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

[Bigo1087]

Just did a change yesterday. From Mobile 1 10w-40, to Shell Rotella 5w-40, Its Fall and temps will be dropping. I like it cause its 5w and still protects like a 40. I'll see how it goes. In the dead of winter I May try the 0w-40 Mobile 1..

[altecw]

Mobil 1 is nothing to brag about.... its no longer an amazing oil...


5w-40 for diesal is GREAT oil for these cars, it has a much higher level of zinc , and offers a lot more protection than regular oil will.


5w-40 really is the oil these cars should be using.



/\

truth.


just change the oil regularly, and you will be fine.

that and let you engine warm up properly before putting any load/reving over 3.5k and you will be golden.


only things you REALLY have to worry about....

I'm really beginning to wonder now- what's a good service interval for someone in Northern IL/Southern WI? (i.e. in less then 3 months it's going to be sub-zero) At some point, it had been suggested to me that I run my oil for 6k, and change the filter at 3... but the more I've thought about it, changing the filter w/o new oil seems a bit odd. It's been just about 3k since I changed my oil, and I've been kinda debating this... I posed a similar question to a WI area forum, and they all recommended I forego the filter change at 3, and just change my oil at 4500 ish. Any thoughts? (btw- this is an m42... that is heavily depended upon- hence the paranoia)

Thanks Guys!

[PoppaK]

Last year I bought a 2000 Z3 and now I need to change its oil. I plan to use Castrol Syntec 5W-40. I have a few questions.

1. I have seen reference several places on this forum that it is advisable to change the oil filter more frequently than the oil itself. Why? What is it that wears out in the filter faster than the oil? As a rule, as the filter is used, it filters better until it gets plugged up to the point that the bypass opens. If the oil breaks down to the extent that it plugs the filter, then the oil should be changed too.

2. What is it about the BMW engine which makes it necessaty to use synthetic oil in the first place? If I raced this car or drove it long distances at speeds over 90, I would understand, but I don't. That might be true of any car. My other car is a 4 cylinder turbocharced 2000 VW Passat wagon. The dealer has always done its oil changes. For the first 7 years I had this car, its oil was convential motor oil. Then two years ago VW changed the oil requirement for this car to synthetic and the price of an oil change doubled. What was wrong with the oil that the dealer put in the car for the first 7 years? I do not need to add oil between the 6,000 mile changes.

I just sold a 1990 Mitsubishi Eclipse. It used conventional 10W-40 oil its whole llife. I changed its oil twice a year and its filter once a year. This car used about a quart of oil between changes after 100,000 miles. I doubt that I could have done better with a synthetic.

Anyway, these questions occur to me as I prepare to change my oil.

PoppaK

[acsm3racing]

why do most 5w40 oil i see always say its for diesel trucks? how could you use this in a m3. would changing from a 10w30 to a 5w40 possibly cure the tick in my engine?

[benjlv]

i dont know why most 5w40 is for diesel trucks. but you can run it in your gasoline engine because it still meets api requirements needed for engines in our cars.

a thicker oil might help with your lifter tick. give it a shot. since you live in arizona, a 30 weight is probably a bit thin for you anyways.

[acsm3racing]

i dont know why most 5w40 is for diesel trucks. but you can run it in your gasoline engine because it still meets api requirements needed for engines in our cars.

a thicker oil might help with your lifter tick. give it a shot. since you live in arizona, a 30 weight is probably a bit thin for you anyways.

thanks man im gonna have to see what this rotella t 5w 40 is about my next change. so your sayin i can run this year round? when its 110 degrees in the summer i can have 5w40 in there the 5w still works?

[benjlv]

yes the 5w40 should be ok across those temperatures. It will flow better than a 10w when the engine is cold and then protect better than a 30w at higher temps.

[Hova]

thanks man im gonna have to see what this rotella t 5w 40 is about my next change. so your sayin i can run this year round? when its 110 degrees in the summer i can have 5w40 in there the 5w still works?

5w-40 would even be better protection than 10w-30.

Rotella-T 5w-40 FTW!!!!

[skylerwaite]

Can someone please rehost these pics in the first post at tinypic or a different website because Navy Marine Corps Intranet blocks photobucket. And while you're at it, every other effing picture that's hosted on photobucket. Please and thank you.

