Mobil1 0W-40 vs German Castrol 0-30 for '02 BMW325

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Originally Posted By: Hessam
in my O3 330xi, I definitely noticed noisier engine after switching from dealer serviced M1 5W-30, to M1 0W-40. wasn't going to be anal and dump it less than at least 5-6K though to switch over to GC, but I did have a few quarts of BMW 5W-30 in the trunk from the previous owner. Engine used about a quart and half after 4500 miles, at which point I added a quart and half of the BMW 5W-30 and it completely quieted the engine. who knows why, maybe the moly in the BMW 5W-30. I'm not even sure if Moly has a "quieting" effect on engines, but it worked in my case.

Got 8 quarts of GC I picked up on sale with free bosch filter from autozone lined up for next oil chang in couple weeks, and we'll see how that goes compared to M1 0W-40. But if I every find a great deal on M1 0W-40 and go back to that, I will definitely use it with a quart or two of the BMW 5W-30.

Same experience here, my 325 motor developed a startup noise (likely lifters) during the first couple minutes of the day on 0w-40, not that it was "bad" necessarily. That said I tried M1 TDT and no more tapping noises, so I stuck with it since. That was about 25k miles ago.

The M54 is a beautiful, smooth-sounding motor, so anything that takes away from that is easily noticed (and "must" be addressed!).
 
Originally Posted By: cvx5832
Originally Posted By: Hessam
in my O3 330xi, I definitely noticed noisier engine after switching from dealer serviced M1 5W-30, to M1 0W-40. wasn't going to be anal and dump it less than at least 5-6K though to switch over to GC, but I did have a few quarts of BMW 5W-30 in the trunk from the previous owner. Engine used about a quart and half after 4500 miles, at which point I added a quart and half of the BMW 5W-30 and it completely quieted the engine. who knows why, maybe the moly in the BMW 5W-30. I'm not even sure if Moly has a "quieting" effect on engines, but it worked in my case.

Got 8 quarts of GC I picked up on sale with free bosch filter from autozone lined up for next oil chang in couple weeks, and we'll see how that goes compared to M1 0W-40. But if I every find a great deal on M1 0W-40 and go back to that, I will definitely use it with a quart or two of the BMW 5W-30.

Same experience here, my 325 motor developed a startup noise (likely lifters) during the first couple minutes of the day on 0w-40, not that it was "bad" necessarily. That said I tried M1 TDT and no more tapping noises, so I stuck with it since. That was about 25k miles ago.

The M54 is a beautiful, smooth-sounding motor, so anything that takes away from that is easily noticed (and "must" be addressed!).


We've had no such issues in my sister's 330i, it is quiet as a door mouse on M1 0w40 FWIW.

It made my M5 quieter than the BMW 5w30 as well.
 
Guys, I have a two BMW's (M54 E39 & N54 E90) and the wife has a late model C300. Here is where I'm at with this. I've been trying to stock ONE type of oil for all 3 cars to make life easy.


1- The BMW dealership 5w-30 oil is Castrol Softec from overseas. Good oil, no arguments about it. It's a 12.0/72.0 Cst oil. I can generally get it CHEAPER than M1 0-40. $7.45 @ dealer vs $8.99 @ parts stores. Wally world does not carry 0-40 M1 near me. I've checked.

2- Our other options other than BMW dealer oil is Castrol Edge 0w-30 or M1 0w-40.

3- The castrol Edge 0w-30 is a 12.21/72.0 Cst oil. The M1 0w-40 is a thicker oil. 13.5/75.0. So you can see both the BMW oil and Castrol Edge are basically the same viscosity. the M1 is thicker by about 10.5%.


4- I cannot find where to buy the Castrol Edge. I've checked Autozone & AAP. If they don't carry I doubt walmart will. I may talk to AAP about ordering it for me.

5- The Castrol Edge 0-30 meets both BMW and Benz Specs.
 
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