15w - 50

[sidvicious]

i got this widow aunt that whose husband was a car man. he was a mechanical engineer for ge before he died. he had many stints w/ big oil, including several stays in europe.

he owned sever ferrari's, alfa's, mercedes, toyota supra, you name it.

my aunt says that he said to ALWAYS use 15w-50 in higher performance cars. out bimmers would have fallen in his classification.

comments?

does it matter, or as earnest says in the commercial "motor is motor oil" as long as the brand is of quality?

[bimmerboy328i]

The only BMW I know of using anything close to that is the new E60 M5 that uses 10w-60. 15w-50 would probably be ok for the summer.

[Don Nguyen]

I run that and know many other guys who do also.

[328iJunkie]

Damn... seems heavy?... what are the advantages?... im running 10w30 m1...

[sidvicious]

she can't say, as her recommendation serves as a memorial to her dead husband.

he did know his cars, however, she may be taking his comment too literal.

[mikey36m3]

I run 15w50 in the summer.

[GriFF3n]

15W-40 in the car now. The funny thing is the bottle says DIESEL, but on the back it says that it offers "superior" protection for older/performance gas cars. Cant go wrong there

[SoCalBMW]

I use 20w50, and I've used 15w50 on a e34 in the past. I see temps of 115+ in the summer so I need the thick stuff.

[Pink Floyd]

I've got Mobil1 15w50 in my car right now. I know its probably not the best for the winter in the North East but my car is kept in a heated garage, so I'm not too worried.

[static667]

M1 15w50 year round here.

[windnsea00]

M1's 15w50, 0w40, 5w40 are all fine oils for BMW's. Their 5w30/10w30 oils are not approved by BMW and are known to run on the the thin side, I would not use those! BMW's tend to prefer a thicker weight of oil compared to other engines. The 5w30 BMW oil you can buy at the dealer is near 40 weight btw, it's a Castrol synthetic blend.

To Griff3n, for a non-synthetic those HDEO 15w40's are great, for ex. Chevron Delo. Especially since 10w40's (non-synthetics) have commonly known to be a weak oil that shears quickly though I do believe that is improving . The 15w40's are very robust since they have to work with diesel's also which have heavy soot content and they do a great job of keeping the engine clean. The only problem that can arise is if a car burns a lot of oil, the heavier ash content in that oil can poision the cat but I doubt you have to worry. Personally I use Lubro Moly 5w40 Synthetic (full synthetic btw, group 4 oil)

[M52 POWER!]

15w50 for me to, runs smoother, quieter...

[RallyE36]

15W-40 in the car now. The funny thing is the bottle says DIESEL, but on the back it says that it offers "superior" protection for older/performance gas cars. Cant go wrong there

I'd reconsider NOT using the Diesel grade 15W-40 oil. The properties for diesel are diffrent than for the gas engines. Check with your local dealer service department or another prominent mechanic.
I use 15W-40 from the dealer at $2.87CDN per litre (in bulk). That's not bad these days.
Just my 2 cents.

[windnsea00]

I'd reconsider NOT using the Diesel grade 15W-40 oil. The properties for diesel are diffrent than for the gas engines. Check with your local dealer service department or another prominent mechanic.
I use 15W-40 from the dealer at $2.87CDN per litre (in bulk). That's not bad these days.
Just my 2 cents.

I'm pretty sure he's talking about the gas/diesel 15w40 which you can buy as Chevron Delo, Shell Rotella, Castrol etc. which is perfectly safe and much more robust than a 10w40 or 20w50.

[heifetz17]

M1's 15w50, 0w40, 5w40 are all fine oils for BMW's. Their 5w30/10w30 oils are not approved by BMW and are known to run on the the thin side, I would not use those! BMW's tend to prefer a thicker weight of oil compared to other engines. The 5w30 BMW oil you can buy at the dealer is near 40 weight btw, it's a Castrol synthetic blend.

To Griff3n, for a non-synthetic those HDEO 15w40's are great, for ex. Chevron Delo. Especially since 10w40's (non-synthetics) have commonly known to be a weak oil that shears quickly though I do believe that is improving . The 15w40's are very robust since they have to work with diesel's also which have heavy soot content and they do a great job of keeping the engine clean. The only problem that can arise is if a car burns a lot of oil, the heavier ash content in that oil can poision the cat but I doubt you have to worry. Personally I use Lubro Moly 5w40 Synthetic (full synthetic btw, group 4 oil)

According to BMWNA and the e36 owners manual, BMW specifially recommends 5w40 for cold climates and 15w40 for hot climates. They recommend Castrol first and foremost, but Mobil 1 is an approved oil, too. No where does BMW recommend a 0w40 weight oil. That's too thin for a performance engine.

That being said, I use M1 5w30 in the winter, and 15w50 in summer. The thing about 15w50 is that it's a very thick oil, and you have to be in a warm climate (or during summer) to use it. It's not good in cold weather.

[dahas325is]

been using Mobil 1 SuperSyn (15-50) all season (NorCal) - the only thing that I've noticed is slightly more quite engine.

