recommendations for hot rod BMW M10 engine

[Ken E.]

BMW 2002 4 cylinder with high compression pistons, hot cam, ported/polished head, high performance exhaust. Should be putting out about 165 horses. I've never had one of these engines beefed to this point. In the past I've always used conventional 20w50 but, since this is a fairly fresh rebuild, I'm thinking of synthetic. Redline 10w/40 comes to mind, of course, but how about BMWs 10w/60 as used in the newer M3s? Or one of the many fine 5w/40 oils out there. Suggestions from early-engine BMW gearheads appreciated. The car will only be driven maybe six months in warmer and dryer weather (rust, you know) and will spend the rest of the time in the garage, so cold starts are not an issue.

 

[98LSC32V]

Redline 10w-40 or Amsoil 20w-50 TSO.

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

Redline 10W-40 is good stuff!

 

[JAG]

Hmm, since seasonally used (hence extra rust protection needed) I'd go with a synthetic 40 weight HDEO. Mobil 1 Turbo Diesel Truck 5w40 or Rotella T 5W-40. Esters are hygroscopic (absorb moisture) so in this application I wouldn't use any oils loaded with them. I'd probably change the oil the last time you use it for the season, then drive it for maybe 30 minutes to completely mix the old oil remnants with the new, then garage it.

 

[BrianWC]

Hmmm, 165 hp is nice. This is non-turbo? I'd join the consensus and push for 10W40 redline....

 

[carock]

When Redline oil first came out, they had a major problem with corrosion in seldom driven cars. They changed their additive pack a looong time ago to deal with this problem and I have not seen any exotic cars ( almost all exotic cars are seldom driven) with corrosion probelms using Redline.