Originally Posted By: nleksan
Hey everyone, this is my first post on this forum, but I've been a lurker here on BITOG for a long time. Finally decided to get my feet wet and post, seeing as this is an issue I am quite familiar with
First off, however, I owe all of you a big THANK YOU for everything that I have learned in reading these forums over the past few years... I hope that I can give back even 1/100000th of what I've taken away from here!
Anyways, on to the post...
*PS: CSL's are incredible cars, but good luck getting one here in the US... It's one of BMW's many jokes on us Americans...
First, a little background.....
I am what some might call a BMW Enthusiast, having owned a number of BMW's, most of which were modified to some degree (from fairly basic wheels/lowering/bolt-ons/appearance to barely-street-legal monsters). This has included the venerable E36 M3, a 1999 model (S52B32), which was used as a street and Auto-X/Track car. In fact, all the cars I have modified for autocross/road-course use have retained full daily-driveability.
Currently, I have my long-time E46 328Ci in my stable, alongside a 2001 E46 325i Sport (a European-Delivery car) and a 1998 740i Sport. I've been waiting for the exact-right E46 M3 ('04-'06, *Competition Pkg, no sunroof, zero modifications or at least very minor ones, etc) for the past year, and this M3 will be a "forever car", like the 3 I have now: I keep them forever (unless they are wrecked beyond repair, or I get offered WAY more than it's worth).
- 325i serves as a four-door daily driver (Silver over Black, 5MT/Sport/Euro), basic mods (suspension/brakes/bolt-ons/drivetrain/appearance/etc)
- 740i Sport serves as a much more luxurious "cruising" car (Grey over Dove Grey Leather, AT/Sport/Premium/HK-Audio/CD-Changer/etc), basic mods (appearance/brakes/suspension/bolt-ons/etc)
- 328Ci is my heavily-modified car (Topaz Blue over Dove Grey Leather, with: 5MT/Sport/Premium/Cold/HK/HIDs/CD-Changer/etc; every option) which is used for both 8month daily-driving as well as autocross and track use. It's gone through a number of "phases", including N/A and F/I builds, but I'm running out of things to do to it
But, for a 2000MY car, it only has ~78xxx miles on it, so I've got PLENTY of time
I don't want to bore you to death, but I do feel inclined to give you a BRIEF overview of my 328Ci's "more notable" mods...
*Engine: Gone Through A LOT of Stuff... In current F/I Form, it's making: 423rwhp/386rwtq (last N/A dyno tune resulted in: 244.8rwhp/234.9rwtq; both done on same Mustang Dyno)
- ESS TSE2+ Lysholm Twin-Screw Supercharger with Intercooler @ 12psi
- Forged Carillo Connecting Rods, Schrick Cams, New Valves and Titanium Valve Springs/Seats, etc...
- Active Autowerke Ceramic Equal-Length Tubular Headers (have a pair of 100cell Metallic cats that I use... occasionally...) with SwainTech Ceramic Coating (engine bay has dropped at least 40*F)
- Mixture of Eisenmann Race and UUC TSE3 Exhaust
- aFe Stage1 Cold Air Intake OR M3-style Bimmerworld Full-Carbon Intake and Manifold Adapter (modified for use with S/C), Silicone Intake Boot (between intake and S/C)
- Custom Dyno-Tuned ESS Software (with parts of my Conforti tune still there)
- UUC Underdrive Pulleys, Stewart High-Flow Waterpump, Fluidyne Radiator, Samco Silicone Coolant Hoses (ALL)
- 6-Speed Manual Transmission from 2006 330Ci ZHP
- 10lb Flywheel and Stage2 Organic Clutch, UUC SS Clutch Line, Rogue Engineering Transmission Mounts with SS "Cups" for stiffer mount, UUC EVO3 Short Shift Kit with Dual Sheer Selecting Rod, ZHP Shift Knob
- Custom Quaife Limited-Slip Differential (3.23:1), Finned Differential Cover
- Intake Manifold has been "Extrudehoned" and all Intake/Exhaust parts have been coated by SwainTech
*Suspension: 100% Revamped (no original parts remain)
- TC Kline Smart Design D/A School/Track Coilover Kit (Track/Auto-X/Road-Course/etc; very stiff)
- KW Variant 3 Coilover Kit (*Street/Track; much better for daily-driving)
- Rogue Engineering/Ground Control Rear Shock Mounts, BMW Performance Forged Front Control Arms, 66mm PowerFlex Front Control Arm Bushings/Housings, FULL PowerFlex/Rogue Engineering Bushings (incl: subframe, differential, etc), Turner Motorsport FULL Reinforcement Kit (F/R Subframe, F/R Shock Towers, F/R Sway Bar Mounts, etc), TMS Adjustable Sway Bar End Links, UUC Rear Lower Control Arm Bearings, etc
- Hotchkis F/R Adj.Sway Bars, Rogue Engineering "Race" 1pc Front Strut Tie Bar, UUC Full-Magnesium 1pc Rear Strut Tie Bar, UUC Chromoly Adjustable Rear Control/Camber Arms, Ground Control Stage 2 3-way Adjustable Front Camber Plates, Semi-Solid Differential Mounts, etc...
