.