ARX treatment #1 '95 BMW 325is

[bassman]

I just picked up a 1995 BMW 325is coupe. This car has 164,800 on it now and is 230 miles into its first cleaning cycle. I am the third owner of the car and I have ALL of its service records since new. The car was well cared for and the oil was changed every 5K with M1 10w30. I started the cleaning by using Castrol GTX 10W30 dino. I may switch to 10W40 for the 1st rinse. I really am confused as to what weight oil to put in. All of the changes have been the 30 weight, but all the owners manual talks about and endorses it "special oil". It's pretty funny, the graphic they use makes this "special oil" look like the next best thing since sliced bread. Given the mileage and age, I think a 40wt would be better.

Anyway, the car does seem to start better and is a little smoother. It is a smooth driver to begin with. It is still early in the cleaning phase, so more updates are a comin'. I have used ARX on 2 of my other vehicles with very positive results- Ford Expedition and Acura TL-S.

 

[Compman1988]

I think most Euro cars use 5w-40 nowadays, so I'd go with the 10w-40.

 

[ARB1977]

Forget the 10W40 and ust go with a 5W40 or 0W40 made by Moble one.

 

[vronline]

BMW recommends 5W-30. I'd use 5W-30 Pennzoil Platinum or similar synthetic.

 

[ARB1977]

I dont think moble one makes a 5W40.

 

[KieferS]

^yikes! thats a real common grade now. I can't imagine why they wouldn't. Meh, I was never a big fan of m1 anyway. Use whatever discount dino you can find and drop in some maxlife and call it a day

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

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I dont think moble one makes a 5W40.

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Mobil 1 makes a Turbo Diesel Truck 5W-40 sold in gallon jugs at many Wal Marts...it is said to be identical to Mobil Delvac 1 5W-40 a highly respected oil.

I thnk 10W-40 GTX on a used car is an excellent choice for summer ARX clean and rinse cycles.

After that a 5W-40 is a good choice... maybe Castrol Syntec 5W-40 *, Valvoline Synpower 5W-40 *, or the Mobil 1 5W-40.

If you can find the 'Made in Germany' Castrol Syntec 0W-30 * that is also an excellent oil...it has a near cult status here at BITOG.

Mobil 1 0W-40 * is easier to find and works well.

Or try my personal favorite; Redline 5W-30 or 5W-40.


* BMW approved

 

[Ken E.]

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BMW recommends 5W-30. I'd use 5W-30 Pennzoil Platinum or similar synthetic.

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BMW would recommend 5w-30 in this engine only in the dead of a Michigan winter. This engine should have 15w-40 dino or 5w-40 synthetic.

 

[Dr. T]

BMW's 5-30 is A3 and is NOT the same as M-1 5-30/10-30.

I have the same car. Using Castrol Syntec 5-50. Any synth. 0-40/5-40 or 5-50 will work well. You can safely go the full 5 lights (10k mi.) with these 2 grades...

 

[bassman]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm gonna put in a 40 wt dino for rinse. After the ARX treatments are done, I'm gonna go with Castrol syntec or M1 in 5/40. The Castrol is probably a group III oil. Is M1 in 5/40 a group IV oil?

Let me ask this also: would it be benificial to run the 30 wt in the winter (Pennsylvania) or just go with an 0/40? Will the 40 weight lower gas milage? Right now, the computer is saying 21.8 mpg on 10/30 dino with 80% highway and 20% local driving. When I get some time, I'm gonna change the plugs and maybe the coils too.

This is my first european car. I want it to last as long as possible.

 

[MCompact]

The older BMWs were designed to use higher viscosity oils. In your case I'd probably run 10W-40 synthetic in the winter and 15W-50 syn in the summer- at least if I intended to run it fairly hard. On purely street driven BMWs I've had good luck with Mobil 1 0W-40 and Rotella T synthetic 5W-40.

 

[bassman]

Sounds like a plan........... Thanks!

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The older BMWs were designed to use higher viscosity oils. In your case I'd probably run 10W-40 synthetic in the winter and 15W-50 syn in the summer- at least if I intended to run it fairly hard. On purely street driven BMWs I've had good luck with Mobil 1 0W-40 and Rotella T synthetic 5W-40.

