New To BMW and Synthetics

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Originally Posted By: sprintman
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Garak
You could grab an approved lube or reasonable facsimile thereof. That would include the real BMW approved A3/B4 type lubes such as GC (and its brothers) or M1 0w-40.

That's right. If something like M1 0w-40 existed when that BMW chart was created, that whole gamut of different oil grades and temperatures could have been replaced by this one oil.



Which is EXACTLY what they did when they started spec'ing LL-98 , LL-01....etc. BMW Synthetic 5w-30 (and its equivalents) replaced that chart.


No BMW 5W30 here and not available in most countries. One to ponder....


Dont worry, it will get there eventually...
 
Those engines need 0w30, 0w40 or 5w40 LL01 6.5 litres

all those oils are fit and forget and with that mileage will last a long time

nice motor!
 
For one thing, MPG. My gas consumption goes up 40% in the winter and that is mostly due to thick fluids caused by the cols weather.



You might find it's due to the winter grade fuel as well. It's no way near as "pure" as summer grade fuel. We have a drop in mpg in England on winter fuel so it's probably much worse at your temps.
 
You might find it's due to the winter grade fuel as well. It's no way near as "pure" as summer grade fuel. We have a drop in mpg in England on winter fuel so it's probably much worse at your temps. [/quote]


Are you sure there is a difference between winter and summer petrol?
 
Originally Posted By: sprintman
No CAFE here, so not it won't

The BMW 5w30 is an ACEA A3/B4 high HTHS oil, so not exactly CAFE friendly either.
 
Do they have kendall euro 5w40 where you are? I used that in our SLK when we had it, annual changes, and worked beautifully.

Theres also Pennzoil 5w40 which Napa usually has.
 
Originally Posted By: riggaz
For one thing, MPG. My gas consumption goes up 40% in the winter and that is mostly due to thick fluids caused by the cols weather.



You might find it's due to the winter grade fuel as well. It's no way near as "pure" as summer grade fuel. We have a drop in mpg in England on winter fuel so it's probably much worse at your temps.


Its not the fuel, although that is a common misconception. The fuel is distilled to be more :volatile" to aid starting in cold temps.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Originally Posted By: riggaz
For one thing, MPG. My gas consumption goes up 40% in the winter and that is mostly due to thick fluids caused by the cols weather.



You might find it's due to the winter grade fuel as well. It's no way near as "pure" as summer grade fuel. We have a drop in mpg in England on winter fuel so it's probably much worse at your temps.


Its not the fuel, although that is a common misconception. The fuel is distilled to be more :volatile" to aid starting in cold temps.


Well higher volatility usually mean lighter and less BTU
 
BMWTurboDzl, yep, that's pretty well generally true...historically winter was when they added oxygenates to keep the HC and smog down too...there goes some mileage.

Worst change I've (personally) seen was 10%, switched from SAE30 over summer to 25W70 through winter in my J Car wagon...(albeit only got to -7C)...notably harder cranking, 10% poorer mileage on 10 mile commute, and no perceptible difference on the highway.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
BMWTurboDzl, yep, that's pretty well generally true...historically winter was when they added oxygenates to keep the HC and smog down too...there goes some mileage.

Worst change I've (personally) seen was 10%, switched from SAE30 over summer to 25W70 through winter in my J Car wagon...(albeit only got to -7C)...notably harder cranking, 10% poorer mileage on 10 mile commute, and no perceptible difference on the highway.


Try in -34C and report back
 
Originally Posted By: riggaz
For one thing, MPG. My gas consumption goes up 40% in the winter and that is mostly due to thick fluids caused by the cols weather.



You might find it's due to the winter grade fuel as well. It's no way near as "pure" as summer grade fuel. We have a drop in mpg in England on winter fuel so it's probably much worse at your temps.


I have never experienced a drop in fuel economy in the winter.

I personally found fuel economy better in winter than summer due to not using aircon.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Try in -34C and report back

I have. 40% is a stretch unless there's some substantial idling and/or extremely difficult issues with rolling resistance thanks to unplowed streets. As I've already posted here, with numbers, I didn't see huge differences between summer or winter mileage. A statistically significant difference is possible, but, like I said, 40% indicates a lot of idling or terrible road conditions.
 
I have never experienced a drop in fuel economy in the winter.

I personally found fuel economy better in winter than summer due to not using aircon.

[/quote]


Same here but it rarely drops below 5C in winter.Summers had far greater impact on my fuel economy due to a frequent use of aircon.
 
Originally Posted By: bigjl

I have never experienced a drop in fuel economy in the winter.

I personally found fuel economy better in winter than summer due to not using aircon.




I use the AC all the time in the winter to defrost windows.
 
Originally Posted By: Shannow
BMWTurboDzl, yep, that's pretty well generally true...historically winter was when they added oxygenates to keep the HC and smog down too...there goes some mileage.

Worst change I've (personally) seen was 10%, switched from SAE30 over summer to 25W70 through winter in my J Car wagon...(albeit only got to -7C)...notably harder cranking, 10% poorer mileage on 10 mile commute, and no perceptible difference on the highway.


25W70 is for girlie boys. Real men use 40W70!
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: bigjl

I have never experienced a drop in fuel economy in the winter.

I personally found fuel economy better in winter than summer due to not using aircon.




I use the AC all the time in the winter to defrost windows.



That comment was directly related to a poster from the UK that reckoned he had a huge drop in fuel consumption in winter.
 
That comment was directly related to a poster from the UK that reckoned he had a huge drop in fuel consumption in winter.

[/quote]

did I say huge?
 
Originally Posted By: riggaz
did I say huge?


A 40% change in fuel consumption is huge. I live in the UK and barely see a 1 or 2 point change (from, say, 41 mpg (UK) in the summer to 39 mpg in the winter). I use a/c in the summer when it's hot but not in the winter at all (save for a few 'seal conditioning' runs). The main factor in the winter is the cold starting, with thicker oil and a cold block that needs more energy to heat it up. Once at operating temperature the fluids will be more-or-less the same viscosity. If you are genuinely seeing a 40% change then you need it looking at.
 
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