Engine Oil Recommendation

[BimmerBreaker]

Because they want money (and all engines are different). We’re talking about BMWs, and BMWs (throughout all decades) built extremely tight tolerances into the rod bearings, main bearings, and crankshaft journals. It is literally the engine in ur car that decides the oil, not where you live. where you live will never be as hot as the inside of your engine when at operating temp. In terms of cold weather weight you never need go above a 0w or 5w. my dude if u lived in arizona and ONLY tracked your car all you need is 5 30 . it’s the extremely non compliant clearances bmw built into the rod bearings and the way oil flows through the filter housing and return valve. You need thinner oil to get in all the spots and lubricate the nooks and crannies. We dont drive old chevys.. Also companies say crap all the time .. i love old bmws but man they did and said a lotta dumb crap ...
I, too, once thought, i was smarter than the people who designed and built my engine, and used a heavier weight oil, because I live in a desert. Little did I know, sometimes you can jus give in, be wrong, and use the right oil thats been without question for the last three decades, because in the end, you didnt design and build the engine, and you’re just the guy who lives in the desert and reads the internet like the bible.


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Interesting opinion

[325bob]

Interesting opinion

If Bimmers don't need that thick oil, why did the S54 need it?( old school Chevy and STP user,lol)

[MartyBtoo]

S54's need it because they went a little too far when they downsized the rod bearings for that engine. Coupled with perhaps not enough clearance to the crankshaft they wound up with a situation that needed light oil for the startup but heavy oil to support the high RPM load. Quite a few died in M3's before they figured it out. The M3's got a recall with different bearings, the Z3M's merely had the redline and fuel cutoffs reduced in RPM and notes put in the owner's manual to not hoof it until the oil was up to full temp.

Marty

[bluptgm3]

The S54 uses solid lifters…so they reduced the pump volume. Then had to recover with periodic rod bearing replacement. They have become a maintenance item in S54.


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[MartyBtoo]

The S54 uses solid lifters…so they reduced the pump volume. Then had to recover with periodic rod bearing replacement. They have become a maintenance item in S54.

Could have fooled me. I had mine changed at 100K miles as a preemptive measure, and shouldn't have bothered, as they had almost no scuffing and no signs of any rotation.

Marty

[BimmerBreaker]

Yeah "maintenance item" may be an exagerration. Mine is 160k on originals. Ill do em if I ever have a reason to...

Also quite sure the s54 pumps more than say an s52. S54 pump is an upgrade for S52

[Kram71]

I'm not an expert but after a lot of research I went with Mobil 1 full synthetic 0-40 European years ago and I have ever since. No issues with it.

[Mr Bingley]

I could be misremembering, but my recollection is that the S54 rod bearing issue wasn't that the bearings wore inordinately, but rather that the tangs on the bearings were improperly produced by the supplier, and at the 7,900 rpm at which an M3 was capable of operating, the bearings would spin in their journal, leading to immediate and catastrophic failure. This is why BMW limited the Z3M platform to 7,400 rpm--in order to keep them from spinning--and replaced the bearings in the M3 platform, which was not so rev limited. It was very controversial at the time. As I understand it, unless the bearings spin, they will wear ordinarily, and it is the defective tang that is being addressed by replacing the bearings, not premature wear. Thus prophylactic replacement of the original bearings is not wasted effort or cost, regardless of whether the replaced bearings show any normal wear.

[bluptgm3]

Also quite sure the s54 pumps more than say an s52. S54 pump is an upgrade for S52

VACs answer for using an under volume S54 pan/pump on M/S50-52 engine. They increase the pump volume by machining the housing and using M/S50-52 internals.
https://store.vacmotorsports.com/mob...b32-p1033.aspx


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[djb2]

Because they want money (and all engines are different). We’re talking about BMWs, and BMWs (throughout all decades) built extremely tight tolerances into the rod bearings, main bearings, and crankshaft journals.

There is nothing special about BMW engines. BMW was generally ahead of the typical U.S. engine of the era with precision and tolerances, but not tighter than the better designs. (That was more of a result of domestic engines using crufty old designs. Note how much better the 1997-era LS engine was than the engines it replaced.)

Bringing it back to oil requirements, a strong requirement of the BMW specs is what was easy and tech-error-proof for the dealers. BMW's goal was having only a single bulk oil for all engines. When the LL-98 spec came out BMW changed the recommendation for almost all earlier engines to include it, even where the viscosity wasn't within the range listed in the manual. Earlier M5x engines could use conventional oil according to the manual. Once LL-98 came out, the same engine internals now required synthetic. There wasn't any magic change inside the engines, or anything sinister, just a uniform update and simplification.

[pine1000]

I know a few people have mentioned using Shell Rotella oil in their cars. So, I found this video interesting. Spoiler alert, the Rotella performed a little better than Mobile One. Really surprising!

[djb2]

Both oils were very close. I wouldn't call one or the other a winner, even slightly, without seeing consistent results across multiple rounds of tests.

