Alternative oil for BMW

[GhostFlame]

I apologize if this has been discussed before.

My BMW 02 X5, 93500 miles ( I plan to keep it for another 100,000 miles) specifies a whole bunch of expensive, exotic Eureopean synthetic oils and one normal lube. The spec is LL-01 (stands for long life). BMW specifies a 15,000 mile OCI (which I have never done) I do OCI 7,500 miles mostly on Mobil 1 0w40 eureopean formula. The X5 has an 8 qt pan. Mine uses 1 qt every 2,500 miles, so by the time I get to 7,500 miles I have put at least 2 qts of fresh oil into the trough. 10 qts from oc to oc.

The normal oil , bmw reccommends, is Valvoline SynPower 5w30... when comparing labels Valvoline SynPower has the same specs as Walmart synthetic 5w30 in the clear bottles.

Since I am out of warranty and change oil and filter religiously at 7,500 miles can I switch to the less expensive(by half$) WalMart synthetic.

I use walmart 5w30 or 5w-20 Synthetic in all my other vehicles (Explorer, Jetta, CR-V) with 5,000 mile OCI. ( these cars only have 5 qt pans). I have had no problems with the other cars.

I'm tired of the $7/qt Mobil 1. I'd like to switch to Wally Syn at $3.40/qt but am skeered the engine will give me problems. What do you guys think?

Over on the Bimmer boards the feelings are mixed, just as many people STRONGLY in favor / as STRONGLY not in favor.

 

[d00df00d]

Are you sure you're looking at the right SynPower 5w30? There's a regular one and an MST version. The 5w30 MST is BMW approved, but the plain-jane 5w30 isn't. Click the "Specs" link here:

http://valvoline.com/products/consumer-products/motor-oil/full-synthetic-motor-oil/5

If the WalMart one has the same specs as the regular SynPower 5w30, I definitely would not use it in your BMW.

 

[brian12]

Sounds like a good german castrol candidate. Buy it when its on sale at autozone. And mobil 1 can be bought at 4.40 a quart at Walmart in 5 gallon jugs.

 

[HTSS_TR]

The Mobil 1 0W40 5-qt jug at Walmart is only $22, per quart price is $4.40.

 

[saaber1]

Walmart oil in a BMW?

Depends on your goals for your car. Are you going to keep it or just dump it on the next sorry bastar. person? Why not use an inexpensive but good synthetic like PP or GC?

 

[addyguy]

On a car like that out of warranty, Rotella T Synthetic 5w40 is what I'd use. Cheaper, and might slow consumption.

 

[brian12]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
The Mobil 1 0W40 5-qt jug at Walmart is only $22, per quart price is $4.40.
Our Walmart no longer carries 0w-40 and it never carried it in jugs. It does however have Mobil 1 high mileage 10w30/10w-40, which I think would be more then up to the task for his car.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
On a car like that out of warranty, Rotella T Synthetic 5w40 is what I'd use. Cheaper, and might slow consumption.

Good suggestion, although the Rotella T Synthetic 5w40 is about the same price as GC when it's on sale at PepBoys. That's why I'm about to switch our Jetta from RTS to GC, too. During a really cold winter day (10F), it seems like the car has a tougher time to start with RTS in it.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
GhostFlame - You do not appear to be taking on board the benefits of the lubricant you are already using - Mobil 1 0W-40

By carrying out a simple UOA programme using your existing lubricant it is most likely that you will be able to get much more use out of it - making it cost effective in all ways!

The average OCI on this lubricant via the MB ASSYST devices in this country is around 11k miles. With your top up rate you may easily reach 15k OCIs - or more!

 

[MCompact]

Get a used oil analysis and see what the 0W-40 looks like at 7500 miles. I've had good luck running 0W-40 in my Bimmers and you couldn't pay me to run anything but a LL-01 oil or a robust HDEO in those applications. If saving money is a priority I'd go with the Rotella T Synthetic 5w40.

 

[ramblar]

PENNZOIL!

 

[GhostFlame]

They don't make 0w-40 eureopean formula in anything else but 1 qt bottles. at least not anywhere in the southeast Pa.

 

[GhostFlame]

It looks like I should stick with the Mobil 1. I might try the Valvoline. I do wanna keep it a long time.

I didn't see any special category for the Valvoline SynPower 5w30 on the BMW site but, I'll check into that.

 

[Craig in Canada]

I prefer GC in my 528 over Mobil 1 0W40 (I've used each for about 50,000km).

 

[sprintman]

Synpower 5W30 doesn't meet spec. Synpower does, or at least did, but where can you find it? Mobil 1 0W40 is everywhere, easy choice.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Ok. If you are running only 7500 miles, you could use any oil and it would be fine. If you are set on using a synthetic oil, you could try one of these...

Mobil 1 10w30 Hi-Miles (a thick 30, making the Euro A3 spec)

Pennzoil Platinum 10w30 produced good used oil analysis in Audis, inc turbos

Shell Rotella T Synthetic 5w-40 A synthetic HD oil, better or equal to any Euro synthetic. Just ok in PA winters. A 10w30 would be better in the cold.

SuperTech 10w30 Synthetic Hi-Miles also carries the A3 spec, worth trying and doing a used oil analysis for fun with the money you save.


If you decide to try a blended oil, 10w30 or 10w-40 of the Hi-Miles dinos like MaxLife or GTX HM is good. Syntec Blend is a great product. In summer you could easily use a 15w40 HD, which might eliminate consumption.

Most of the oils I mentioned will reduce consumption over Mobil 1 0w-40.

btw- if you are topping-off, the last top-up quart does not have to be the same good synthetic oil as the rest if you are draining it all in 1000 miles anyway.

If you do mostly short trips, the thinner oils are prefered.

 

[60cyclehum]

I've got a 2003 X5 3.0, and have Pennzoil Platinum 10w30 in it right now, got this back when the buy on get one free was going on. Seems fine, and is cleaning well. X5 has 90K miles. Got it at 70K and it had some sludge. Used autorx and dino , did about 4 changes in 6-7 months. Cleaned it well, now I'm back to synthetic and doing yearly changes. Used Valvoline SynPower last time, was fine (got it for $1.99 for a 4 quart jug!). Mine also uses about a quart per 2000-3000 miles. I would think Mobil 0-40 would be an excellent choice- but I would extend the OCI to get your moneys worth out of it- that's what it is designed for. Unless your doing like 20K miles a year.....