Best oil for a '99 M3 with 80k miles

[JohnnyFeet75]

For the past three days, I have constantly been reading people's input on engine oil. This has severely impacted my interest in oil, but has also confused the brains out of me. I realize before I perform an oil analysis, I will not get the most accurate results. However, I will appreciate anybody's input on this matter!

I am currently running Mobil 1 5W-30 in my car, but am planning on trying something different. Based off my research, I have narrowed down my next oil to:
a) Castrol 0W-30 (GC)
b) Mobil 1 0W-40
c) BMW 5W-30

What would you guys recommend given that I live in the Southeast?

Thanks for everybody's help.

 

[umungus1122]

All seem to be fine choices. GC is on sale this month at Autozone. You might also consider Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w-30 or 10w-40, both of which have an A3 rating and are readily available at Wallymart in 5qt jugs.

 

[Audi Junkie]

5W-30 in an M3? How did you settle on that? Did you read the manual or the service bulettins? 10w-60 TWS is recommended, anything much lighter is KNOWN to kill the engine. I know a lot of good results are had on Syntec 5w-50, the AWESOME PTG M3 Racer uses it and so does my BOSCH shop. Pennzoil Platinum comes in 15w-50 and is probally pretty good. Mobil 1 10w-40 Hi-Miles should do well too. I would not go to any other 40 weight, just thick 40s and 50s. Open the manual and read the TSBs.

 

[BarkerMan]

Where did you come up with your selections? The parts store? GC might work but is thin, BMW 5w-30 is too thin and your engine will certainly take care of the 40w in M1 0w-40 and make it a 30w in no time. A guy near our shop races an M3 and uses Red Line 20w-50 and is also trying BioSyn 15w-50HD. Both are returning good results. He also has a street M3 and uses the same oil. A couple of years ago he lost his rod bearings in his street car to M1 0w-40 in an experiment with a lighter weight oil. His opinion of M1 0w-40 is not printable. I rebuilt the bottom end of the engine for him and the failure of the bearings was just short of eating the crankshaft. The rod bearings in this engine should be well taken care of. They are not a strong point in this engine.

 

[mechtech2]

A thicker oil is normally used, especially if run hard.

 

[Kitto]

Can M1 15W50 do the job?

 

[JohnnyFeet75]

Thanks for everybody's input. I read the recommendations on various forums specific to my vehicle. When I ran across this forum, I knew I should get a second opinion.

I will switch over to 10W-60 TWS or Syntec 5W-50. Is one specifically better than the other? How do they compare to Mobil 1 15W-50?

 

[Craig in Canada]

Keep in mind that the North American spec E36 M3 is not like the RoW E36 M3. 240hp instead of north of 300hp. The engine is basically a retooled M52. I think a mindless jump to TWS would be an error. As soon as you said "M3" you drew all of the TWS-only folks out of the woodwork.

What is your climate and how are you going to use the car? There are probably lots of heavy 30s and average 40s that you could use very successfully. Any of those would be better than the "energy conserving" M1 5W30 you have in there now (!)

 

[ssj4]

I have a '95 M3 with 140,000 miles.

So far it seems that even a heavy 30w (GC) is not optimal
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubb...rue#Post1053229

current thoughts are to stick with a 5w-40 (ACEA A3 B3/B4 of course) for this model.

Doesn't look like GC is "bad", just not the best for this app.
I will be giving GC another shot though.

10W60 was speced for some of the E46 M3's and the E90+ & the new M5 and M6

 

[HondaMan]

Johnny,

What are the last 7 digits of your VIN?

PM me those if you wish and I'll look up the 'BMW' offical spec for your engine.

I have a feeling based on the date you will fall into 'Others' which will include LL04,01,98 ... Special Oils (BMW brand) and ACEA

All that meaning to say, find a nice 5w-40 that is ACEA A3 rated.

 

[JohnnyFeet75]

I live in the Southeastern region of the United States. Thus, our summers are very hot and humid. Winters aren't cold. The whole city shuts down if we reach freezing temperatures (not often).

This car is my daily driver. It will not be used on the track.