Most values in the oil test results don't tell you much when comparing oils, at least not without knowing the original compounds in the additive packages. The analysis breaks down the compounds and reports the individual elements. You can't tell if the sulfur is part of a useful EP additive, or bad refining of the base oil.
A value that *is* directly useful is TBN, Total Base Number. That is how much acid that the additive package can neutralize. A higher value can mean a longer usable life. The TBN measurement doesn't depend on the compounds used, just their net effect. There Mobil 1 is better, or at least closer to LL-01 requirements.

Higher TBN is the main difference between BMW LL-98/LL-01 and other specifications. BMW specs those oils to have a TBN of about 11. LL-04 reduced that TBN requirement to a value more aligned with other specs, presumably because that high of a TBN compromised other oil qualities, such as catalyst degradation.

[Tigershark48]

Lots of recommendations on this forum for Amsoil products and the RatBlog link rates it at first and second place without any additives. I believe his in depth test criteria gives a fair comparison and shows the extreme difference in levels of protection offered by different brands of oil. I think it’s an excellent read for anybody wanting to make an intelligent choice. His explanation on viscosities is also very good. His point about the low viscosities providing immediate protection on cold startups makes sense to me. The other thing I gleaned from his article was the fact that, regardless of protection offered from different manufacturers, most oil is dirty by the 5000 mile marker making high mile synthetics meaningless. Adhering to 15,000 mile change intervals, the engine would be running dirty oil for 10,000 miles. Even if the oil doesn’t break down, it’s still dirty. After getting recommendations on this forum and reading the RatBlog article, I’ve switched to 5w-30 Amsoil in the Z3 and 5w-30 Pennzoil in everything else. All of my driving is in Wisconsin climate and no track days.

Regarding the posts above discussing Mobil 1 vs Rotella Gas, Mobil 1 European came in at 7th place and Rotella Gas came in much lower at 75th.

[djb2]

KLots of recommendations on this forum for Amsoil products and the RatBlog link rates it at second and third place. I believe his in depth test criteria gives a fair comparison and shows the extreme difference in levels of protection offered by different brands of oil. I think it’s an excellent read for anybody wanting to make an intelligent choice. His explanation on viscosities is also very good. His point about the low viscosities providing immediate protection on cold startups makes sense to me. The other thing I gleaned from his article was the fact that, regardless of protection offered from different manufacturers, most oil is dirty by the 5000 mile marker making high mile synthetics meaningless. Adhering to 15,000 mile change intervals, the engine would be running dirty oil for 10,000 miles. Even if the oil doesn’t break down, it’s still dirty. After getting recommendations on this forum and reading the RatBlog article, I’ve switched to 5w-30 Amsoil in the Z3 and 5w-30 Pennzoil in everything else. All of my driving is in Wisconsin climate and no track days.

There is nonsense there.
What is "dirty" for filtered oil? Oil that is visually dark? What does that have to do with the lubrication performance?
Why is 5000 miles a magic number? Why would the number be the same for a heavily loaded engine with only 3.5 quarts capacity as a lightly loaded engine with 8 quarts capacity?

[bkirk]

I'll have to admit that I still find the choice of the most appropriate oil to be confusing. I just bought a 99 Z3 Coupe with 44k miles. It's been my practice to change the oil within the first week of buying a used car regardless of when the PO tells me he had it done. Just call it a bit of OCD along with peace of mind that I definitely know when it was serviced and with what.

I live in Texas, which means that the car will be driven when it is 107 degrees and just as likely to driven in the winter on a 20 degree days, however we have more days in the 90's and 100's than we do in the 20's and 30's.

In the past I used Mobil 1 in my previous BMW and a Porsche 911. While I tend to prefer Mobil 1, I'm not married to it, but haven't been able to find Mobil 1 5W-40 in their European variety. Will 0W-30 be acceptable, should I switch brands to find a better 5W-40 oil?

[kingjason2006]

I was eyeballing that car!

I bought mobile one 0w-40 from Walmart for 29.00. I did lots of thread searching and even consulted my manual before buying which was confusing. I think the 0w-40 was the overall favorite in threads I saw. I think the end number is more important than the beginning number anyways.

[WOODOO]

Been putting Castrol EDGE 0W-40 A3/B4 in my car since I got in 2 years ago. Used to be BMW approved. Currently $18.34 on Amazon and Walmart. My car consumes a fair amount

[Tigershark48]

There is nonsense there.
What is "dirty" for filtered oil? Oil that is visually dark? What does that have to do with the lubrication performance?
Why is 5000 miles a magic number? Why would the number be the same for a heavily loaded engine with only 3.5 quarts capacity as a lightly loaded engine with 8 quarts capacity?

If you haven’t read the RatBlog yet, you should if you want detailed explanations. After you’ve read it, believe what you will. The 5000 miles is a recommended guideline, not a magic number.

Question. What is the filter actually removing from the oil? Isn’t it there to catch major, abnormal, damaging things like metal? Normal, everyday contaminants are more likely to pass through. If it filtered out normal contaminants, it would eventually get blocked. Barring any internal engine damage, a blocked filter is seldom, if ever heard of. So, the more miles put on the filtered oil, the dirtier it gets. Extended mile oil may still have acceptable lubrication performance at 15,000 miles, but it will also be three times dirtier than it was at 5000 miles.