[ButtDyno]

Can someone please rehost these pics in the first post at tinypic or a different website because Navy Marine Corps Intranet blocks photobucket. And while you're at it, every other effing picture that's hosted on photobucket. Please and thank you.

Hey everybody! Guess where skylerwaite works!

Don't you have the internet when you are not at work?

[ChuckDizzle]

started using 5w-30 in the e36 M. Might try some 5w-40 (regardless that it says its recommended for diesel trucks) Shell Rotella or Mobil-1 whichever one I can find.
Right now its about 40 degrees in the morning and the high temps so far might get to about the low to mid 50's so I think 5w-30 should do just fine. Will change for the hotter temps later this year.

[acsm3racing]

i dont know why most 5w40 is for diesel trucks. but you can run it in your gasoline engine because it still meets api requirements needed for engines in our cars.

a thicker oil might help with your lifter tick. give it a shot. since you live in arizona, a 30 weight is probably a bit thin for you anyways.

i was just looking over the beginning of this thread and i dont see where this oil is meetin the standards? it says its a cj-4 api and i dont see that on the chart. buti did the switch to it anyways since alll you guys swear by it so we will see. its been gettin down to 40 degrees in the morning here so it should help my cold start, and then it was 90 degrees in the day here today so it should be better in hot temps too!!lookin foward to see how it goes

[bmwpowere36m3]

Don't worry about the diesel oil's rating since it WON'T meet BMW's specs. Diesel rated oil follows a different specification (API SM, SL, SJ, SH...) versus regular gasoline rated oil (API CI-4, CH-4, CG-4...). However oils like: Shell Rotella T Synthetic (5W-40), Shell Rotella T Dino (15W-40), Mobil Delvac 1 Synthetic 5W-40, Mobil Turbo Diesel Truck Synthetic 5W-40, or Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme Synthetic 5W-40... are all excellent diesel-rated.

There are also plenty of gasoline rated 5W-40 oils, I've been using Pentosynth 5W-40 and Lubro-Moly Synthetic 5W-40 for a long time.

[Hova]

I think a lot of you guys are also missing out that most E36 m3`s by this point, have over 100k on the motors. If you are happy with the oil so far, and if your car is still in 1 piece, there is NO need to change it. Most of the damage is done on initial startup, and within the first few miles of the engines life.


If in a warm climate i would stay away from a 30wt oil though.

[acsm3racing]

Don't worry about the diesel oil's rating since it WON'T meet BMW's specs. Diesel rated oil follows a different specification (API SM, SL, SJ, SH...) versus regular gasoline rated oil (API CI-4, CH-4, CG-4...). However oils like: Shell Rotella T Synthetic (5W-40), Shell Rotella T Dino (15W-40), Mobil Delvac 1 Synthetic 5W-40, Mobil Turbo Diesel Truck Synthetic 5W-40, or Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme Synthetic 5W-40... are all excellent diesel-rated.

There are also plenty of gasoline rated 5W-40 oils, I've been using Pentosynth 5W-40 and Lubro-Moly Synthetic 5W-40 for a long time.

this sh*t is confusing now lol so i put shell rotella t 5w40 in my car today since everyone was sayin it was good. i have a 98m3 with 164k miles are you sayin its not good for it or it is?

[bmwpowere36m3]

this sh*t is confusing now lol so i put shell rotella t 5w40 in my car today since everyone was sayin it was good. i have a 98m3 with 164k miles are you sayin its not good for it or it is?

Yes, its fine. I would typically suggest just sticking with the "BMW recommendations" for those you don't know the specifics. However you have to realize that BMW recommendations are also over ten years old, and many of those specifications have been superseded by new ones. Also they have to make compromising to meet certain requirements (engine longevity and performance might not be #1). Just think "lifetime fluids"...

[acsm3racing]

i noticed a little diff so far when i start the car up, its a little less rough. i havnt really driven in the heat yet but ill see what happens. im pretty much just lookin for an oil that lowers my engine noise and runs nice and will make my car last longer considering tucson has rediculously hot temps in the summer. i dont rag on my car at all , never redlining it. the 10w30 just seemed a little noisy to me and ppl were telling me 5w may be a little better then the 10w cuz it can get cold here too. i dont know if im just parranoid or over analyzing but it seems like since i switched to the 5w40 rotella i hear my engine from inside the car more tho ? the last thing i want to do is mess up my car ....