 

[Craig in Canada]

I think there are a heckuva lot of 5W40s that would do you quite nicely all year round. I'd put Amsoil AFL 5W40, M1 TDT 5W40, Rotella-T 5W40 and maybe Castrol Syntec 5W40 on your list if you want 40s. GC is darn near a 40 and pretty shear stable, I wouldn't remove it from my list but in your climate you have other options. Spend some time in the UOA forum to see if you can find your engine combined with any of these oils at a reasonable OCI.

M1 0W40 would probably protect well but would shear like crazy, and it made my M52 *much* noisier than anything else I've ever had in it. I'm not an M1 basher, as a matter of fact I used to be an M1 promoter, but I won't be using it anymore unless all of my other choices go away. GC has been working great in my M52 (confirmed by UOAs and noise/performance observations).

Shear stability and ACEA A3 ratings will be important if you like to rev, even if you won't be on the track. I expect you'll be doing some of that if you purchased an M3 instead of a Corolla in the first place.

 

[bmwtechguy]

If you do use the Mobil 15W-50, I would use it for summer heat only unless you are in the deep south and make sure to get the newest silver cap stuff, not the gold cap EP stuff. A 5W-40 would certainly be better for cold weather starts. Schaeffers makes a full syn 5W-40. Mobil 1 makes a 5W-40, so does Castrol. I really don't see a huge problem using BMW 5W-30, GC 0W-30, or Mobil 1 0W-40 unless you are racing the car or taking it to the track, etc. But I would not use the Mobil 1 5W-30 as it is too thin and not enough anti-wear adds, IMO. The Mobil 1 HM 10W-30/40 have better viscosity/anti-wear adds for that engine. Amsoil also makes some fine oils that would work well too.

 

[Audi Junkie]

My picks:
Mobil 1 10w-40 Hi-Miles
Pennzoil Platinum 15w-50
Syntec 5w-50 (only listed lower because you have no need for 5w, but has an excellent track record)
Castrol GTX Hi-Mi 10w-40
Valvoline VR-1 20w-50

I think our original poster read about BMW Synth 5w-30 and assumed both that other thin 5w-30 synths were similar and that it was right for his car.

Here's Mori's engine pic after 122k on Syntec 5w-50, 10k change intervals.

 

[JohnnyFeet75]

I reside in Georgia, therefore it's not exactly the deep south. Anyways, I'm leaning towards a 10W-40 grade oil.

If anybody else wants to chime in with their thoughts, I will be very thankful.

I appreciate everybody's input!

 

[Connorb]

I live in southern VA (similar climate) and use Mobil 1 10W-40 HM in my M52 328i. This oil can be found at Walmart and has an ACEA A3 rating. The 5qt. jugs are around $24 each.

 

[jmillet]

Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
5W-30 in an M3? How did you settle on that? Did you read the manual or the service bulettins? 10w-60 TWS is recommended, anything much lighter is KNOWN to kill the engine. I know a lot of good results are had on Syntec 5w-50, the AWESOME PTG M3 Racer uses it and so does my BOSCH shop. Pennzoil Platinum comes in 15w-50 and is probally pretty good. Mobil 1 10w-40 Hi-Miles should do well too. I would not go to any other 40 weight, just thick 40s and 50s. Open the manual and read the TSBs.

The BMW Castrol TWS 10W-60 synthetic is applicable to the S54 powered E46 M3 not the S52 powered E36 M3.
I put over 105,000 miles on my 2000 E36/8 Z3 M Coupe 3.2L S52 and used M1 15W-50 with 4000 mile oil change interval.
I use the Castrol TWS 10W-60 in my S54 powered Z4 M Coupe

 

[KenO]

Rotella Syn 5W-40 works great in these cars.

Where in GA? I'm in Atlanta. I, and other friends, use the Rotella 5W-40 syn both in DD use, and on the track.

 

[JETninja]

Shell Rotella T Synth 5W-40 user here. I've put 50k on my M3 in the last 2.5 years. At 122k I had the quite common cooling system failure and blew a HG. Upon teardown, the engine was super clean, and nothing (except the HG and a .015 mill of the head) needed replacing, not even a single valve or valve guide!) I now have 146k and it's a very strong, tick free engine. Been using the Shell Rotella T since I had a '99 1.8T Passat and learned about it in here. Couldn't be happier....

Audi Junky - Dude, learn the M engines!

 

[Audi Junkie]

M-kay.