BMW V8 Oil?

[KBBMW]

Hello. Nice to meet you guys. After reading through a ton of topics here, I've finally compelled myself to ask a question! I'm looking for something to maintain the BMW M60 V8 in my car

1. What kind of vehicle you have
1994 BMW E34 540i with M60B40 4.0L V8 engine. Totally stock, almost perfect compression, nice leakdown numbers, doesn't leak or consume any oil.

2. What your owner's manual says -- not just viscosity, but certifications (look for acronyms like API SM, ILSAC GF-4, etc.) and change intervals as well
"Brand name" SG or better oil, 20W-50 according to their temperature chart? Computer calculated oil change intervals.

3. Where you live
Phoenix, Arizona. The hot part. Ambient usually never goes under like 50 but is often 110 or more.

4. How you drive (easy? hard? fast? slow?)
I am, admittedly, a pretty aggressive driver. I don't race people or track or autocross the car, but I don't slowly putter away from stop lights and flooring it on a highway onramp when it's safe is fun.

5. What your daily drive is like (short trips? long trips? city? highway?)
I'd say I do about a 50/50 mix of city and highway, with like a 25 mile round trip commute most days.

6. Whether your car has any known problems
None that I know of. Runs good and sounds fine. Maybe a little noisy up top when it's cold, but nothing that seems like an actual issue.

I don't mind if it's synthetic or conventional as long as it's good. It would be nice to be able to get it locally, but I would be willing to order online if it's not really expensive. The thing takes nearly 2 gallons per oil change, so It would be nice to keep it under or at least around 30-35 per gallon. 20W-50 doesn't sound right at all to me, but I think they originally used some weird mineral oil stuff so that might have something to do with it. I figured I'd ask the people who would know!

 

[Thax]

My suggestion would be Mobil 1 0w-40 , It is perhaps Mobil's best oil. It has all the Euro Specs your car needs. The additive pack for 0w-40 is absolutely fantastic. If I had your car thats what would go in the crankcase.

 

[JHZR2]

Does your manual give you a chart along these lines:

The reality is that for your application and environment, IMO a 20w-50 is probably a decent choice. This is one of the very few times Id say that.

But it all depends upon your long term plans. Mobil 1 offers a 15w-50 oil that will give you the high temp protection, yet flow a little better at startup. That is a real nice upgrade, and given that it is fairly well priced at walmart, I'd consider its use. Though the OM may look very staged like the pic that I provided, IMO it has more to do with cold start temps than with hot operation especially with today's robust oils.

I'd venture to say that a decent syn 40wt could be usable for you, either rotella syn 5w-40 or Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w40, something with a high HT/HS viscosity that is fairly stout but also flows better. However, I had been seeing a little bit of consumption on my high-revving 318i this past summer, and wonder if the use of a 40wt had something to do with it.

For you, Id almost say if it aint broke, dont fix it. But I'd consider upgrading to Mobil 1 15w-50 if looking for a better oil.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I think your engine needs a thick 40 weight oil, Shell Rotella T6 5-40 is fairly thick synthetic can be bought at Walmart for around $20 a gallon. Or you can try Pennzoil Ultra 5W40 if you can find it.

 

[45ACP]

I agree with the above posts. Not only have BMWs always LOVED thicker oils, this one seems the same! A thick 40 or a 50 would be good.

Mobil 1 0W-40 and 15W-50 are always prime candidates for engines from Bayerische Motoren Werke, ALL OF THEM

And Redline 0W-40 (You have to mail order it like you would an AMSOIL) is thick too. 5W-50 to go REALLY thick, if thats what the engine likes! And.. it sounds as if it does.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Great car!

 

[kschachn]

I have been using T6 in my '94 530i for about a year now, and so far no problems. No oil consumption to speak of and when I replaced the valve cover gaskets this month the insides looked very clean. There is also Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel oil (SM rated), along with the mentioned Mobil 1 0W-40. I doubt you could go wrong with any of those. IMHO these three oils fall under the "Special Oils"

All of which are available at Walmart BTW.

 

[kschachn]

Let us know how that money pit nice car works out for you

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: Thax
My suggestion would be Mobil 1 0w-40 , It is perhaps Mobil's best oil. It has all the Euro Specs your car needs. The additive pack for 0w-40 is absolutely fantastic. If I had your car thats what would go in the crankcase.

I would try that. Then try castrols version of 5w-50. Great start up flow and still a 50. Jmo

 

[JHZR2]

I wasn't impressed with Mobil 1 0w-40 in my M42. A great oil it is, but I've found rotella syn 5w-40 a nice choice.

Still, IMO for the op's situation, I'd give the Mobil 1 15w-50 a try or just stick with the 20w-50.

 

[KBBMW]

Ok, thanks a lot for the help guys. So I shouldn't worry about the 0, even if my car "likes thick oil"?

