BMW 5w30 / 335i

[Coprolite]

I pulled the trigger and bought a 335i yesterday. As a true BITOG member, I insisted that they throw in an oil change worth of oil. I haven't seen this discussed much on the forum, so I thought I would post a few pix. As BMW pushes BP Gasoline and Castrol Oil, I would assume their brand oil would be a Castrol Blend. Does anyone know if it is a simple rebottling or special blend?

Here's the pix:
In the trunk @ the dealer-

Front and Back-

 

[Quattro Pete]

It is believed to be Castrol TXT Softec, so it's not the same as Castrol Edge 5w-30 that you'd find on a shelf of your local auto part store.

This oil has HT/HS of at least 3.5 cP.

 

[Oil Changer]

Wow. SL?

 

[Coprolite]

Filled the gas up today and hand calculated over 26 mpg. Not bad, considering time spent idling in 90 degree weather while we learned the controls.

The oil is for a potential short OCI, as the extended BMW ones make me nervous. I will be pulling a sample for testing along the way. Does anyone have suggestions on first sample mileage? A full OC will be based upon testing only.

I had initially planned to use my mityvac to suck a small sample, but this is complicated by the lack of a dipstick tube. Second option is to crack the drain bolt and let just enough creep by the threads. Does BMW use a crush washer(like Nissan/Infiniti), o-ring or sealing washer(Honda/Acura)?

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[barlowc]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
Second option is to crack the drain bolt and let just enough creep by the threads.

What's the general consensus on obtaining a sample this way? Aren't you going to get the stuff in the bottom of the pan, which is why Blackstone suggests getting your sample mid-stream?

What about draining the oil in to a CLEAN pan, grabbing a sample mid-stream, and putting the drained oil back in?

 

[jaj]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
I pulled the trigger and bought a 335i yesterday. As a true BITOG member, I insisted that they throw in an oil change worth of oil. I haven't seen this discussed much on the forum, so I thought I would post a few pix. As BMW pushes BP Gasoline and Castrol Oil, I would assume their brand oil would be a Castrol Blend. Does anyone know if it is a simple rebottling or special blend?



Who makes this oil and what it actually is is one of the best kept industrial secrets ever. The general consensus is that's it's a Castrol product blended for BMW, and that might well be true. But there's no evidence that it's true and a UOA or VOA won't help you find out.

One thing about the Castrol/BMW partnership is that every other Castrol product that BMW sells is identified either as a Castrol product (label on the bottle) or it's known in the part system by the Castrol part number. For example, Castrol TWS Motorsport 10w-60 motor oil is marked exactly that way. Castrol differential lubes, SAF-XO and SAF-XJ are called out in the parts system, even though they're not labeled as Castrol on the packaging. When BMW introduced diesel engines a couple years back, the recommended oil is BMW Synthetic Castrol SLX Professional OE SAE 5W-30 Diesel Oil, which is branded Castrol right on the bottle. Castrol SRF is called out in the BMW Motorsports parts book. In other words, if it's made by Castrol, it says so somewhere.

The BMW oil isn't labeled as Castrol on the bottle or in the parts system. BMWNA's long-term supplier of dealership oils, long before the Castrol deal, was Valvoline. Oddly enough, when BMW came out with the LL-01 spec for gas engines, Valvoline was the first North American company with their own LL-01 approved product. They were about a year ahead of Mobil and Castrol.

So, I think the reason the bottle doesn't say Castrol is because it's not a Castrol product. The reason it's API SL is because BMW doesn't care what API spec it meets - it has to meet BMW LL-01 and that's it.

Having used a lot of it over the last decade in a variety of cars, regardless of who makes it, it's good oil.

 

[Rand]

is this a new or used bmw?

if its used I'd go 5000-7000miles(or 6month) before sampling due to sump size.

if its new.. a uoa is fairly useless until you get 2 or more

to establish trending.

 

[JHZR2]

Is yours an N54 or N55?

Ive put a UOA of factory fill in my 2011 135i and a VOA of that oil up before.

I do intermediate changes more for the purpose of break-in then even the DI aspect.

Is it stick or auto/DCT? With my MT if driven light, which is easy to do given the torque, >31 MPG is doable.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

BMW uses crush washers. Oh and don't baby that thing during break in. I know its flat in TX but if you can cycle the load on the engine (both accel and decell) you'll less likely to have an oil burner down the road. I'm not an authority, just speaking from experience.

 

[Coprolite]

Wow. A lot of assumptions here. BMWTurboDzl, I live in a hilly part of Texas. I used to be able to demolish EPA FE in other places, but dwell down towards the city mark here. Mainly due to the hills. It hasn't been overly babied so far, surviving over 100 miles of test drives. We are being respectful, but not wearing kid gloves either.

