bigcoupe.com

I'm just throwing this question out to the mob, to see what peoples' preferences are for their M30's, and recommendations? I am currently running Castrol GTX 20/50w. I have heard of people running 15/40w in other branded oil.

Since my two E24s are cat-less, I run Shell Rotella T5 synthetic blend 15W40.

I use Valvoline VR1 20w-50, even with my cat still in place. I hardly burn oil, so I don't think it's going to be an issue for a while. I also put in a quart of Lucas oil stabilizer as added protection against cold starts, especially in winter. Temperatures swing massively between summer and winter where I live, but I use this method year-round and don't run in to any noticeable issues (i.e. taking forever to start, not warming up quickly, etc). Car seems to love it, so I'll keep doing that

The M30 motors run best and last longest using an oil with high ZDDP content. ZDDP is zinc. It is really needed for the valve train.Shell Rotella used by many. Also if you can find it locally, Brad Penn oil.

10w40 Castrol GTX in the 635; Mobil 1 Extended Life 10w60 in the M

This one: http://tinyurl.com/ydcgfg5m

Valvoline VR1 20w-50... comes in 5 quart jug now!

brickwhite wrote: ↑Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:14 pm Valvoline VR1 20w-50... comes in 5 quart jug now!

Finally! Won't have to awkwardly waddle to the counter anymore with 5 bottles and a filter

What's the 'normal' size packaging for oil in the US? This "5 quarts" thing is only 4.73 litres, which still means you have to buy two to do a standard oil change on an M30 with a 5.75 litre sump+filter capacity. 4 litre bottles here are unusual now. Most have now standardised on 5 litre bottles. A few are recognising the greater capacities of modern diesels and are going to 6 litre bottles instead, which is great because a single bottle does an M30 change with just the right amount of top up left over.

The 6 litre bottle and the semantics of the name is the only difference between…

&

and the stockists differ a bit too. You can buy the premium 5 litre bottles anywhere, but the vantage 6 litre bottles are only available through Repco distributors as they seem to have tied them up in some exclusive deal arrangement thing.

Penrite 10/10ths in the m88/3 10w60. Here in Australia we need high temp protection.

I don’t mind the penrite in the older cars as it has good zinc levels. In the modern 24v engine like my m60b40 I use liquimoly 10w60 the expensive one in the bluey Grey bottle.

GazM3 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:31 am Penrite 10/10ths in the m88/3 10w60. Here in Australia we need high temp protection.

I don’t mind the penrite in the older cars as it has good zinc levels. In the modern 24v engine like my m60b40 I use liquimoly 10w60 the expensive one in the bluey Grey bottle.

I specifically use the Penrite for the M88/3 because synthetics are not approved for use in that engine at all due to bleeding off of tension in the hydraulic chain tensioner (owner's manual page 4-10) and because my engine still has the original design chain tensioner it came with as opposed to being upgraded to an E36/E46 or whatever later design one it is that fits.
My M60B40 has 32 valves and I use a proper synthetic in that for which it's designed for. I use Castrol Magnatec 10W-40.

You wanna be careful with running something like Penrite 10/10ths in a street application. Good Zinc/Phosphorus levels are definitely a good thing to have, but it doesn't follow that more is always 'better'. At a certain concentration, the Zinc/Phosphorus becomes an oil pollutant you actually don't want. The good sweet spot is thought to be definitely above 1000ppm minimum, up to around 1600ppm as a maximum. ~1200ppm seems to be the consensus opinion as being best concentration if you can find that. Beyond 1600ppm you need to be driving something like a heavy diesel truck or using the engine in a racing application where a lot of the excess is expected to be flushed unused down the exhaust pipe. That's why the oil is called "Racing" because that's exactly what it's for. The extrordinarily high Zn/Ph levels at 2200ppm are to make up for all the losses expected down the exhaust pipe from all the blow-by in a racing environment, so that by the time all the losses are taken into account you're still left with a good concentration remaining in the sump in the ideal ~1200ppm level when all's said and done.

If you run such a high concentration Zn/Ph oil in a normal street application, you can expect other nasty side effects you don't want, like fouled spark plugs. A bit like fuel octane. More is not always better. In the same way that winning a race at the slowest possible speed is the best way, so it is also true that you only need as much additives in oil or as much octane in fuel as you can actually use or provides a benefit. Any more than that does not give you even more of a benefit. It might actually harm instead.

I ran into a AMS oil rep at the local car show Sunday. Interesting thing is that oil is not available on any store shelf where I live. I guess with out direct contact with the local rep, you are outta luck here.

In the US we still don't believe in the metric system...

So most items come in quarts or gallons.

I think you can by 1 gallon, 5 quart, or 2.5 gallon.

But most large oil containers are 1 gallon or 5 quarts...

A 5 quart of Mobile one full synthetic 0-w40 jug at old wally world is about $23 dollars.

Castrol GTX 20W-50 in a 5 quart jug is about $18... So you buy 2...

... and a gallon of gas last I looked was around $2.48......

