My wife's 2011 X3 2.8i w/N52 engine was bought about a year ago from CarMax with about 47K on the odometer. As of today, it was slightly over 51K, and the iDrive OCI displayed about 9,000 miles of oil life left. I do not know what oil was used in it prior to me acquiring it, how long it has been in there, or if the oil change was done by a BMW dealer, by CarMax or some quick lube. It has driven fine, the engine runs smoothly, and I do not notice any unusual engine noise.
I bought 7-quarts of Castrol Edge 5w-40. It has SN, ACEA A3, and BMW LL-01 so it seems GTG for this application. The manual recommends xw-30 or xw-40 for this vehicle, and with the warm climate here, the 5w-40 seems fine.
For a filter, I acquired three kinds, but I decided to go with the Mann HU816x. The Purolator appears identical to the Mann, and is also made in Germany. The Wix is of a different design, and is made in Poland. Both the Mann and Purolator have the same large black gasket, and small green O-ring, while both are black in the Wix kit.
The old oil was quite dirty, and it had quite a bit of fuel odor, but the visible part of the engine through the oil fill cap, the oil cartridge housing, and around the drain plug was not crusty or sludgy at all.
It was interesting to find the used filter was a Carquest filter, made in Poland, and identical to the Wix filter, except for the color of the end caps. It looks in great shape, and there are no waves, holes, or tears in the filter media. All of the pleats are in perfect condition.
Everything went back together well, and the Mann filter snapped right on. Upon start up, there was no harsh engine noises, and no leaks or drips were spotted after 10 minutes of running. I also added a 1/3 of a bottle of LM MoS2. It is a better feeling knowing what is in the engine now compared to the mystery oil that was there when I bought it.
I bought 7-quarts of Castrol Edge 5w-40. It has SN, ACEA A3, and BMW LL-01 so it seems GTG for this application. The manual recommends xw-30 or xw-40 for this vehicle, and with the warm climate here, the 5w-40 seems fine.
For a filter, I acquired three kinds, but I decided to go with the Mann HU816x. The Purolator appears identical to the Mann, and is also made in Germany. The Wix is of a different design, and is made in Poland. Both the Mann and Purolator have the same large black gasket, and small green O-ring, while both are black in the Wix kit.
The old oil was quite dirty, and it had quite a bit of fuel odor, but the visible part of the engine through the oil fill cap, the oil cartridge housing, and around the drain plug was not crusty or sludgy at all.
It was interesting to find the used filter was a Carquest filter, made in Poland, and identical to the Wix filter, except for the color of the end caps. It looks in great shape, and there are no waves, holes, or tears in the filter media. All of the pleats are in perfect condition.
Everything went back together well, and the Mann filter snapped right on. Upon start up, there was no harsh engine noises, and no leaks or drips were spotted after 10 minutes of running. I also added a 1/3 of a bottle of LM MoS2. It is a better feeling knowing what is in the engine now compared to the mystery oil that was there when I bought it.
