My gf's car and has 114k miles, what oil should I put in?
99 BMW 328i
- Thread starter Jake07SEv6
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BMW's don't use oil. Try distilled water.
im looking for helpful feedback EHHH!
More about the car (BMW?) would be good. How often has the oil and filter been changed and what type of oil has been it in? I use 5w40 or 5w50 castrol syntec/new filter every 4-5,000 miles.
If it has not been well cared for, I would consider an Auto-RX treatment as shown elsewhere on this forum.
If it has not been well cared for, I would consider an Auto-RX treatment as shown elsewhere on this forum.
The previous owner took good care of it compared to Bmw service advice which 15k OCI. But prior to buying the vehicle he provided all his svc history and had 7-10k OCI all dearler maintained.
Dr. T .....castrol syntec or GTX? The german castrol?
Dr. T .....castrol syntec or GTX? The german castrol?
Ya i never believed in those additives anyways.
Stick with an oil that is BMW LL-01 approved and you cannot go wrong. The simple thing to do is to google "BMW approved oils." From memory (and please correct me if I am wrong about this), here are a few BMW LL-01 approved oils: Elf Excellium Full Tech 0w-30, Lubro Moly 5w-40, Valvoline Maxlife Full Synthetic 5w-30, Valvoline Synpower 5w-40, Mobil 1 0w-40. Also look at Amsoil 5w-40 Euro (really good UOAs, but I do not think that Amsoil paid for the BMW seal of approval), Shell Rotella synthetic 5w-40 (really cheap at Walmart and some folks on this board swear by it) and Mobil 1 Truck and SUV 5w-40, Pennzoil Platinum Synthetic Euro 5w-40 (really, really hard to find) and, if there's still some around, Castrol Syntec 0w-30 (Autozone recently discontinued selling this stuff, so it's also very hard to find.). Once again, oil folks, if I've made any errors, please correct me. Hope this helps.
Finally a good reply, what is up with some of these people?
However, Lubro Moly 5w40 is LL-98 approved while their 5w30 is LL-01 approved...you can use either one with fine results however. Easiest oils to find that are specifically approved for your g/f's car would be BMW 5w30 at the dealership and Mobil 1 0w40 at most auto part stores.
Thank you for the info.
Finally a good reply, what is up with some of these people?
"These people" know he could have gotten the correct info from the dang owner's manual
"These people" know he could have gotten the correct info from the dang owner's manual
All of the "real" recommendations you've received above should work fine. I use PP 5W-30 in my 540i. This was recommended by several independent (BMW) shops in my area and it seems to work well. It's also easy to find and AAP has BOGO sales on it often. I would change the oil between 7500-10000 miles as well.
I use the Castrol Syntec 0w-30 in my 2003 330Ci. It is BMW LL-01 approved. Mobil 1 0w-40 also meets the LL-01 spec.
The BMW 5w-30 is also a good oil.
What type of driving does the car get?
I change at about 5000 miles, short trips and around town driving seems to increase the fuel dilution and reduce the TBN at that point.
I have 5 UOAs posted, 2 with BMW 5w-30 and 3 with Syntec 0w-30.
The BMW 5w-30 is also a good oil.
What type of driving does the car get?
I change at about 5000 miles, short trips and around town driving seems to increase the fuel dilution and reduce the TBN at that point.
I have 5 UOAs posted, 2 with BMW 5w-30 and 3 with Syntec 0w-30.
Quote:
Finally a good reply, what is up with some of these people?
"These people" know he could have gotten the correct info from the dang owner's manual
The owner manual for that car only speaks of two grades to use, not all the approved oils out there to choose from.
You and I are in the same exact boat, except mine is a 2000 328i with 113k miles. They both have identical engines. After i do an Auto-RX clean and rinse treatment to the car using Rotella, I plan on using Valvoline Max life synthetic after. The reason why that oil choice is because the 99-2000 2.8l engines have the Vanos seal issue that shrinks with age causing oil bleedby and therefore the Vanos issue. my theory is the seal conditioners in the hi mileage maxlife oil will help minimize this shrinkage and possibly maybe even swell this seal back up a little. Plus the Maxlife synthetic meets the BMW oil specification. I will probably shoot for 5000-7500 mile oil changes.
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