This is a 2012 F30 335i with N55 and just over 200 miles. With the long intervals specified, I am more worried about fuel dilution and TBN loss. The start/stop will kick into play before the engine reaches full temp, extending the warm up time.

According to the dealer, the sump is 7 Qt.

 

[dave1251]

Do you have BMW's free maintenance? If so make BWM good on its promise.

 

[Coprolite]

JHZR2, I will dig around for your UOA/VOa when time permits. The transmission is the 8 speed auto. In Eco Pro mode, everything is set up to help save fuel. Feathering the throttle in my G37 is not easy, but the 335 will dull the neck breaking throttle response to allow just enough gas to get there to do the job.

Don't get me wrong. Even in Eco Pro mode, this car is quick.

 

[Coprolite]

Originally Posted By: dave1251
Do you have BMW's free maintenance? If so make BWM good on its promise.


I completely plan on it, but don't want to change oil every 15k... This strikes me as a little too long for such an engine. A Honda that gets much less power/liter with no turbo might be fine, but a DI turbo that is conservatively putting out in the 300s of both torque and HP for less than three liters is pretty crazy.

 

[mva]

Originally Posted By: Oil Changer
Wow. SL?


And no BMW LL01 or LL04 approval?

Great oil none the less.

 

[m6pwr]

I wouldn't go crazy like some do on BMW's gdi turbos, shortening the oci to 3000 mi, 5000 mi. 7500 would be the shortest I'd recommend and verify what's going on with a uoa. I've seen a recent uoa on the N55 in a 535i at 12k+ mi, posted on bimmerfest, and the oil was in great shape. See Doug Hillary's comments re shortening oci's on gdi motors in this thread -
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2082572#Post2082572.

If you're worried about fuel dilution, a lab like Polaris would probably be better. Unless Blackstone has changed, they don't actually measure fuel dilution - - they use a formula based on flash point that can give somewhat optimistic results.

And re break-in driving, I'd recommend following BMW's babying recommendations in the Owner's Manual for the first 1200 mi. I've always done that with my new BMW's (which included a Z4 with the N54) and never had an engine that burned any oil whatsoever.

 

[Coprolite]

m6pwr - I do plan on driving as per the recommendations. There is no telling what impact that the first dozen test drives may have had. I didn't hit it too hard on the test drive, but many like to try WOT. I've never had any new car consume oil, so let's hope that the streak continues.

I was considering testing at halfway (~7500), but with the inability to take a simple sample, things get complicated. I will start researching UOAs from others, both based upon time and distance. As we drive 10k or less each year, time will also come into consideration.

I have bought this car as an Owner's Choice which is financing that acts like a lease. There is a residual/balloon payment at three years. At that point, the car can be turned in and I walk away or I make the balloon payment. IMHO, this is the best way to get a car with the tax laws in TX. Of course, this is not a tax forum.

Thank you all for your help so far, I know that I will be learning a lot more from you all over the next few years.

 

[CATERHAM]

I don't think there is anything particularly special about the BMW 5W-30 oil other than it being a long drain fluid. By all accounts it's a GP III syn that is known to be quite shear prone, not that that matters being the spec' oil.
It may have a virgin HTHSV of 3.5cP but it'd considerably less than that in service. Again not important just an observation.

 

[DAC17]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
Wow. A lot of assumptions here. BMWTurboDzl, I live in a hilly part of Texas. I used to be able to demolish EPA FE in other places, but dwell down towards the city mark here. Mainly due to the hills. It hasn't been overly babied so far, surviving over 100 miles of test drives. We are being respectful, but not wearing kid gloves either.

This is a 2012 F30 335i with N55 and just over 200 miles. With the long intervals specified, I am more worried about fuel dilution and TBN loss. The start/stop will kick into play before the engine reaches full temp, extending the warm up time.

According to the dealer, the sump is 7 Qt.


You'll love the car; good choice. I have a 2012 135i M Sport coupe. The engine is spectacular. Once you get past the 1200 break-in miles, you'll see what I mean...

 

[tonycarguy]

Originally Posted By: Coprolite
Originally Posted By: dave1251
Do you have BMW's free maintenance? If so make BWM good on its promise.


I completely plan on it, but don't want to change oil every 15k... This strikes me as a little too long for such an engine. A Honda that gets much less power/liter with no turbo might be fine, but a DI turbo that is conservatively putting out in the 300s of both torque and HP for less than three liters is pretty crazy.


If you don't drive the car much, they will give you a free annual oil change even if you haven't hit the 15k mark. I forgot what the parameters were to qualify so you should ask the dealer

As for obtaining a sample of oil, just drain a quart into a clean container. Then discard the used oil and put 1 quart of new oil in

 

[Coprolite]

Tony, thanks for that tidbit. We'll be visiting the dealer in about a month to resolve any remaining questions after having had it for a while. We will be under 10k a year....I think.