*Brakes: 100% New
- Front StopTech 6-Piston Monobloc Calipers (StopTech Ultimate Pads for street), StopTech 360mm Slotted/Vented Front Rotors (Two-Piece Floating), Stainless Steel Brake Lines
- Rear StopTech 4-Piston Monobloc Calipers (ST Ultimate Pads), ST 352mm Slotted/Vented Rear Rotors (2pc Floating), SS Brake Lines
- M3 Main Cylinder, Motul RBF600 Brake Fluid, etc
*Wheels/Tires: Street/Track (note: car has been converted to lug studs for easier mounting, as I switch often)
- 19" BBS LM Wheels (19x8.5" Front and 19x9.5" Rear) with Pirelli P-Zero Nero Tires (235width front, 255width rear) for street use
- 18" J-Line 5LR2 Wheels (18x9" F and 18x10" R) w Michelin Pilot Sport Cups (245 fronts, 275 rears) for track use
- 19" DPE R07 Variant-S (19x8.5" F and 19x9.5" R) w Michelin Super Sports (235 fronts, 255 rears) for street use
*Appearance: (everything painted to match except small CF accents)
- Full M-Tech 2 Kit (Front/Rear Bumpers, Side Skirts, etc) with Carbon Fiber Splitters (front bumper) and Vorsteiner Carbon Fiber Rear Diffuser
- Vorsteiner Double-Sided Carbon Fiber CSL Trunk
- Vorsteiner Double-Sided CF "GTR" Hood
- Vorsteiner Full Carbon Fiber Roof
- Carbon Fiber M3 Mirrors, Headlight Inserts, Kidney Grills, Brake Ducts, etc
- Projector Fog Lights w 65w 4500K Xenon Bulbs, 70w 4500K Xenon Lows, FX45 Projectors for Highs with 100w 4300K Bulbs, Clear Corners, LED Clear Tails, painted side markers, full-LED Interior Lighting, etc
*Interior:
- Pioneer AVIC3 7" Double-Din Touchscreen head-unit, BSW Stage 1+ Full Speaker Upgrade, BSW Ultra-Light 10" Subwoofer Enclosure, 3 JL Audio Amplifiers
- Recaro Pole Position Adjustable Seats (Driver/Passenger), Alcantara headliner, M3 Steering Wheel, ZHP Shift Knob, Alcantara Shift Boot, Carbon Fiber Trim, Carbon Fiber Center Console, and more
- Tinted Windows (F L/R, R L/R, R)
Sorry for all of that, I just keep an Excel File of mods, and so I copied/pasted the biggest ones... although that's only about 1/3 the list
Anyway, my opinions would be this:
I run Redline and Royal Purple almost exclusively, and as often as I work on/take apart my engines, I cannot believe how clean they stay. Red Line 5w40 is used for track days (and the weeks leading up to the track day), and Royal Purple 5w40 is used for daily driving and RP 5w30 is used as well, typically when the temps go down a bit.
I use Redline D4 ATF in all of my transmissions, change it every 15-30k, and their 75w90 in non-limited-slip differentials (I use a special fluid I get direct from Quaife for my LSD). Motul I use for brake fluid in all my cars, regardless of track use or not (RBF600, only use the 660 on days where it's above 105*F ambient).
I have used Amsoil, but had oil starvation issues. Don't know if it was the Amsoil's fault, but that has NEVER happened with either Redline or Royal Purple.
For the record, the BMW OE Oil is [censored]! I was using it for my 325i, and now at 148k miles it has sludge all over the place! Currently I have Royal Purple 5w30 in it (I know there is sludge because I just replaced the valve cover gasket, spark plugs, all fluids, etc), and already it is running/idling MUCH better. Not placebo, as the valve-train does indeed look cleaner. I am running a 3k OCI, then will do another 3k OCI but with MMO, then another 3k OCI with more MMO, then a 3k OCI with SeaFoam for the last 250miles (I have used Seafoam on TONS of cars, including M3's, never with any problem!).
BMW FACTORY OIL WILL CAUSE SLUDGE! I've seen it before, but always chalked it up to people doing 15k+ OCI's, and that at 7.5-9k max, they'd have been fine... Well, I do 5k MAX on even my commuter, and it still sludged like crazy. I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND BMW'S OIL!
Also, I have seen the EXACT SAME THING HAPPEN with Mobil One 5w40 used in the M52/M54/S52/S54 engines, when the OCI is greater-than 5k miles. IT WILL sludge, probably less so if you change your oil filter 2-3x per OCI, which has helped me greatly.
The Mobil One 5w40 was what was run in my 328Ci until it hit ~42k miles (I got it at 28k), and while I followed 7.5k OCI's, the PO must not have... It took me about 5x 3k OCI's with HDEO's and things like MMO to get it super-clean like I need it to be. Since using EXCLUSIVELY Redline/Royal Purple, I have never had a single issue... VANOS is still operating at 100%, and this is a 12-year-old car with a high-PSI supercharger and OE Compression Levels...
I promise I'm not here to stir any controversy, I just wanted to give my experience with these cars and their very-temper-mental attitudes towards engine oils.
If I were you (and I have been, as I've run E36 M3's... both fully-built NA and FI cars), I'd run Royal Purple 5w40 or Redline 5w40; do 5-7.5k OCI's, and use K&N/Mann/Mahle Oil Filters. Change more frequently if using an aftermarket intake, less if using all stock intake.
Hope that helps some!
Glad to be here and a part of this awesome community!
+1
May iask why you dont use Redline and Royal Purple 0W-40, but rather the 5W-40?
And FTR, i too have watched the Motor Oil information closely and i too have come to the conclusion that Royal Purple and Redline, based on the things that the people that use them almost exclusively say about them, are oils i would feel more comfortable with than most any Mobil 1 or AMSOIL. I have found an AMSOIL i would consider, but its only for engines where a super thin oil is fine. The Mobil 1, not a bad oil but there are other oils i like better. Just agreeing with you.. and congrats on the BMW enthusiasm!
And i used to use Castrol oils, now i think twice about even GC. Maybe if i was in a pinch and needed an off-the-shelf oil. or, if i have a low-performance engine, possible GC use. Other than that.. Castrol is BMW's factory oil.