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Let us know how that money pit nice car works out for you

Haha just in gas mileage. These cars are pretty simple, reliable, and easy to take care of if you know what you're doing. This is my second e34 after my old 525 got rear ended and totaled while I was sitting at a stop light. They have both been great. If you do anything to one, get Powerflex upper control arm bushings.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: KBBMW
Ok, thanks a lot for the help guys. So I shouldn't worry about the 0, even if my car "likes thick oil"?

Originally Posted By: kschachn
Let us know how that money pit nice car works out for you

Haha just in gas mileage. These cars are pretty simple, reliable, and easy to take care of if you know what you're doing. This is my second e34 after my old 525 got rear ended and totaled while I was sitting at a stop light. They have both been great. If you do anything to one, get Powerflex upper control arm bushings.


I see no benefit to using 0w-40 in that car in your climate.

 

[KBBMW]

Yeah that's what I figured. I guess I'll go pick up some nice thick M1 for it. Wix filters still supposed to be good? 51144 if it matters. I can probably get oem ones for close to the same price if I order them online, but the Wix seems pretty nice for this cartridge.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: KBBMW
Yeah that's what I figured. I guess I'll go pick up some nice thick M1 for it. Wix filters still supposed to be good? 51144 if it matters. I can probably get oem ones for close to the same price if I order them online, but the Wix seems pretty nice for this cartridge.


It may be, not sure. I use mahle and mann in general. Let us know how you like the wix if you get one for bmw.

 

[KBBMW]

Yeah I just went out and got 2 jugs of Mobil 1 15w-50 and a Wix 51144. I've compared them to a couple other filters in the past and they definitely seem the nicest out of the aftermarket ones I've seen, and seems a little better than the last Mann one I got which had some crooked and stretched pleats (looked like the same amount and depth at least).

 

[nleksan]

I have had bad experiences with German Castrol, BMW "Performance Synthetic", and Mobil 1 oils in my BMW's... Less-so in my 740i ('98 "Sport", so it's the 4.4L M62, but similar enough), but enough that I spend the money on more "boutique-ish" oils, and I have had excellent results with the following:
- Royal Purple 5w30/40
- Redline 5w30/40

I trust my more-than-400rwhp Stg2+ Twin-Screw Supercharged '00 328Ci to the stuff, and it has loved (LOVED) those two oil brands! Oil pressure/temp gauges are nice to have, but with either Redline or RP, they pretty much are just there to let me know when the car is warmed up... because even on 100*F Track Days, the oil temp and pressure stays exactly where it should. Plus, they cleaned out a bunch of sludge that the GC/M1/BMW oils left in their wake.
Granted, I have not used the M1 Ow40 in years, and I do hear a lot of good about it, but RP/RL have worked so well for me, I wouldn't risk changing it.

(Also, I use K&N, Mahle, or Mann filters, depending on price... they all work equally well)

 

[JAG]

nleksan, which Mobil 1 grade(s) did you refer to in your above post?
I tried GC in my VW 1.8T and Infiniti G35 and noticed high oil and fuel consumption compared to Mobil 1 0W-40 and the old (good) version of Valvoline Synpower 5W-40. In my VW, this oil was the first during which I noticed varnish form. Since then though, several other oils I've used have also varnished during OCIs of that duration (5-6k miles). In the Infiniti, I used GC for 3 or 4 OCIs for a total of roughly 20k miles so the high oil consumption was not a temporary adjustment thing.

My mother's 1999 BMW 328i has a lot of sludge in it. First owner was a doctor and he probably had dealer serviced oil changes with long OCIs and BMW 5w30 oil. My bro owned it next and the sludge stayed about the same. My mother has used mostly BMW oil changed at less than 7k mile OCIs and it's a short-tripper. It's leaking oil now so I'm trying to get her to start using Mobil 1 5w30 High Mileage.

 

[nleksan]

5w30 is what I used, I do believe. For your mom's 328, the M52tu engines seem to really like RP and Red Line 5w30/40 in regards to sludge issues and oil leaks. Check the valve cover gasket... Common failure due to age, easily fixed. Replace spark plugs with OE NGK while you are at it, and put in new plug boots. Car will love you for it. Also, I would replace fuel filter after running SI-1 at full strength in two tanks back to back, and clean the throttle body, MAF, and replace air and cabin filters. Get the parts cheap from Pelican Parts, free shipping over $50 or 100 order, and it is a mostly diy tune up that will bring back a lot of life she does not even know is missing

I would also recommend Redline D4 ATF for the transmission and Red Line 75w90 for the diff, which you can diy.
Just did a lot of that on the 325, and the car feels wonderful!

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: nleksan
5w30 is what I used, I do believe.


So you used an incorrect oil for the engine. Great. Maybe use the right oil before making "determinations"?

 

[JAG]

Thanks for the suggestions nleksan!
JHZR2, he said Mobil 1 did not work so well for him in his BMWs. There is nothin wrong with saying that. If more clarification is needed, all you have to do is ask him like I did. No need to be rude.