[Hova]

i noticed a little diff so far when i start the car up, its a little less rough. i havnt really driven in the heat yet but ill see what happens. im pretty much just lookin for an oil that lowers my engine noise and runs nice and will make my car last longer considering tucson has rediculously hot temps in the summer. i dont rag on my car at all , never redlining it. the 10w30 just seemed a little noisy to me and ppl were telling me 5w may be a little better then the 10w cuz it can get cold here too. i dont know if im just parranoid or over analyzing but it seems like since i switched to the 5w40 rotella i hear my engine from inside the car more tho ? the last thing i want to do is mess up my car ....

Its great oil, lots of protection, and its cheap.

Been using it for over 30k now, and loving it.

[ChuckDizzle]

i noticed a little diff so far when i start the car up, its a little less rough. i havnt really driven in the heat yet but ill see what happens. im pretty much just lookin for an oil that lowers my engine noise and runs nice and will make my car last longer considering tucson has rediculously hot temps in the summer. i dont rag on my car at all , never redlining it. the 10w30 just seemed a little noisy to me and ppl were telling me 5w may be a little better then the 10w cuz it can get cold here too. i dont know if im just parranoid or over analyzing but it seems like since i switched to the 5w40 rotella i hear my engine from inside the car more tho ? the last thing i want to do is mess up my car ....

You should probably redline the car every once and again. I'd imagine it gets the oil pressure up and gets everything nice and lubricated, thats why they say these cars need to be driven hard every once again, gotta let it breathe.

Ever since I switched to 5w-30 over the weekend my lifter tick is gone and all I hear now is my flywheel chatter. I forsee some Rotella 5w-40 in the summertime.

[acsm3racing]

i remember when i ran 10w30 i would hear a lot of rattle and tick especially when im passing by a high curb or divider, after switchin to rotella t i hear nice exhaust tiones now, seems to have fixed it. also seems like i have way better throttle response too

[mtelu]

So, 5w-40 is good for southern california too? I live in Los angeles county.

[benjlv]

So, 5w-40 is good for southern california too? I live in Los angeles county.

5w40 will do very well there.

[SPL15]

Just filled with German Castral Syntec 0w30. More than happy with it so far in the M3/4 with 100.7K on the Odometer. MUCH quieter in the morning & restarts during my short trips. Also slightly better gas mileage compared to the 15w50 Mobil1 I had for the Summer fill.

From what I've read, it's more closer to a 40w oil than a 30 weight. It's BMW LL-01 approved & seams to have an almost religious following on BITOG with many of the european imports. You'll know you have the German Castral when it says made in Germany on the back.

The biggest thing I've noticed is the sound of the engine. MUCH MUCH quieter during the normal everyday driving I do. With the 15w50 I had in there, things didnt quiet down till after a good excessive speed revving for a while on the highway or very hard running on the country backroads. I'm in West Michigan so temps during the summer ranged from 50's to high 80's. In my engine, opinion, & climate the Mobil 1 15w50 is too thick for everyday driving, I'd say it would be great for track use though & it definitely gave me engine piece of mind during my high-RPM hour long runs on the country backroads to college & back this summer.

Since I'm moving more inland of Michigan where it gets down to low teens to around 0F, I'm gonna give this GC 0w30 a shot. Mostly be doing 2 to 4 mile trips couple times a day with maybe an easy highway run an hour or so in length a few times a month depending on weather. This oil should be good for this type of harsh driving from what I've gathered. So far with about 300 miles with the GC 0w30 I'm more than happy with it & the gas mileage tends to stay more to the left than it has before on the needle. From Autozone, 7 quarts with an STP filter out the door for $37. If you have noisy lifters & minor vanos/chain rattle, this Oil has 100% resolved those sounds from my engine. But remember I only have 100700 Miles on mine. Also my oil level only dropped about 1/8" on the dipstick with 7,000 miles between last change so I'd say my engine is in pretty good shape to begin with, YMMV.

I've also heard good things about the Shell Rotella as well & looks like others hear have good things to say about it too. From my own experience, every engine, climate, ear, wallet, etc is different. Just switch oils till you find one that makes you feel warm & fuzzy inside. As long as you dont choose something stupid such as 0w20 for July Auto-X in Texas or 20w60 for 2 mile daily winter trips in Alaska you'll be fine with the fill until the next change to something else.

[Slateman]

Any chance of an update on this with pictures that work?

[bimmer 323 is]

no more pictures?