BMW 550 OIL RECOMMENDATION

redhorse554 · Oct 10, 2007

was size'ng up and test drove an '08 550,asked for the owners/service manual.BWM recommends using BMW high performance 5w30..if not avail.,yu can use Mobil 1 5w30 or
5w40..riverside ca. dealer was asking $9.49 for their BWM
5w30.

Saab9-3 · Oct 10, 2007

What about the Oil for the m3/m5. Castrol 10w60 ? I know the 550 isnt as tweaked as the M's but its still a big engine with lots of power, and since you're down in Cali. Just a thought.

Jim 5 · Oct 11, 2007

GC - German Castrol 0w-30 is a heavy 30 wt and carries the appropriate BMW approvals (LL-01) ...please confirm that is the requirement for the 550i engine.

The BMW High Performance Synthetic oil is a Castrol product and has shown very good UOA's here. Many BMW dealers will sell their BMW 5w-30 for significantly lower prices tan you ahve described. I recommend calling around.

The acknowledged safe oci for BMW's around here and elsewhere is 7500 miles, not the 15k miles the OLM will suggest.

I too am considering a 550i, but am having serious look at the 535i. Dramatically better fuel economy and performance that is almost identical the the 550i. I have driven the 550i, but not the 535i. Maybe this will help. Any thoughts this way?

David in Sugar Land · Oct 11, 2007

I wholeheartly agree with what Jim_5 writes. The 550i manual oil recommendations are the same as my Z4. Even thought this is a bigger engine and more hp, I think using GC would be fine, making sure you do OC every 7.5k to keep it all fresh. Or pick up a Bavarian Auto catalog. They sell lots of enthusiasts oil and filters. Also, the tech column in Bimmer or Roundel is a good resource in general.

I also have read ALOT on the 550/545/535/530 variants since the new 5 Series came out. I have distilled this down and in talking and reading, it seems that the newer 535i is the best in comfort and performance, economy and value if you want a new 5er.

shanneba · Oct 11, 2007

Join the BMW Car Club of America, most dealers give a discount to members. My dealer shows a list price of about $11 for the 5w-30 but sells it to me for around $6.
The Roundel magazine is worth more than the cost of the membership. check the club out at http://BMWCCA.org

They also have a yearly raffle, they just gave away 8 Z4 coups at Octoberfest last week. They also had pre production 5 series with a diesel engine available for test drives at Ofest.

RichD · Oct 11, 2007

I can supply the BMW 5W30 Synthetic for $5.40 a quart and the BMW 10W60 TWS Synthetic for $9.45 a quart. You shouldn't be spending much more than that for those two BMW oils in my opinion.

Regards,

Rich

BullyT · Oct 11, 2007

I would choose German Castrol 0w30 over the BMW 5w30 or Mobil 1. I use GC in my BMW 740iL and it's great stuff. I also use it in my Ford Explorer (5w30 recommended and used previously) and the engine runs noticeably quieter with it.

Hammer · Oct 11, 2007

Quote:

was size'ng up and test drove an '08 550,asked for the owners/service manual.BWM recommends using BMW high performance 5w30..if not avail.,yu can use Mobil 1 5w30 or
5w40..riverside ca. dealer was asking $9.49 for their BWM
5w30.

Are you sure that mobil-1 5w-30 can be used? I would think not considering it doesn't even meet the minimum HTHS specification of 3.5cSt@150C. The 5w-40 would meet it though.

Hammer

Jim 5 · Oct 11, 2007

Quote:

Quote:

was size'ng up and test drove an '08 550,asked for the owners/service manual.BWM recommends using BMW high performance 5w30..if not avail.,yu can use Mobil 1 5w30 or
5w40..riverside ca. dealer was asking $9.49 for their BWM
5w30.

Click to expand...

Are you sure that mobil-1 5w-30 can be used? I would think not considering it doesn't even meet the minimum HTHS specification of 3.5cSt@150C. The 5w-40 would meet it though.

