The Ultimate Engine Oil Guide for E36 M3... First stop for any information/questions

[JAX S38]

Hello just picked up a 97 M3 4-door auto to use as my DD and I was wondering what would be a good weight and brand to use for my climate here in So cal with temps in the summer over 100 most days? Thanks Jax

[The Letter M]

dude. You want the absolute truth? I am POSITIVE your engine will be fine with that oil, a quality filter, and at least changes by the S.I. lights. I owned a 1992 318is from 1992 through 1999. (totalled via accident). The car had 135k miles on it. I changed the oils by the S.I. lights (approx every 9k miles) using DINO oil and BMW filters. That engine was still running like new until the crash.

Almost ANY major oil these days...will be fine. There were E30's in the 80's getting 300k miles and the oils back then were MUCH inferior to even the cheapest oils you can get today.

Dont get all paranoid with these guys on here.

This post should be copied and pasted in every single oil thread on every forum.

Some people get right goofy over the oil they use.

[BMWManiac]

I run 15w50 during summer months and 5w40 during colder months.....but that's just what I prefer....I also run an oil cooler to keep the oil temps low. I found that running thinner oils raises my oil temp about another 15 degrees

[pig4bill]

Anyone heard anything about K&N oil filters? Autozone is giving them away with oil purchase.

As far as getting worked up over oil, most oil (synthetic or dino) costs pretty much the same, so why not get good stuff instead of mediocre, for the same price? Most Mobil 1 is not even fully synthetic any more. The 0W-40 is, but it tends to "wear out" quicker than Castrol 5W-40, according to something I read. I've noticed lifter noise at quicker change intervals than the Castrol, so that's what I use. Both are BMW LL-98 (very few oils have this certification BTW). LL-01 is intended for the S54 (?) afaik, so I can't see using it in an e36.

[The Letter M]

Well, I've never seen or heard any reports on K&N oil filters, and I'm sure they are fine, but something in me just thinks that given their poor filtration performance with their air filters, maybe I'd just go with what I know.

Might be a tad irrational, but there are so many choices & I'm not really a fan of K&N.

Maybe it's mediocre.

[scooper]

hey,

Great post. Definitely sticky-worthy! Very informative...

I just got a OBD I production date 3/94 M3 with 126k miles and both synthetic and Dino have been used in the past. I think for the past 4 years, it's been driven 9k miles on Dino. Can I safely make the switch to synthetic from here on out? If so, what grade should I be using? 5W-30, 5W-40, 5w-50, 10w-40, 10w-50? Thanks!

Edgar

[Balthazarr]

hey,

Great post. Definitely sticky-worthy! Very informative...

I just got a OBD I production date 3/94 M3 with 126k miles and both synthetic and Dino have been used in the past. I think for the past 4 years, it's been driven 9k miles on Dino. Can I safely make the switch to synthetic from here on out? If so, what grade should I be using? 5W-30, 5W-40, 5w-50, 10w-40, 10w-50? Thanks!

Edgar

I switched back and forth for a few years.
The original owner used Dino Castrol GTX 20W-50.
Second owner used M-1.
I tried Valvoline 10W-40 (lifters were noisy) switched to 15W-40 (forget the brand, probably Castrol)
then to M-1 15W-40 bc I got it on sale for $1.37 a qt from Target at the time (this was before they meddled with the forumula)
Lastly, for the last 2 years been running Shell Rotella T 15W-40.

No leaks with any.

[LaserRacer]

This is an incredibly noobish question, but I have to ask anyway... Apart from the cost, is there any other disadvantage to switching from dino to synthetic?

[Balthazarr]

This is an incredibly noobish question, but I have to ask anyway... Apart from the cost, is there any other disadvantage to switching from dino to synthetic?

More frequent oil changes and sludge buildup with dino.
True synthetic (be aware that manufacturers label it synth with a very small amount of synthetic-usually synth blend)
such as RP or Amsoil or Redline are composed of uniformly sized molecules.
Dino has chains of various lengths that can lead to sludge formation.

