new BMW - need help deciding

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AngryScientist

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hi folks.

i've always been an fanatical car maintenance guy. i've owned a string of european cars in the past, volvo, mini, vw, lots of vw's actually. for each of those cars, i've done careful research as to which oil would be best for the particular engine.

now i find myself with a new bmw, 328i - and worse, not a lot of time with a busy job, family commitments, and other life priorities.

oil-

i know my car, per bmw requirement will be fine with:

1)bmw 5w30 synthetic
2)GC
3)Mobil 1 0w40 euro formula.

i understand any of the three will be fine. for me, they would all be nearly the exact same price, and equally convenient for me to obtain, so that's a non-issue.

contributing to my no-time problem, i have a 110 mile a day, round trip commute in this car, 95% highway, live in NJ with that associated temperature.

here is the super bottom line:

if all things are equal (price, convenience of obtaining, oil change interval of 7500 miles), how do i pick one of the three?

spare me the answers of "they will all be OK", i know this, but i need to pick ONE, changing oil this weekend. what will determine which??

thanks in advance for any help!

Nick
 
welcome2.gif
to BITOG!

Here's the short version:

Are you taking the free OCIs and then doing halfway changes yourself? If so, ask your dealership what they use and use that.

Otherwise, just use the BMW oil.


Now, the long version:

You asked "what will determine which." Aside from personal preferences, there are only two scenarios that would enable a choice among those oils. One is regular use in extreme cold, which would warrant GC. The other is hard use in a hot climate, which would warrant Mobil 1 0w-40. Barring those scenarios, there simply ISN'T a way to choose among those three oils in advance. They all carry official BMW LL-01 approval, and the whole point of the LL-01 spec is that any approved oil will perform roughly the same as any other in BMW engines; any differences among them, in the words of our esteemed Doug Hillary, would be "minor, and over the life of the engine."

It's entirely possible that your engine with your habits might work better with one oil over the others. Finding it would entail pulling samples at every OCI and shelling out at least $60 (more if you want to do it right) each time for the right kind of oil analysis. Your call on whether you want to do that.

But consider this: You live in a moderate climate without any of the extremes of temperature that would make GC or Mobil 1 0w-40 stand out. Your 95% highway driving cycle is just about the easiest possible thing for your car. And on top of that, you are playing it very safe with your OCIs. Even if any of the oils did have a readily apparent advantage, you would stand to gain very little. It probably wouldn't even be worth the brain cells you've already lost thinking about it. Where you might stand to gain something is by sticking with one oil constantly, which is why IMO the dealership's choice of oil trumps everything.

Barring dealership changes, I chose the BMW oil because it is continually developed in parallel with BMW's engines. As you can see, some people are saying Mobil 1 0w-40, and I can't blame them. You also know that GC has a lot of fans as well, which also makes sense.

Again, it's not that we don't want to help you out. It's that other than personal preference, there truly, honestly isn't a way to pick among those oils for your usage. Whatever you pick, stick with it and sleep easy.


Good luck!
 
Originally Posted By: AngryScientist
hi folks.

i've always been an fanatical car maintenance guy. i've owned a string of european cars in the past, volvo, mini, vw, lots of vw's actually. for each of those cars, i've done careful research as to which oil would be best for the particular engine.

now i find myself with a new bmw, 328i - and worse, not a lot of time with a busy job, family commitments, and other life priorities.

oil-

i know my car, per bmw requirement will be fine with:

1)bmw 5w30 synthetic
2)GC
3)Mobil 1 0w40 euro formula.

i understand any of the three will be fine. for me, they would all be nearly the exact same price, and equally convenient for me to obtain, so that's a non-issue.

contributing to my no-time problem, i have a 110 mile a day, round trip commute in this car, 95% highway, live in NJ with that associated temperature.

here is the super bottom line:

if all things are equal (price, convenience of obtaining, oil change interval of 7500 miles), how do i pick one of the three?

spare me the answers of "they will all be OK", i know this, but i need to pick ONE, changing oil this weekend. what will determine which??

thanks in advance for any help!

Nick


M1. Best fit for your driving style, should work fine in NJ summers AND winters without any issues, plus I'd feel more comfortable extending drains on it also.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: AngryScientist

here is the super bottom line:

if all things are equal (price, convenience of obtaining, oil change interval of 7500 miles), how do i pick one of the three?



Nick,

The problem is that aside from these above mentioned attributes they, in the eyes of BMW, ARE equal. So in reality it does boil down to price/availability.

Go with whichever is cheaper. IMO all LL-01 is the same for a naturally aspirated non-M BMW.
 
Have had great luck with GC in our '04 530i with the M54 engine. No consumption, but I don't run it any longer than 7k miles. I'm old school. I'd never go 15k on the same oil. Actually, 7k is a stretch for me.
 
thanks for the quick replies, and the welcome:)

to answer a question, i actually bought the car CPO with 12k on the clock, and dealer provided oil changes are not part of the deal i made. all oil changes will be by me.

i order filters by the case from germanfilters on the 'net, it's only the oil i prefer to buy locally.

sounds like you have all confirmed what i already knew - pick one and stick with it, thanks again.
 
Originally Posted By: AngryScientist
to answer a question, i actually bought the car CPO with 12k on the clock, and dealer provided oil changes are not part of the deal i made. all oil changes will be by me.

