Oil recommendation for 4cly M3 E30...?

[Sbailey294]

Oil Recommendation for E30 4cly M3

Ok. So this is the Original 1st gen M3 with the higher revving (close to 8k) race derived 4cly engine.
Looking for recommendations on winter and summer oil. Engine gets started at 32*F or higher in winter, 80s or higher in summer. Weekend driver.

Has factory oil cooler. Normal operating temp 230*F , Higher under WOT for long periods.

Factory recommended fill 15-50, previous owner ran Dino till 128k, Running M1 15-50 EP (engine feeling good, no leaks), getting UOA soon. Currently running great, 131k (figure I will Auto-RX after UOA results)

---I was thinking of switching to Redline or Royal Purple (ran RP in all my turbo cars with great results) what do you guys think, maybe Castrol Syn? What dino oil is going to be good to Auto-RX with?

Thanks!

 

[glennc]

Nice car.

You can make a strong case for synthetic in that car. If it's in nice shape then it's worth something, and the engine is very expensive to rebuild, so you want to stay well on the safe side with your oil choice.

I'm not knowledgeable about the particulars of the S14 engine, but given BMW's recommendations I would consider what you are running now, or the Redline equivalent. Some might say HDEO, and quite honestly that would probably be a very good choice as well, except MAYBE for extremely hard use in hot weather. I don't think I would go lighter than xW-40.

- Glenn

 

[GoldenRod]

quote:

---

Normal operating temp 230*F

---

Holy Smokes!!! Are you serious?

 

[Achilles]

Royal Purple 10w40!

 

[shanneba]

I would try the Motul 300V 15w-50.

Motul 300V from HMS motorsports

 

[elfperformance]

Thought about ELF?

ELF EXCELLIUM 5W50/10W50

http://www.lubadmin.com/upload/produit/FichePDF/lang_1/73.pdf

Synthetic technology gas and diesel engines. The grades 5W-50-10W50 are recommended in extreme weather conditions. Easy starting, excellent engine protection. Outstanding thermal stability and oxidation resistance. Immediate lubrication of engine parts during cold starts resulting in extended engine life.

API: SJ/CF
ACEA: A3/B3

 

[pastmaster]

Good Cars, the M Series!

Doesn't BMW, have a special oil recommendation of 10w60, for the M Series engines. Is this across the whole range of M's, or the recent ones? They sell their own M Series oils, made by Castrol, for them. Have you ever used it?

Your Mobil 1 15w50EP, is what I would use. If you are Racing or have lots of track time, then the RL, or RP, may be better for the High RPM use, or BMW's M Oil.

For the Auto-RX rinse phase, I would use any HDEO 15w40, for the job. Since you are using Mobil 1, I would keep it in the family and use Mobil Delvac Super 1300. Delo or Rotella T, etc., too.

Have fun...

German Car, you know.

 

[Alan]

Syntec 5W50 is a good choice.

 

[glennc]

This is an old M3 late-80's or very early '90's. It predates any oem synthetic oil requirements. It also comes with an oil temp gauge, the accuracy of which might be questionable. Older BMW gauges often read a little high or low due to imperfect grounding in the cluster. I might try to verify that 230 degree reading, and if it's really that high, check the function of the oil cooler.

Any of the oils mentioned would probably be just fine, but personally I'd stay with a narrower viscosity range than a 5W-50 or 10W-60, and avoid the really high cost of some of the special European oils. At least in my humble opinion none have shown themselves to be better, via UOA, than more common/available/cheaper oils such as Redline, M1 or even a good old dino HDEO.

- Glenn

 

[windnsea00]

The S14's NEED thick oil, I would look into a 40 or 50 weight synthetic. Maybe Lubro Moly 5w40 or Mobil 1 15w50 for instance. Yes their oil temps run normally ~230-240 degrees.

 

[Sbailey294]

Yeah, all of you guys have made excellent points so far, I tried to be thorough with input but you guys know truly know your stuff!

Yeah the S14 In the original M3 is very hot running engine, unlike the following M3s it is TRULEY race derived, it was campaigned with the S14 engine and equipped with it on the street cars solely for homologation. This worked as it is still today the most winning touring car in history, I love it madly.

Taking what everyone voice into consideration (and the valid point that I’m glad someone recognized, the S14 is too expensive to rebuild). It fascinates me that Synthetic was not standard issue on this car even in the late 80s.

Also amazing is there are many enthusiast that have 170K+ on there engines, some daily driven with Dino oil from day one… hey I guess my car too, engine is in tip top shape. Guess that proves to me that Dino is plenty good for 99% of people…not me though

---My other point should be that the high grip tires and suspension that you can equip on these cars today can cause high Gs and pull the oil away from the pickup

-In emergency split second scenarios if the oil pressure falls what oil will protect my engine best?
-What oil is best suited to these regularly seen high temps? Thanks!