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[gtx510]

Those BMW approved oils are for newer 1998, 2001, and 2004 engines/cars.

Some of the thicker 30wt oils might work well in the winter?
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...ge=0#Post811297

M1 0W40 didn't work well in our E46 or E39. I'd try M1 5W40 or 10W40 in an older BMW.
RTS or PP 5W40 should work well.

 

[Craig in Canada]

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M1 0W40 didn't work well in our E46 or E39. I'd try M1 5W40 or 10W40 in an older BMW.
RTS or PP 5W40 should work well.

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With the amount of praise M1 0W40 gets (despite being M1) I'm really curious about your general statements.

How exactly didn't it "work well". My M52 E39 has excellent UOAs on M1 0W40, excellent cleanliness, good fuel economy etc... It did, however, cause dramatically higher overall engine noise than other oils, and sheared into the high 30s while in use. I now run GC and the only two problems I had are gone.

If the 95 325 is an M52, I see no reason to venture into 50 weight territory. I would pick a good 0W40 or 5W40 synthetic or GC (GC 0W30 is practically a 40 so I include that in the list) and use that year-round.

 

[gtx510]

didn't work well = clatter, clatter, clatter sounds coming from the valvetrain. The kinda sounds that don't make you want to run this oil for 10k.

Then switched to GC and the noise disappeared.

Switched to 50:50 GC and M1 0W40 (to use up the M1 stash). The engine used +1qt in
Switched to L-M 0W40 + RTS + RL 10W40, no noise, no oil consumption.

If you look a the UOA's M1 0W40 shears down easily and GC actually thickens slightly with age (oxidation).

 

[Russell]

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M1 0W40 didn't work well in our E46 or E39. I'd try M1 5W40 or 10W40 in an older BMW.
RTS or PP 5W40 should work well.

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With the amount of praise M1 0W40 gets (despite being M1) I'm really curious about your general statements.

How exactly didn't it "work well". My M52 E39 has excellent UOAs on M1 0W40, excellent cleanliness, good fuel economy etc... It did, however, cause dramatically higher overall engine noise than other oils, and sheared into the high 30s while in use. I now run GC and the only two problems I had are gone.

If the 95 325 is an M52, I see no reason to venture into 50 weight territory. I would pick a good 0W40 or 5W40 synthetic or GC (GC 0W30 is practically a 40 so I include that in the list) and use that year-round.

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What are you r recommendations for a 95 525i with the M50 engine. I found that neither GC or Mobil 1 0w40 seemed correct for my engine. I am currently reunning a blend of Castrol 4 quarts of 5w50 castrol syntec and 2 quarts of castrol syntec 10w40. Car seems to like it

 

[Craig in Canada]

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didn't work well = clatter, clatter, clatter sounds coming from the valvetrain.

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Ah.

I had higher top end noise too, but I wouldn't call it clatter. It's gone from my M52 with anything other than a Mobil1 product in the crankcase.

Craig.

 

[mjfx]

Look into the M1 15-50 (just re-released), the 5W-40 truck oil, or *gasp* try the dealer oil..

 

[Dr. T]

My 3 BMW's don't like M-1 either...noisey engine. Hence, I don't use the stuff anymore.

And you're not running a 30 or 40wt. in the winter. You're running whatever the first number is...ie. a 5-40 is better than a 10-40.

I use Syntec 5-40/50 in all mine and you can safely go 7-10k mi.

 

[gtx510]

imho, dealer oil, BMW (Castrol) 5W30, is too thin for the pre-2k cars, LL-98 oils are thicker than LL-01 oils. The parts guys might even rec'd BMW's 15W40 dino (HDEO). The older engines like a 40wt oil.
RTS 5W40 should work well. I'd like to try M1 5W40, it's finally available around here again. Mix in or switch to 50wt if there's still valvetrain noise w/ 40wt.


Here's some interesting BMW UOA's
RTS 5W40 vs RP 10W40 vs M1 0W40

BMW 5W30 5.7k


List of oils from thin to thick
http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=811297
direct links to the charts
http://andy.hedin.googlepages.com/Oil_Comparison1.gif 20-30wt
http://andy.hedin.googlepages.com/Oil_Comparison2.gif 30-50wt