Conventional in bmw n54 for 60k kms

[userfriendly]

My point is sarcastic. You have gone far off the manufacturer recommendations. And not just with a slightly thinner or thicker oil. You have not shared your motivations or theories with us. There are some instances, I suppose, that folks might choose conventional over synthetic, but this ain’t one. I am almost inclined to view this thread as a troll

If you view this thread as a troll, then why have you posted on it twice?
I suggested Delvac 0w40 because it’s a PAO instead of a group 3 which may “synthetics” are. It’s also blended with the best additive package and viscosity modifier Oronite has, therefore is shear stable so it stays in grade over the drain interval. HDEO 0w40s have to jump through more hoops than the other grades to certify that they are shear stable to prevent very expensive equipment from breaking down. I’ve used it in similar applications, 0w40 Delvac starts out thicker than many other 0w40s, is available at Canadian Tire where you obviously shop and I’ve performed UOAs running way past OLM with it.
Edit: oops, Infineum, Oronite is Chevron.Havoline rolled out a 0w40 with all the Euro certifications last year.

 

[BHopkins]

Personally, I wouldn't run conventional oil in a turbocharged engine. Conventional just isn't suitable for the heat of a turbo. But if you are driving gentle enough that the turbo is rarely spinning up to speed, perhaps it is ok. But for me at least, it's just not worth saving $10 on an oil change. Skip buying a coffee on the way to work for a few days, and you can afford an LL01 FE synthetic oil.

 

[userfriendly]

Personally, I wouldn't run conventional oil in a turbocharged engine. Conventional just isn't suitable for the heat of a turbo. But if you are driving gentle enough that the turbo is rarely spinning up to speed, perhaps it is ok. But for me at least, it's just not worth saving $10 on an oil change. Skip buying a coffee on the way to work for a few days, and you can afford an LL01 FE synthetic oil.

Not true imo, too many bold statements, especially the part about skipping coffee which is a bold assumption.

 

[WeyounDS9]

The 10w-40 still has an HTHS of 2.9, Not nearly as good as a syn of the same viscosity would have but better than most full-syn 0w20s peddled nowadays.

It appears since u used a thicker Dino oil, it protected as well as a thin synthetic.

 

[dnewton3]

Personally, I wouldn't run conventional oil in a turbocharged engine.

That's your choice; not a problem there.

Conventional just isn't suitable for the heat of a turbo.

Now, we've got a problem ... There are literally hundreds of thousands of OTR rigs and heavy equipment machines which would belie your comment. They survive just fine on conventional HDEO lubes. Turbos don't survive based on the base stock of the lube. They survive, in part, based on the heat removed via the cooling system (oil and/or coolant). As long as that system is sufficiently designed and functioning properly, the turbos will be fine.


Cooling the turbos is a task of thermal exchange rates. At a max condition, the turbo will generate "X" BTUs of heat energy which must be carried away by "Y" volume of cooling medium in "Z" amount of time for the safe operation of the unit. As long as the lube is of sufficient volume flowing at a sufficient rate, there's no reason to think that a conventional lube won't suffice. It is true that a conventional lube may not last as long in service, but the only way to know what that limit is would be to test the fluid via UOAs and look for oxidation and insolubles as they approach a reasonable condemnation limit.

 

[edyvw]

NO, NO, NO!!!!
1. It is an extremely hot engine! It does not matter how you drive it. The "easier" you drive it, the hotter it gets, regardless how counterintuitive that is! It has electric water pump that is controlled by DME. The easier you drive the more heat DME wants bcs. it "thinks" you wanted efficiency. So, the oil temperature is definitely 230-240f in the coasting range. That engine has safe mode only when oil temperature reaches 340f. It is designed to run super hot! That oil, on the other hand, should not be in the same garage as that car, let alone in that sump.
2. N54 has CBU issues. It is only BMW engine with excessive CBU issues, and boy do they like to gunk intake valves. That oil you are using is probably leaving far more deposits than LL01 would!
3. No one can say you did some damage to an engine, but I would bet there are deposit issues.
4. Turbos (there is low pressure and high-pressure turbo there) are running super hot there! That oil won't do job that those turbos need it to do.

Dump whatever you have and stick to Motomaster Euro 5W40! Change it, run 5W40 1000km, change it, run it 3km, change it, run it then 5-7,500km!

 

[userfriendly]

As a rule I don’t get involved in discussions about base oils, but rather look at licences and certifications.
But in this case I’ll plug a PAO product instead of a group 3 as the better choice.

Group 3s are low viscosity base oils well suited for ATFs and up to xW20 engine oil.

Group 2 & 3s work for me in HDEOs because they are economically priced for the service they provide and I’m not trying to reinvent the wheel with extended drain intervals.