That's weird. You're supposed to get free maintenance during the first 4 years or 50K miles, regardless if you're the original owner or CPO.
 
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

That's weird. You're supposed to get free maintenance during the first 4 years or 50K miles, regardless if you're the original owner or CPO.


Exactly.
 
With an 8q capacity, I would just use a jug oil like Mobil 1 High Miles 10w-30.

You can base your ocis on time, like 6 months, and change visc for seasons. That's how I do it.

I don't think sticking with one oil is bet either. One oil can clean deposits left behind by another. I do a full year, 3 changes of the same kind of oil.


btw- you still have inclusive services till 3yr/50k. Do one dealer change a year like I said and then another DIY. Reuse the filter once if you like.
 
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
With an 8q capacity, I would just use a jug oil like Mobil 1 High Miles 10w-30.

You can base your ocis on time, like 6 months, and change visc for seasons. That's how I do it.


no - first, it's a 7 qt capacity. second, this car has a 100,000 mile warranty, why on earth would I go to a non-spec oil, just to save a few bucks?

i tend to keep my cars deep into the 200k range, i take lubrication seriously:)

to answer the CPO question, i bought an off-lease '07 328 with very very low miles, previous owner worked in the city and took the train to work daily. in any event, 4-years maint is up this month. (at least i got free wipers out of BMW!)
 
Originally Posted By: AngryScientist
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
With an 8q capacity, I would just use a jug oil like Mobil 1 High Miles 10w-30.


no - first, it's a 7 qt capacity. second, this car has a 100,000 mile warranty, why on earth would I go to a non-spec oil, just to save a few bucks?

i tend to keep my cars deep into the 200k range, i take lubrication seriously:)



Oh, because you said:

Originally Posted By: AngryScientist

i've done careful research as to which oil would be best for the particular engine.


So, how do you know Mobil 1 HM isn't "the best"?

VOA20Mobil120HM2010W30.jpg
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
welcome2.gif
to BITOG!

Here's the short version:

Are you taking the free OCIs and then doing halfway changes yourself? If so, ask your dealership what they use and use that.

Otherwise, just use the BMW oil.


Now, the long version:

You asked "what will determine which." Aside from personal preferences, there are only two scenarios that would enable a choice among those oils. One is regular use in extreme cold, which would warrant GC. The other is hard use in a hot climate, which would warrant Mobil 1 0w-40. Barring those scenarios, there simply ISN'T a way to choose among those three oils in advance. They all carry official BMW LL-01 approval, and the whole point of the LL-01 spec is that any approved oil will perform roughly the same as any other in BMW engines; any differences among them, in the words of our esteemed Doug Hillary, would be "minor, and over the life of the engine."

It's entirely possible that your engine with your habits might work better with one oil over the others. Finding it would entail pulling samples at every OCI and shelling out at least $60 (more if you want to do it right) each time for the right kind of oil analysis. Your call on whether you want to do that.

But consider this: You live in a moderate climate without any of the extremes of temperature that would make GC or Mobil 1 0w-40 stand out. Your 95% highway driving cycle is just about the easiest possible thing for your car. And on top of that, you are playing it very safe with your OCIs. Even if any of the oils did have a readily apparent advantage, you would stand to gain very little. It probably wouldn't even be worth the brain cells you've already lost thinking about it. Where you might stand to gain something is by sticking with one oil constantly, which is why IMO the dealership's choice of oil trumps everything.

Barring dealership changes, I chose the BMW oil because it is continually developed in parallel with BMW's engines. As you can see, some people are saying Mobil 1 0w-40, and I can't blame them. You also know that GC has a lot of fans as well, which also makes sense.

Again, it's not that we don't want to help you out. It's that other than personal preference, there truly, honestly isn't a way to pick among those oils for your usage. Whatever you pick, stick with it and sleep easy.


Good luck!


Agree 100%. Use BMW oil in your car, and verify (through BMWNA if need be) that as CPO (and verify that it truly is BMW CPO) you get free service up to 4 yrs or 50k, whichever comes first.

Im doing more frequent changes in my 11 135i with the N55. It is harder on the oil then your engine. If anything, id do halfway changes, and leave it at that. Use BMW oil and filters to maintain warranty receipts with everything perfect, and after the time or mileage, go with what is easiest and still meets spec - my guess is the easiest at that point will be M1 0w-40.

I wouldnt want to be swapping two different oils if I had the dealer doing the free changes every other time...
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Agree 100%. Use BMW oil in your car, and verify (through BMWNA if need be) that as CPO (and verify that it truly is BMW CPO) you get free service up to 4 yrs or 50k, whichever comes first.

We've all assumed the car was new, since that's how the OP titled the thread. In fact it's an '07, so his free service is about to run out.
 
If you do the oil changed yourself use the M1 0-40. It meets your engine requirements and is easily had at most auto parts stores.

If you have the dealer change the oil, then use the BMW oil.

Thats what I would do.

Since the car is still under warranty being new, then going to the dealer while under warranty may be a good idea. That is something to consider.


Jeff
 
If you change oil and filter yourself you may want to buy a fluid extractor to siphon the oil via dipstick tube, since the oil filter holder is on top the the engine you can change oil and filter without raising the car with the oil extractor.
 
Originally Posted By: Jeffs2006EvoIX
Since the car is still under warranty being new


The car is not new, he fooled us with the title of the thread.

I agree with you, M1 0W-40 FTW.
 
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