1996 BMW 3 series

[Trees4Brkfst]

I am planning to change the oil in a 1.9L, n/a, 1996 BMW 318ti (E36 platform, M42 engine). The car averages a 30 mile each way highway trip to work 5 days a week as well as an additional 20 miles worth of errands and city traffic per week. I have not had a used oil analysis on this vehicle yet but will send one away following this coming drain.
I would like some suggestions please on what I should be using in terms of oil. I plan on running a 3,000mi oci and then sticking with the same brand / type oil and starting an arx treatment. Due to this, I am looking for a nice dino, most likely in the 40 wt category. I am interested in seeing what you all think. By the way, car has 101,000 miles. Thanks in advance to everyone.

 

[m2200b]

5-40 shell rotella syn t which is a dino if you'll drive further like 5000-6000. I'd do 5000 OCI on Havoline with your pattern if you mean dino and under $2 a qt.

At 3000 OCI any SM. Just see what's cheapest.

 

[Quattro Pete]

quote:

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Originally posted by m2200b:
5-40 shell rotella syn t which is a dino

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What?

 

[Trees4Brkfst]

Thanks, I just came back home and back to bitog. I am looking for a very short oci just so I can have the highest percentage of clean oil when I start the auto-rx. Price really is not a factor unless we're talkin' 4, 5 bucks a quart down the drain. Um, I mean properly disposed of. Any additional thoughts out there?

 

[ZeroDynamic]

Welcome to the BITOG BMW Owners Club! (Glad I am not alone)

These cars run very well on many things, GC, 0w-40 mobil, and the rotella mentioned above.

 

[brucelee]

I used to use Mobil 1 15W-50 in my 318Ti. This motor had 165K on it and the CA summers get pretty hot.

I was pleased with it, no oil consumption, motor seem clean and quiet.

You could easily go 7500 miles on the new Mobil 1 Extended Performance 15W-50.

If cold weather is an issue, Rotella T synthetic would be my choice.

 

[shanneba]

Welcome to another Bimmer owner!

Your car probably had a 15w40 reccomended oil viscosity. For a nice dino for the autox I would probably use Castrol GTX 10w-40 or the High Mileage GTX 10w-40.

 

[Trees4Brkfst]

I just finished the oil change. I went with Delo 15w40 and a napa gold filter. I plan on sticking with the Delo for about 5,000mi, starting now and continuing thru an auto-rx treatment. I am a little concerned though, at start up the 'oil service' light comes on and then goes out within 4 or 5 seconds. Does anyone see this as a problem?

 

[the_oil_dealer]

15w50 or 20w50 !!!!

 

[marco246]

I'm guessing the oil service light is indicating no/low oil pressure on startup as a result of the thick new oil and cool ambient temperature. At 40 degrees C. (considered a cold engine) the viscosity of Delo 15w40 is about 125 cSt. Of course it will be thicker than that on startup unless your garage is a sauna! As a comparison (once again at 40 C), Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5w40 is 90 cSt and Mobil 1 0W-40 is 80 cSt. I am unfamiliar with BMWs and so don't know whether this is anything to worry about. If indeed your owner's manual calls for a 15w40, then I'd guess not.

Cheers, Mark

 

[windnsea00]

quote:

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Originally posted by Trees4Brkfst:
I just finished the oil change. I went with Delo 15w40 and a napa gold filter. I plan on sticking with the Delo for about 5,000mi, starting now and continuing thru an auto-rx treatment. I am a little concerned though, at start up the 'oil service' light comes on and then goes out within 4 or 5 seconds. Does anyone see this as a problem?

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That is just BMW's system saying that you should change your oil. If it bothers you, you can buy the reset tool to cancel it out. It's set for going off ~7.5k miles on E36's but is just a reminder for the people who bought those cars back in the day and would get them serviced through dealers, etc. You can buy the tool here: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=BM20 and it connects to the OBD connector under the hood. Delo 15w40 is a good choice for that engine and wouldn't be a bad choice to run for ~5k oil changes even after Auto-RX. Either way, stick with a 40 or 50 weight oil for that engine, the 4 bangers tend to drink a bit later in their life. I would recommend Mann or Mahle filters by the way.

 

[Trees4Brkfst]

I was thinking of going the castrol route myself after researching a little bit further. Any reason not to go with delo 15w40? Would it be on the thick side for auto-rx?

 

[ZeroDynamic]

ehhh... the only down side to oils like rotella and delo is the sulfur content.. it has a tendancy to shorten life expectancy of cats.

 

[Jimbo]

Delo is a great choice for the Auto-RX cycle and beyond. Since you are in NJ, 5W-40 syn, like Rotella T, may be better for winter. I did not have good luck with 10W-40 Castrol. It burned at a rate three times that of 15w40 Delo. On the Unofficial BMW board, several noted a significant in gas mileage with Mobil 1 15w50.

 

[Cary]

There is no need to run a 50 weight oil in that engine. I ran Mobil 1 15w50 for years in my BMW motors and about 3 years ago went to 0w-40 M1 on my wifes M50 motor. I noticed quieter startups as the oil got to the lifters faster, LESS consumption, and an increase of about 1mpg.

The 50 weight recommendation came out of conventional oil requirements when the cars were being run on the autobahn (very high oil temps when run hard).