01 BMW M5 - 114k on engine, ,6900 on M1 15w50

[JoeFromPA]

2001 BMW m5, owned since March 2012 with 103k miles on it. Vehicle history is incomplete but had 5 owners before me and probably a hard-driven life, but condition of the vehicle (and cost of the modifications on it!) indicate it was at least well taken care of throughout it's life.

OEM air filters were used here and an OEM oil filter.

These cars are notoriously tough on oils. 7 quart oil capacity and it'll routinely take an oil down 1-2 viscosity grades by 5000-6000 miles. I drive aggressively with lots and lots of WOT, but I warm it up gently and properly and I drive alot of highway.

This oil was 5/20/2012 to 11/18/2012. I like M1 15w50 in these applications. Also, becuase 10 quarts is $50 at Walmart, or about $60 less than Castrol 10w60 TWS.

I'm very pleased with this report. I have swapped to Castrol 5w40 "SPT" for winter and will switch back to Mobil One 15w50 once temps get reliably warmer.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Looks like a good report. Thanks for posting.

I wonder if you could run M1 0w-40 year long. I know some other members do this with no problem.

 

[JoeFromPA]

I don't like M1 0w40 in this application, as I feel it doesn't leave enough film strength "margin of error" for the rod bearings after extended use. I.e. 5000 miles of VII breakdown + engine wear on the oil itself + 100 degree ambient temps + lugging the engine

I love M1 0w40 overall - I've used it for 15k oil change intervals in a k20z3 honda engine which I've posted here. Just not for this application.

 

[Artem]

That's a decent amount of oil added along the way. Are you planning on extending the OCIs based on these results?

Also, is this the M1 Racing 15w50?

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Artem
That's a decent amount of oil added along the way. Are you planning on extending the OCIs based on these results?

Also, is this the M1 Racing 15w50?


Looks like the regular 15w-50 to me.

 

[JoeFromPA]

Normal bought in Wal-mart 15w50 synthetic

I'm not planning on extending much, though I feel safe in running it to 7500 miles. This engine is pretty stout, but it's also reallly reallllyyy expensive when lubricated parts go wrong

I like the extra buffer.

Normal oil consumption for these engines ranges from 1 quart every 1-2k miles. My consumption is atypically low actually. I'm very pleased with this consumption.

 

[Phishin]

Originally Posted By: Artem

Also, is this the M1 Racing 15w50?


I thougt Mobil 1 Racing only came in two flavors: 0w30 and 0w50 ???

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Artem
Also, is this the M1 Racing 15w50?


They only make one 15W50 formulation (US). The racing one is 0W50.

 

[daman]

Outstanding oil great for applications like this and similar,i have 30ish qts(EP and Reg.) in stash from a target close out.

Is this SN or M? what is factory recommended viscosity?

 

[buster]

This is the newer 15w50 too, which shares the same chemistry as the other Mobil 1 oils (Mg/Ca combo).

 

[JoeFromPA]

Factory recommended viscosity is 10w60 (there was a short time where they recommended 5w30 after a piston re-design, but BMW issued a TSB going back to 10w60).

To that effect, they specifically recommend Castrol's 10w60.

I find the premise that the car requires an oil produced in the late 90s and known to quickly lose 1-2 viscosity grades to be.....specious.

Plus the stuff costs ~$12/quart.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: JoeFromPA
Factory recommended viscosity is 10w60 (there was a short time where they recommended 5w30 after a piston re-design, but BMW issued a TSB going back to 10w60).

To that effect, they specifically recommend Castrol's 10w60.

I find the premise that the car requires an oil produced in the late 90s and known to quickly lose 1-2 viscosity grades to be.....specious.

Plus the stuff costs ~$12/quart.


So it shears down to a 40 grade in short order. Why not just use a diesel 15w-40 and no shear.
I used the M1 15w-50 in my Harley last year and the top end was so loud I thought it was broken. Rp auto 20w-50 made er purr.
I'm not a Mobil convert yet

 

[aquariuscsm]

M1 15W50 has always been my favorite oil. It almost has kind've a "cult following" per se if you do some research on it. It got discontinued a few years back,and there was so much demand for it that Mobil brought it back.

 

[OVERKILL]

Great report! I'll hopefully have one from mine here shortly as long as I remember to sample it this time, LOL!

 

[JoeFromPA]

I love M1 15w50 so I guess I fit into it's cult personality.

I've used it on the m5, in a 2008 subaru legacy GT and did a UOA on it (beautiful), and in a 99 porsche boxster.

For engines harder on oils, or that prefer a bit more viscosity, I find it to be my favorite "9 month" oil. I don't want to run it in the winter, but I've read that it pretty much flows like a 10w50 at cold temps yet has a lower VII quantity.

It's still got an amazing additive package, is shear stable, and has a darn good HTHS for a $5/quart oil widely available.

And it seems to have a good cleaning package as well as just a total resistance to carbonization/polymerization.

 

[SteveSRT8]

It's a great oil, even spec'd for my car by the factory!

Robust, well priced, hard to beat.

 

[Mr Nice]

I still have about 12 quarts of the red cap 15w50.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
I still have about 12 quarts of the red cap 15w50.


Nice. It was still all group 4/5 then wasn't it?

 

[vinu_neuro]

Why not switch to 5W50. It's another oil like 0W-40 with top engine mfr approvals and you can run it year round.

 

[OVERKILL]

OP: FYI, I've just picked up my Toromont kit for mine this evening, I'll be sending it off next week, as this weekend is supposed to be mild, so I'll be changing out my M1 0w40 at that time. It will be interesting to compare, even though doing so is a bit of a [censored] shoot given that we are using different labs