Today I test drove the new BMW Z4sdrive35i which has the new version turbo-charged engine - N55. There is an older thread here about the previous version - N54 which discusses how the engine is hard on oil due to high oil temperatures and fuel dilution.
It is was around 92F during my test drive and the oil temperature got up to 252F degrees. The type of driving started with full-throttle bursts of acceleration between about 4 lights, then 2 minutes of highway (flooring it from the on-ramp), then back bursts of acceleration between a couple more lights. I've driven my BMW 135i (w/ N54 engine) harder/longer and the highest oil temperature I've seen is around 242F. I think this newer engine is going to greatly stress the oxidative and thermal stability of the motor oil. If fuel dilution is no better than in the N54 and sump sizes are equal or similar, it will be even harder on the oil. I'm surprised BMW did not develop a new oil spec or update their existing LL-01. It will be interesting to see the UOAs come in for these engines.
It is was around 92F during my test drive and the oil temperature got up to 252F degrees. The type of driving started with full-throttle bursts of acceleration between about 4 lights, then 2 minutes of highway (flooring it from the on-ramp), then back bursts of acceleration between a couple more lights. I've driven my BMW 135i (w/ N54 engine) harder/longer and the highest oil temperature I've seen is around 242F. I think this newer engine is going to greatly stress the oxidative and thermal stability of the motor oil. If fuel dilution is no better than in the N54 and sump sizes are equal or similar, it will be even harder on the oil. I'm surprised BMW did not develop a new oil spec or update their existing LL-01. It will be interesting to see the UOAs come in for these engines.