DRPM635CSi wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 2:05 am What's the 'normal' size packaging for oil in the US? This "5 quarts" thing is only 4.73 litres, which still means you have to buy two to do a standard oil change on an M30 with a 5.75 litre sump+filter capacity. 4 litre bottles here are unusual now. Most have now standardised on 5 litre bottles. A few are recognising the greater capacities of modern diesels and are going to 6 litre bottles instead, which is great because a single bottle does an M30 change with just the right amount of top up left over.

The 6 litre bottle and the semantics of the name is the only difference between…


and the stockists differ a bit too. You can buy the premium 5 litre bottles anywhere, but the vantage 6 litre bottles are only available through Repco distributors as they seem to have tied them up in some exclusive deal arrangement thing.

I've been using both Castrol GTX and Pennzoil over the years, 20W50, of course, the M30's really need this weight of oil, specifically in warmer climates, running 10W40 weight in colder climates would be best, I used to do that as well, back in my "NJ" days

Fritz, if you're only putting 5 quarts in, better check your dipstick, as mine takes 6.25 quarts, per the manuals and dipstick

DRPM635CSI, packaging here in the states is all over the map

Still available in quarts, but also 5 quart bottles, I've even seen 5.1 quart bottles, presumed to be 5 liters

It is true that the USofA is still kicking and screaming about going metric, which I actually find funny, being an engineer, where the Metric system is FAR easier to use and more common than the English (SAE) system

Valvoline ZR1

GRNSHRK wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:33 pm Fritz, if you're only putting 5 quarts in, better check your dipstick, as mine takes 6.25 quarts, per the manuals and dipstick

I remember reading that and buying 6 quarts the first time I did an oil change on it. I started pouring oil in until it rose up to smack dab in the middle of the dipstick. I emptied just over 5 quarts all said and done. Every change since has been 5 quarts on the dot to fill it up. And I change the filter every time as well. The level never gets close to the bottom of the dispstick between services either.

I run the car for less than a minute positioning it, but don't let the oil get up to temp. I even leave the drain plug off for a good long while while I change the filter and do some degreasing. I guess there's always some oil hiding away somewhere or something..

GRNSHRK wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:33 pmIt is true that the USofA is still kicking and screaming about going metric, which I actually find funny, being an engineer, where the Metric system is FAR easier to use and more common than the English (SAE) system

All my relatives are UK based, and they tell me what's going on over there on the subject. I watch the BBC News from Australia and I've noted that in all their weather broadcasts they quote temperatures in °C and rainfall in mm. Their fuel is also sold in litres (ostensibly because many years ago their pumps ran out of being able to display enough digits to price fuel in gallons). Basically now in the UK, anyone who needs to quote figures in anything approaching a technical environment uses the metric system. Imperial still exists though, but only in a very low-level, garden variety way such as pounds of produce at the grocery shop or in feet/inches for wood at the hardware store. Long distances and the matching speeds also remain in miles too of course, but I suspect that has more to do with the actual logistics of converting over not only the entire car population's instrument clusters, but also an entire country's road signage as well. Not a small task I would imagine.

OnTheFritz wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 10:41 pmI guess there's always some oil hiding away somewhere or something..

You might wanna look into removing and manually flushing your engine oil cooler behind the front bumper. It sounds like it's completely clogged with 20 y.o. oil that is slowly turing into coal.

DRPM635CSi wrote: ↑Wed Aug 15, 2018 12:23 am

OnTheFritz wrote: ↑Tue Aug 14, 2018 10:41 pmI guess there's always some oil hiding away somewhere or something..

You might wanna look into removing and manually flushing your engine oil cooler behind the front bumper. It sounds like it's completely clogged with 20 y.o. oil that is slowly turing into coal.

Oil cooler? I thought that was mainly just an M thing. I certainly haven't seen one, and I've racked up quite a few hours under the front end..

OnTheFritz wrote: ↑Wed Aug 15, 2018 12:42 am Oil cooler? I thought that was mainly just an M thing. I certainly haven't seen one, and I've racked up quite a few hours under the front end..

Well, my M535i has one and that's not a real ///M car either, so I kinda thought they all had one. My M535i is really just a 535i with some tupperware tacked on and a funky-style upside down gearbox, so the oil cooler should be standard equip.

I never worked out the rationale behind which cars do and don't have an oil cooler in the UK. I've had autos and manuals with and without. I know M635s did, but Highline B35 cars didn't, I know all the M535is did, but otherwise the pattern eludes me.

Anyway, this is the most sensible oil choice thread I've read - thanks all.

+1. Valvoline VR1 20/50 in all my m30 engines

I've been running Redline 20W-50 in my E24 since I purchased it in 1997, and in my E28 since 2014. A Redline rep once told me that their 10W-40 synthetic would be fine in an M30, but I prefer the extra insurance of 20W-50 especially in the warm climate where I live. I drive each car no more than a few thousand miles/year, and change oil once/year. Keeps them nice and clean inside.

Brad Penn 15/40. Love the green.