[ProductUser]

How many engine failures are due to oil changes performed per the manufacturer recommendations? I bet this number is very small. I invest in oil companies and appreciate those that change their oil every 200 miles

[BimmerBreaker]

If you haven’t read the RatBlog yet, you should if you want detailed explanations. After you’ve read it, believe what you will. The 5000 miles is a recommended guideline, not a magic number.

Question. What is the filter actually removing from the oil? Isn’t it there to catch major, abnormal, damaging things like metal? Normal, everyday contaminants are more likely to pass through. If it filtered out normal contaminants, it would eventually get blocked. Barring any internal engine damage, a blocked filter is seldom, if ever heard of. So, the more miles put on the filtered oil, the dirtier it gets. Extended mile oil may still have acceptable lubrication performance at 15,000 miles, but it will also be three times dirtier than it was at 5000 miles.

The filter does filter out "normal everyday contaminants" if it didnt, those contaminants would act like an abrasive suspended in the oil. The cylinder (and thus the oil) doesnt see a lot of these contaminants though because the air filter cleans the air coming in and the fuel filter cleans the fuel. If you run without an air filter, you bet your ass you can clog an oil filter...

[bkirk]

I was eyeballing that car!

I bought mobile one 0w-40 from Walmart for 29.00. I did lots of thread searching and even consulted my manual before buying which was confusing. I think the 0w-40 was the overall favorite in threads I saw. I think the end number is more important than the beginning number anyways.

So you saw the car on craigslist? Let me tell you, it is every bit as good as the pictures indicated. The only genetic issues it has from the Z3 family tree is the sagging glove box, which I am fixing at the moment. It was treated with TLC by the PO's.

I will be buying the Mobil 1 0W-40 from Walmart that you mentioned, thanks for the input.

[BimmerBreaker]

https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-03101...CNCL8LMX6NJ2q4

Im buying some of this for my next oil changes personally. Its on sale too and cheaper than the Walmart Mobil1 I usually use

[kingjason2006]

So you saw the car on craigslist? Let me tell you, it is every bit as good as the pictures indicated. The only genetic issues it has from the Z3 family tree is the sagging glove box, which I am fixing at the moment. It was treated with TLC by the PO's.

I will be buying the Mobil 1 0W-40 from Walmart that you mentioned, thanks for the input.

Yeah, it looked clean. Mine had all the normal issues when I got it. I light here an there, crappy stereo, busted guides, and I just took the 3 lb weight out of the glove box lid yesterday, She is all up to date now I even did the seat tilt mod. I think yours is an auto but on my manual when I dropped in the mobile 1 atf I could feel it the first time I ran through the gears. This forum has been a wealth of info.

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https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-03101...CNCL8LMX6NJ2q4

Im buying some of this for my next oil changes personally. Its on sale too and cheaper than the Walmart Mobil1 I usually use

Wow that is cheap. Maybe next time. Freaking Costco has two gallons for 29.00 right now or something, just nothing that works for ours. I hate to stock up on stuff though as I sometimes switch cars a little to much.

[WOODOO]

https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-03101...CNCL8LMX6NJ2q4

Im buying some of this for my next oil changes personally. Its on sale too and cheaper than the Walmart Mobil1 I usually use

Same one I use. It's the same price at Walmart right now that's why Amazon has it so cheap as well.

[bkirk]

Yeah, it looked clean. Mine had all the normal issues when I got it. I light here an there, crappy stereo, busted guides, and I just took the 3 lb weight out of the glove box lid yesterday, She is all up to date now I even did the seat tilt mod. I think yours is an auto but on my manual when I dropped in the mobile 1 atf I could feel it the first time I ran through the gears. This forum has been a wealth of info.

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.

I'm a big fan of forums in general having participated in both a Jeep Wrangler forum (still have two Jeeps), a Porsche forum (when I still had my 911), and a Corvette forum (when I had my Vettes). I enjoy the collective wisdom of the group as well as the wealth of knowledge that is contained in all the older posts.

While the Z3 was in terrific shape that hasn't stopped me from taking on some projects. As i mentioned the glove box sagged, I too have removed the steel plate and I'm in the process of fashioning some brackets to support the internal lip of the dash based on a post here on the forums.

I've already replaced the amber side and bumper markers with clear lens and chrome covered amber bulbs. A new set of headlights without the amber turn signal just arrived from Amazon ten minutes ago, I'll be using another set of chrome coated amber bulbs there too. I think the clear lens matches with the Arctic Silver paint far better.

A new set of Michelin tires are on order and will likely get installed on the next sunny day and an Alpine radio is in a box in the cargo compartment waiting to be installed. At that point it will be time to take on refreshing the engine compartment with oil change, radiator flush, new radiator hoses, new water pump, idler pulley, and serpentine belts. I'll be honest, I'm not looking forward to all of that given how tight everything in fitted under the hood. I may investigate just removing the radiator and fan to be able to get to everything.