1990 BMW 735i Oil Type?

[dawedler]

What type of oil is best for a 1990 735i? I live in Olando, Fl. The car has 118,000 miles and I drive it daily to work (30+ miles /day). I was looking at Mobil 1 20W50. Is that a good choice?

 

[CATERHAM]

First welcome to BITOG! The 20W-50 is a poor choice being way heavier than necessary. M1 0W-40 would be the heaviest oil you'd need to run.

 

[45ACP]

GC 0W-30. EDIT: Yes, every BMW enthusiast forum, unofficialBMW.com, people that love the "old German cars especially BMW and Mercedes...." .. will tell you 20W-50. They are not wrong.. you can listen to them. But this is the thing... ... GC 0W-30 will protect your engine "equally," and moreso at startup. CATERHAM recommends M1 0W-40. GC 0W-30 is ALMOST as good. Its just an older oil. You have an older car. It will be fine. M1 0W-40 will be fine too! You have selection room... Now watch me get blown out of the water, but the truth is that 0W-30 is better for your engine at start-up. Fully warmed is different story. Your car will last a long time on either. Simple fact. The specifics are up for debate. Me, personally? Id get GC. Nice and quiet. PS: Even if you had the 12-cylinder 5.0L V12 750iL.. GC 0W-30. Yes you can put the heavy oil in there.. but it only needs to be but so heavy.

 

[dawedler]

Is it worth going with a synthetic like M1?

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: 45ACP

GC 0W-30. EDIT: Yes, every BMW enthusiast forum, unofficialBMW.com, people that love the "old German cars especially BMW and Mercedes...." .. will tell you 20W-50. They are not wrong..

They ARE wrong especially for L6 and V8 Bimmers.. Yes, especially in Florida GC 0W-30 would be a fine choice. Another heavy 30wt option would be G-Oil 5W-30.

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM

Originally Posted By: 45ACP

GC 0W-30. EDIT: Yes, every BMW enthusiast forum, unofficialBMW.com, people that love the "old German cars especially BMW and Mercedes...." .. will tell you 20W-50. They are not wrong..

They ARE wrong especially for L6 and V8 Bimmers.. Yes, especially in Florida GC 0W-30 would be a fine choice. Another heavy 30wt option would be G-Oil 5W-30.

90% of those cars you see have 20W-50 in them.. They are not wrong. Just not "optimal" perhaps. As i said, it is up for debate, the specifics.

 

[45ACP]

Originally Posted By: 45ACP

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM

GC 0W-30. EDIT: Yes, every BMW enthusiast forum, unofficialBMW.com, people that love the "old German cars especially BMW and Mercedes...." .. will tell you 20W-50. They are not wrong..

They ARE wrong especially for L6 and V8 Bimmers.. 90% of those cars you see have 20W-50 in them.. They are not wrong. Just not "optimal" perhaps. As i said, it is up for debate, the specifics. Yes, especially in Florida GC 0W-30 would be a fine choice. Another heavy 30wt option would be G-Oil 5W-30. btw, the message boards are the prime advocators of "20W-50" with one or two members recommending 10W-40 due to the principles of motor oil and engine lubrication that you talk about, CATERHAM. This wasnt a dig at you. Just talking about the car, ok? The message boards are PETRIFIED of oil thinner than q0W-40 for the most part, but you will always see one or two posters that explain why they dont use uberthick 20W-50 and the other posters always say "Yes, you are bold." They have never been here. Guarantee it.

Ok ok, not "90%" but most of them that are not in a freezing climate, do, yes. Even the cold weather ones have a 10W-40 i think. Again. "Wrong" is not the correct word here. Perhaps just not "optimal." Lets put it this way.. OTOH, OP could run a thick xW-20 in there and he would not be "wrong" either! Correct?

 

[dawedler]

So Walmart carries M1 10W40 high mileage, but no 0W40 or 5W40. They also have M1 0W30 and 5W30. I'm assuming based on feedback that M1 15W50 is not a good choice. Not finding GC 0W30. Is that Castrol? Any of the listed M1s good?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: dawedler

So Walmart carries M1 10W40 high mileage, but no 0W40 or 5W40. They also have M1 0W30 and 5W30. I'm assuming based on feedback that M1 15W50 is not a good choice.

Seeing as you are in FL, if you really love M1, you could run their HM 10w-30, too.

Quote:

Not finding GC 0W30. Is that Castrol?

Yup. Castrol Edge with SPT (Syntec) 0w-30. Only sold at AutoZone and PepBoys. They also sell Castrol 5w-40 that would be OK for your application.

 

[calvin1]

Don't overlook the HDEO 5w40s. If you can't find something that carries the A3/B3 certs then Rotella synthetic would also be a decent choice.