Oil for 1997 BMW 528I

[a4tdi]

Would Mobil 1 0W-40 be an acceptable oil for this car? The original BMW spec is for a 30 or 40 weight oil meeting ACEA A-1 or A-2. I know that the Mobil 1 0w40 is rated ACEA A-3. This car is driven in a climate ranging from -5F to +95F.
Please don't recommend any of the "boutique" oils, they are not an option. Opinions, suggestions, or comments?
Thanks

 

[shanneba]

The 0W-40 Mobil 1 is the only weight they offer that is BMW LL-01 approved.

You car should have an OCI recomendation of about 7500 miles and originally called for BMW LL-98 oil. The BMW LL-01 spec is used for the newer models with the 15000 mile OCI.

The Castrol / BMW 5w30 synthetic sold by the dealers is good oil and is normally resonably priced. Many BMW Dealers will give you a discount on parts/service if you are a BMW Car Club menber.
BMW Car Club of America

Castrol 0w30 made in Germany is rated BMW LL01 and available at AutoZone. Castrol Belgian made 5w-40 is BMW LL-98 rated and is also available at AutoZone.

 

[Islandvic]

Valvoline MaxLife Syn meets BMW LL-98,01, 2 MB specs, and VW's 502 and 505 specs. It has multiple ASEA specs. It meets more specs than most M1 grades!

I got a stash from AZ when they had their blowout syn sale back in FEB, but Wal-Mart has it for $21 for 5qt jugs or $4.50 a qt.

I have been using 10-30 in my Crown Vic. Works great.

Great oil for meeting Euro Specs.

 

[Cary]

quote:

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Originally posted by a4tdi:
Would Mobil 1 0W-40 be an acceptable oil for this car? The original BMW spec is for a 30 or 40 weight oil meeting ACEA A-1 or A-2.
Thanks

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The original BMW spec is not for an A-1 or A-2 oil. It calls for a A3 oil. The 0w-40 is the proper oil for your engine. If you want to be prudent, change it every 7500 miles. Also, if you have an automatic change the fluid in that thing even though BMW calls is lifetime.

 

[Jim 5]

I use Mobil 1 0w40 based on some good advice on this board, and from Cary posted here and on e46fanatics.com.

Also, the BMW 5w30 high performance synthetic oil (available from your dealer) made by Castrol has had some good results in the used oil analysis section of this site..

With respect to the transmission....what Carey said. Additionally, if you have a manual, that fluid is also not lifetime. Many are changing it every 30k miles. Many are using redline D4 ATF. Search bitog forums using the search terms D4 ATF and BMW, and some have noted that the original bmw fluid is made by esso and is available more economically from VW dealers. VW Part numbers are provided. Nobody has heard of BMW transmission failures from the D4, but some concerns are expressed that you might want to know about. If you can get the esso fluid that is already in your manual transmission, I'd go with that.

 

[Audi Junkie]

If you want BMW oil, skip the 5w30 for the 0w-40. Mobil 1 0w-40 totally is acceptable, but I'd only use it for winter. You did not mention the current oil, but I sorta assume the engine could use a few quick changes to clean it up a bit. Any 15w40 will do that, some are A3-rated, cost is minimal. Overall, I'd use the Mobil 1 Truck and SUV 5w40 if you ONLY want to use synthetic, but still....I'd work up to a good synthetic with some sort of cleaning process, esp if your car has the OP-driven VANOS system.