 

[TomYoung]

If you view this thread as a troll, then why have you posted on it twice?
I suggested Delvac 0w40 because it’s a PAO instead of a group 3 which may “synthetics” are. It’s also blended with the best additive package and viscosity modifier Oronite has, therefore is shear stable so it stays in grade over the drain interval. HDEO 0w40s have to jump through more hoops than the other grades to certify that they are shear stable to prevent very expensive equipment from breaking down. I’ve used it in similar applications, 0w40 Delvac starts out thicker than many other 0w40s, is available at Canadian Tire where you obviously shop and I’ve performed UOAs running way past OLM with it.
Edit: oops, Infineum, Oronite is Chevron.Havoline rolled out a 0w40 with all the Euro certifications last year.

I wish I shopped at Canadian Tire.

 

[OilStainedNapkin]

Personally, I wouldn't run conventional oil in a turbocharged engine. Conventional just isn't suitable for the heat of a turbo. But if you are driving gentle enough that the turbo is rarely spinning up to speed, perhaps it is ok. But for me at least, it's just not worth saving $10 on an oil change. Skip buying a coffee on the way to work for a few days, and you can afford an LL01 FE synthetic oil.

Meh, ford and their whole eco boost engine lineup disagrees with you as they recommend syn blend

 

[Kalle.J]

Meh, ford and their whole eco boost engine lineup disagrees with you as they recommend syn blend

Meh, its a german engine nothing he puts in it will qualify as synthetic.

 

[fantastic]

No need to put the odd 5w-20 mix in with 10w-40. If you're in a colder climate try 5w-40 w/European type oil that at least meets BMW specification.

 

[Astro14]

Folks, I think we are being trolled.

Time will tell.

 

[userfriendly]

No, I don’t think so. Vancouver, BC, underground parking, 18 year old Beemer with 200,000 kms, 10w40 GTX every 5,000 kms. Zero C, or 32F is cold for the west coast, so a person could get away with 20WXX.
I’m doing the same thing with my daughter’s Acadia which calls for Dexos 1 gen 3 synthetic.
Why that oil? Because I got it on sale and paid for it with Canadian Tire money on 20% bonus day. The car is short tripped too much to work and back, soccer mom and grocery getting.
When I drain the oil, usually around 5,000 kms it smells like gasoline, so starting off a little thicker than 5w30 is part of the plan.

Castrol GTX is a marketing 101 success story. Especially if you believe what’s written on the jugs. The white bottle is likely the best selling oil at Walmart and Canadian Tire.

Vancouver traffic is like every other big city, bumper to bumper all day and if the car is driven to Whistler every weekend, it’s bumper to bumper at 80kms/hr each way.

And lastly Vancouver’s demographics. Wealthy foreign students driving German cars while their parents back home send them $20,000 a month to live on.

One girl posted her shopping trip where she put a grand piano on her credit card. It had to be dissembled to fit it into her $5,000 a month apartment over looking the pond so she can watch for her dad’s cape class ships.

So someone putting 10w40 GTX in a BMW is par for the course.

 

[FCD]

The 10w-40 still has an HTHS of 2.9, Not nearly as good as a syn of the same viscosity would have but better than most full-syn 0w20s peddled nowadays.

It appears since u used a thicker Dino oil, it protected as well as a thin synthetic.

No way it's 2.9.
That's just the minimum requirement, Castrol rarely gives out the real HTHS ,if ever.

 

[userfriendly]

No way it's 2.9.
That's just the minimum requirement, Castrol rarely gives out the real HTHS ,if ever.

It’s 3.7

 

[c4maro]

When I first got the car I ran castrol 0w40 full syn and i had to add a litre every 1500kms. I get 6k before I had to top up with gtx

 

[FCD]

The N54 is not one of BMW's finest engines that is well known so I'm not surprised really.

 

[WeyounDS9]

No way it's 2.9.
That's just the minimum requirement, Castrol rarely gives out the real HTHS ,if ever.

I got it after 10 seconds of searching from the Castrol website. On a pdf.
You are welcome to disregard the information i gave you and produce your own.

 

[WeyounDS9]

It’s 3.7

Please see attachment
3.7 is the number for the 20w-50

(Grain of Salt: I just found this sheet is from late 2012 though, but it already covers the SN, SM and SL formulations which are fairly recent certs.)

certs

 

[edyvw]

When I first got the car I ran castrol 0w40 full syn and i had to add a litre every 1500kms. I get 6k before I had to top up with gtx

That is not indicative of performance.
It is possible that that one is just leaking less. Unless you did these items, they are leaking: oil filter housing gasket, valve cover gasket and oil pan gasket.