 

[shavenstringer]

My M3 BMW loves Lubro Moly 5w-40 full synthetic. I have had great results with it.

 

[Sbailey294]

When you guys refer everyone to the GC (German castrol correct) you know it’s GC because of the green bottle? I guess that’s the non synthetic then huh?

I figured that would be a another good one to Auto-RX with.

 

[AndyH]

No, "GC" ("German Castrol") is Castrol Syntec in the 0W-30 weight only. It comes in a black bottle, just like all the other Syntec oils. It must say "Made in Germany" on the rear as shown in this photo:

Much more info on this oil in the "GC & Euro/Import Oils" forum.

 

[Sbailey294]

thank you much

Hey AndyH, ever seen a WRX or STI with plates "WRXTCY"?,

 

[Jim 5]

I'd love to get my hands on an e30 M3.

I'm sure you are aware, but if you aren't you'll appreciate knowing that these engines suffer from oil starvation on hard cornering.

The easiest fix is this cheap baffle that can be installed in your oil pan:

http://vacmotorsports.com/cgi-bin/view_item.pl?item_id=415

IIRC, people overfill the sumps on e30 M3's for track days...but you should check on that.

Enjoy the car!

FWIW....I'd run M1 15w-50 in the summer, and the Castrol Syntec 5w-50 or perhaps a M1 TSUV 5w-40 or Castrol Syntec 5w-40 in the winter...(if you winter-drive this jewel). On the other hand, you're likely safest to stick to what the manual recommends in a quality synthetic.

 

[Jim 5]

Oh yeah...Shell rotella T "Synthetic" 5w-40 is known to be a good ARX rinse since it is really a group III.

It's crucial to stick to a Dino for ARX rinse...so in addition to the RTS a 15w-40 HDEO would also be good for a winter rinse cycle...for a summer ARX rinse, I'd probably stick with a decent 20w-50 dino in an engine that calls for heavy weight oil like this one.

 

[Dr. T]

I'd double the 15-50 recommendation...basically just keep using what you're using...or 5-50 synthetic. I personally wouldn't use GC and even 5-40's are for pedestrian BMW's....not M race-derived engines.

 

[JimmyP]

SBaily, I have the same car as as you (well I have three of them),,, but posed a similar question in another thread.

I have been using M1 15w50 for almost 12 years of E30 M3 ownership between track cars and street cars.

I was looking around for some alternatives mainly because Mobil keeps changing the formula, it seems like every time I stock up on oil its a new bottle, "new formula" (and they raise the price)

If you check my High RPM thread you will see a VERRY informative post by a fellow named Mitch that you may be very interested to read.

Do you track your E30 M3?

Of mine 2 are race cars one a street car.
Looking to get them all on the same oil diet so I can buy it in as much bulk when I can.

Nice thread here. Are you on the SIG?
Cheers
jimmy p.
88 E30 M3 Zinnoberot - street
88 E30 M3 Lachsilber - Race
87 E30 M3 Prodrive British Touring Car 2.0 Litre
04 Ford F350 - V10
06 Audi A3 Brillant Red / 2.0 / DSG *awesome transmission

 

[Sbailey294]

Jim.. I knew there had to be another E30M guy on here.

I believe I did catch your post. I think the Ferrari engine likes the 40 weight because of the tighter tolerances and low miles, most likely, even though our engines are both high rev and race derived I am thinking the 50 weight is probably best, I know I have some miles on my street car, what about yours?
Yeah I need to get on the SIG. Live on S14.net though. Previous owner was on SIG,.BMWCCA, SCCA (so the stickers are all in my window

).

Don't track the car, never has been and I don't plan too (I sure as **** want to!) I will most likely track my 4AGE powered AE86 Toyota when (if ever) it's done. I just don’t want to smash my baby.

Yeah Mobil 1 scares me, lol, even if it’s just all in my head.
I think 15-50 would be best for our cars in summer for sure, keep those VI improvers as low as possible with the high heat even a 1 minute of WOT can create.
---I'm leaning toward Redline for the summer (Moly blended right in for best homogenization

) or perhaps Royal Purple. Thinking 10-40 RP for winter.

I don't drive the car in bad weather per say; it’s been a mild winter here in Philly area. On the weekends I drive it, though sometimes at night it will drop into the low 30s. So a 10 weight will most likely be necessitated and since I won’t be “getting on her” as much in the cold the high VI content should not be as much of a concern.

I’m awaiting my UOA kit, so I will get that check that out with the 15-50 M1 EP to see what’s going on inside and to get a baseline for wear.