[LaserRacer]

More frequent oil changes and sludge buildup with dino.
True synthetic (be aware that manufacturers label it synth with a very small amount of synthetic-usually synth blend)
such as RP or Amsoil or Redline are composed of uniformly sized molecules.
Dino has chains of various lengths that can lead to sludge formation.

I understand that (though the chain length info is new...thanks), I am wondering if there is a downside (other than cost) to running a synthetic oil... I have heard murmurings before of it increasing oil consumption and the like. That is more what I am concerned about.

[Balthazarr]

I understand that (though the chain length info is new...thanks), I am wondering if there is a downside (other than cost) to running a synthetic oil... I have heard murmurings before of it increasing oil consumption and the like. That is more what I am concerned about.

I can't say about oil consumption.
I tend to think it would decrease.

[Walkman]

My question is

If I run 15W50 Mobil 1 or MOTUL, Will my lifter ticking noise will stop ?

[I3MW]

My question is

If I run 15W50 Mobil 1 or MOTUL, Will my lifter ticking noise will stop ?

I mean there is no way to answer that question for sure. Give it a try. I believe Mobil1 runs a little thinner than other brands (or is this only for their 5w -30?). Anyway, if you just want to stop the ticking noise, put the thickest oil you can find (hint that oil is probably to thick for a Canadian climate). If you want to do it right, you will have to replace the lifters, make sure the oil pump is working well, and furthermore if you track/auto-x ect upgrade the system.

[Walkman]

Well my 98 M3 is my DD from May to October then is stored for the cold months the weather will barely go under 40 F in October. In the summer it's usually between 60-80 F and it won't see any auto X for the next year (It will go to university with me...)

My car is ticking right now because my level is low and it has 130 000 miles or 210 000 km, i will refill what's missing, i think it was castrol 5W40 in it then give a try to 15W50 ???

Mmmm i'm still really confused, I think 15 might be little be to high for our crappy fall weather

[morbid]

So I will be fine with 5w40 year round by any major brand? I will probably be going with Rotella. I live in VA and will not be DDing my car in winter, but it will be driven in winter from time to time. And I beat on my car every once and a while. Never attend track events or autox's though. From reading this thread I'm pretty sure that's the right choice for me, but I just wanted to double check.

[I3MW]

So I will be fine with 5w40 year round by any major brand? I will probably be going with Rotella. I live in VA and will not be DDing my car in winter, but it will be driven in winter from time to time. And I beat on my car every once and a while. Never attend track events or autox's though. From reading this thread I'm pretty sure that's the right choice for me, but I just wanted to double check.

Yep, sounds good. I don't know VA winters well, but that sounds about right. You could even go down to a 0w perhaps. Either way you'll be fine.

[Vonbimmer]

+1 for Rotella-t synthetic, no more cold start lifter tick for my S50.

[morbid]

This is the one you're all using, right?

[benjlv]

That's the stuff.

[morbid]

And I should be fine with 5w40 if I ever want to drive my car in the winter time? It would probably be around 20 - 40 F in the winter months here.

And the Rotella isn't on the BMW approved list, but I'm assuming it meets all the requirements since so many people use/recommend it?

[Hova]

This is the one you're all using, right?

only oil i buy.

[Uraharasan]

only oil i buy.

I'll keep that in mind... xD The guy I'm looking to buy my 99 M3 from is running Lubro Moly 5w40 right now, but I've heard good things about Rotella. @_@

[I3MW]

Lubro Moly is a very good oil. 5w-40 is a good choice. It sounds like he knew what he was doing.

[Spec3HOR]

only oil i buy.

I use this oil and im a Northern Virginia guy, helped lifter tick a good amount. I also autocross and road race on this stuff, contains a lot of zinc, good for wear on a lot of internal engine parts.

[SchwartzBR]

My shop uses 5W-30, but 5W-40 (Rotella T) shouldn't be that different, right?
I'm in Baton Rouge, LA BTW.

Edit: I always used to use Mobil 1 0W-40 in my GTI. I'll probably just stick to that unless ya'll say otherwise.