[Green318is]

I am using Mobil 1 15W-50. We have an average temperature of 100 F° during most of the year down here...
I only noticed that it gets quite dark. I have used Castrol synthetic and it didn't get that dark.

[windnsea00]

According to BMWNA and the e36 owners manual, BMW specifially recommends 5w40 for cold climates and 15w40 for hot climates. They recommend Castrol first and foremost, but Mobil 1 is an approved oil, too. No where does BMW recommend a 0w40 weight oil. That's too thin for a performance engine.

That being said, I use M1 5w30 in the winter, and 15w50 in summer. The thing about 15w50 is that it's a very thick oil, and you have to be in a warm climate (or during summer) to use it. It's not good in cold weather.

If you look at the back of the 0w40 bottle it has a specific BMW rating that refers to a certain line of years I can't remember off the top of my head. How the hell is a 0w40 too thin? You just said 5w40 is ok, which it is but that is the same weight! The 0w will just be quicker to warm up compared to the 5w but at operating temp they are both 40 weights...get your facts straight! Porsche's for example recommend the usage of Mobil 1 0w40.

[heifetz17]

If you look at the back of the 0w40 bottle it has a specific BMW rating that refers to a certain line of years I can't remember off the top of my head. How the hell is a 0w40 too thin? You just said 5w40 is ok, which it is but that is the same weight! The 0w will just be quicker to warm up compared to the 5w but at operating temp they are both 40 weights...get your facts straight! Porsche's for example recommend the usage of Mobil 1 0w40.

Get your facts straight, noob, and don't blow up at me when I'm trying to respectfully disagree. Have some respect. BMWNA recommends Castrol or Mobil 1 5w40, or 15w40 (5w30, 15w50). Look in your owners manual. There's a chart toward the back that shows recommended viscosities. 0w40 falls below the list of recommended grades. I don't care what the back of the bottle says, my facts come straight from BMW itself. It's the 0 part that's too thin, not the 40.

If you want to challenge my facts, please do so respectfully

I didn't say BMW doesn't recommend 0w40, I simply said they specifically recommend 5w40 or 15w40. That's why the dealers carry those two viscosities.

[themadhatter]

Get your facts straight, noob, and don't blow up at me when I'm trying to respectfully disagree. Have some respect. BMWNA recommends Castrol or Mobil 1 5w40, or 15w40 (5w30, 15w50). Look in your owners manual. There's a chart toward the back that shows recommended viscosities. 0w40 falls below the list of recommended grades. I don't care what the back of the bottle says, my facts come straight from BMW itself. It's the 0 part that's too thin, not the 40.

If you want to challenge my facts, please do so respectfully

I didn't say BMW doesn't recommend 0w40, I simply said they specifically recommend 5w40 or 15w40. That's why the dealers carry those two viscosities.

your manual and motor is older. 0w40 is an approved BMW LL 01 approved motor oil.

also, you need to chill out, you're posting on the internet here...nothing more.

[heifetz17]

your manual and motor is older. 0w40 is an approved BMW LL 01 approved motor oil.

also, you need to chill out, you're posting on the internet here...nothing more.

That's precisely my point. BMW recommended 5w40 and 15w40 for my motor. I don't understand why this is a hard concept for everyone to understand. It's in plain writing very clear. Wind has a '93, so his oil recommendations are the same as mine. current recommendations don't necessarily apply to my specific motor, especially when it's printed right in my manual.

I'm chill. I'll let it go now.

[windnsea00]

Get your facts straight, noob, and don't blow up at me when I'm trying to respectfully disagree. Have some respect. BMWNA recommends Castrol or Mobil 1 5w40, or 15w40 (5w30, 15w50). Look in your owners manual. There's a chart toward the back that shows recommended viscosities. 0w40 falls below the list of recommended grades. I don't care what the back of the bottle says, my facts come straight from BMW itself. It's the 0 part that's too thin, not the 40.

If you want to challenge my facts, please do so respectfully

I didn't say BMW doesn't recommend 0w40, I simply said they specifically recommend 5w40 or 15w40. That's why the dealers carry those two viscosities.

Sorry for getting a little feisty but if you will notice I'm not a noob, seeing I have been here longer than you have but commonly post in off-topic

[Mr.M]

Just for everyone's knowledge. Mobil 1 5 and 10W-30 oils are TOO THIN and NOT BMW approved as a result. 40 or higher is necessary.

[Wildo2003]

I'm thinking about what oil to be putting my car when I get it myself.. I guess it's between Mobil1 and Amsoil, and Amsoil is more expensive I presume? I read the motor oil posts but I'm still not satisfied with a definite answer everyone has a varying weight opinion. A lot of people like the 2000 series 0W-30 from Amsoil, but they make other 40 weight oils with a higher cold weather rating. Since I live in so-cal, I guess I don't need to focus too much on having it 0W or 5W, but are the other Amsoils just as good as the 2000 series?

I guess to make a long story short, should I get 40 or 50 weight Mobil1, or 30, 40, or 50 weight Amsoil?

[DRW]

castrol 5w-50 all year round