Hammer

BMW Owner's circle says you can, and I have no idea why, because M1 5w-30 does not carry the BMW's own LL-01 approvals. Here's a quick list from my memory of readily available oils (in my own order of preference) that do:

- Castrol Syntec 0w-30
- Castrol BMW High Performance 5w-30
- PP 5w-40
- M1 0w-40
- Valvoline Maxlife Synth 5w-30

I'm sure there are more, but those are the ones I can recall just off the top of my head.

teaelle · Oct 11, 2007

Motul came out with a new 8100 Max 5W-30 specially designed for BMW engines with a high HTHS

do not use 8100 Eco-energy 5W-30 in ur BMW coz it's a low HTHS oil which doesn't fit BMW engine's nature

redhorse554 · Oct 11, 2007

test drive was very impressive!spent an hour reading thur the owners manual.was surprised to see mobil 1 listed as useable; 5w30 & 5w40.even ck'd the parts counterman,he said customers will bring in mobil 1 and they will put mobil 1.i use GC in my GTP pont..great oil..

Quattro Pete · Oct 12, 2007

I wonder if it's some confusion with the European M1 5w-30 ESP. The ESP version (not available in the US) is a more robust oil and does in fact meet the BMW oil specs:
http://www.mobil.com/UK-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil_1_ESP_Formula_5W-30.asp

The US version does not:
http://www.mobil1.com/USA-English/Lubes/PDS/GLXXENPVLMOMobil1_5W-30.asp

In the US, I think the only M1 oil that officially lists the BMW specs is the 0w-40.

windnsea00 · Oct 12, 2007

Quote:

What about the Oil for the m3/m5. Castrol 10w60 ? I know the 550 isnt as tweaked as the M's but its still a big engine with lots of power, and since you're down in Cali. Just a thought.

Do not use 10w60 in the non-M engines, that's way overkill and is not approved nor allowed under warranty.

BMW's 5w30 oil is fine along with other LL-01/LL-04 approved oils such as Mobil 1 0w40, Castrol 0w30, Lubro Moly 5w30, Elf 5w30, Amsoil 5w40, etc.

teaelle · Oct 13, 2007

Quote:

What about the Oil for the m3/m5. Castrol 10w60 ? I know the 550 isnt as tweaked as the M's but its still a big engine with lots of power, and since you're down in Cali. Just a thought.

older M3/M5 burns a lot of oil (1qt per month) and has 8000rpm redline, therefore they require at least 15W-50 oil

new 550i has valvetronic and requires a different kind of oil to make sure the valvetronic works perfectly...

reb03 · Oct 13, 2007

Just changed out the break-in oil in my 335i this afternoon and replaced the BMW 5w-30 with GC 0w-30. Could be my imagination but it seems the car revs a little freer and faster than before the change. Again, this may be my imagination.

Crevier in Santa Ana sells the 5w-30 for $5.60/qt. I paid $6.19/qt for the GC at Autozone. In 5k miles I'll do a UOA and report back since this may apply to you if you go with the 535i (I certainly would!) for the reasons Jim 5 listed above.

Aldaris · Oct 13, 2007

Quote:

was size'ng up and test drove an '08 550,asked for the owners/service manual.BWM recommends using BMW high performance 5w30..if not avail.,yu can use Mobil 1 5w30 or
5w40..riverside ca. dealer was asking $9.49 for their BWM
5w30.

Those are very fast cars. I "raced" one getting on an onramp, and he passed me like I was standing still. And I don't even think he was pushing it that hard.

shortyb · Oct 13, 2007

FWIW, I'll throw my recommendation in for GC. Seems to be a very good fit for any of the recent offerings that use the BMW 5W-30, even the N54 twin turbo (albeit with a shorter OCI IMHO).

Drove both the 550 and 535 recently. Actually, been driving quite a few new Bimmers lately

. Hard choice between the 2. For full on highway Q-ship that will log tons of long-distance miles, I'd go 550. For a mix of driving with a bit of hooliganism thrown in, I like the 535. Personally, I was going to pull the trigger on a 335 sedan, but will wait for the new M3 sedan. With my discount, should be well under the 60K MSRP. Plus, I'll be guaranteed to get one without getting on a waiting list

.

Saab9-3 · Oct 13, 2007

What were you driving though, if you're in a honda civic then yes it will pass you standing still.

reb03 · Oct 14, 2007

Quote:

Just changed out the break-in oil in my 335i this afternoon and replaced the BMW 5w-30 with GC 0w-30. Could be my imagination but it seems the car revs a little freer and faster than before the change. Again, this may be my imagination.

Ok it wasn't my imagination. There is no question the N54 runs smoother on GC. Makes me wonder why BMWNA doesn't use it. My UOA may provide some answers in a couple months.

BMW 550 OIL RECOMMENDATION

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