OCI coming up - recommend me a oil for BMW V8

[chefwong]

Anyone wanna recommend me a oil for a BMW V8 M62 engine ----- X5 4.4.

FWIW, it's had Redline for a short period of it's life and then has been on a GC exclusive diet for the last 30K miles.

I had some warranty work done on the car and the dealership changed my oil out and I've been running on BMW OEM 5W30 for the past 2 1/2 months or so.

I still have plenty of GC on the shelf and this may be reserved for a twin turbo V6 I have my eyes on.

In the meantime, while there is the subtle smoothness of the GC that one can't miss, there is something to be said of the the OEM BMW 5W30 oil....it's just seems lighter across the boards and I can feel it powerwise..

The X is a daily driver and sees about 15 miles each way every day. I'm only about .3 miles till I hit the freeway in the morning and on the way back, I'm only 1/4 mile away from the bridge which has a slight incline.....I don't like to throttle the engine hard but going up the incline and NYC traffic, it seems like this has been the trend for me lately on the homeward trek.


SOOOOOO......just looking for other opinions. Stick with GC, look at the motul, schaffers, amsoil, PP, etc, Love to hear some thoughts and suggestions.

 

[Quattro Pete]

If you like the BMW 5w-30, then stick with it. It's not a bad oil. How often do you change oil/filter?

Otherwise, I'd use the GC, and when that runs out, I might try Amsoil 5w-40 Euro Formula. That's my plan for the M54 at least.

 

[Thatwouldbegreat]

Redline 5W-30 or 5W-40
Mobil 1 0W-40*
BMW 5W-30*
Amsoil 5W-40 European Formula
Shell Rotella 5W-40
Valvoline Synpower 5W-40*

* BMW Approvals

 

[BullyT]

I switched to GC in my BMW 740iL with 4.4L V8 a while ago and I'm very pleased with it. The 0W rating made a noticeable difference in cold weather starting (I live north of Toronto) in January and February.

In addition, the 4.4L V-8 M62 engine does run hot and I like the fact that GC is a Group IV PAO and is a "thick" 30 weight.

 

[TimVipond]

From the Amsoil site:
2000 BMW X5 4.4L 8-cyl Engine Code M62-B44
LUBRICANTS & FLUIDS
Engine Oil
Grade 1......SM[1]
Series 2000 Synthetic 0W-30 Motor Oil
SAE 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil
SAE 5W-30 XL Synthetic Motor Oil
All Temps......5W-30[2]
1. To prevent potential engine damage, use only BMW
High Performance Synthetic Oil part No 07 51 0 017 866 or
equivalent. Refer to engine compartment oil change decal.
2. To prevent potential engine damage, use only BMW
High Performance Synthetic Oil part No 07 51 0 017 866 or
equivalent. Refer to engine compartment oil change decal.

I was surprised not to see the Amsoil European 5W40 recommended.

Sounds like you run around 11,000 miles a year. In New York, I'd probably go with the 0W30 and change it once a year. Change the filter according to your owners manual. What are the recommended factory oil and filter change intervals?

 

[chefwong]

Recommended factory OCI is generally around 15K depending on the oil meter.

My OCI other than initial early OCI's with Redline is every spring/winter (the same day I swap winter/summer) tars. It's more or less around 5.5K per OCI with obviously a bit more mileage on the summer season Oilrun. Oil filters get changed every time and I change the air filters 1X a year.

While I have not looked at the specs of GC vs. the OEM Castrol TXT oil......the 5W30 seemed to start better and fluid moving better in the late weeks of February that the oil was in there.

I have not posted a UOA recently, but here was the last one I posted.

http://theoildrop.server101.com/forums/s...true#Post248243

 

[Turbodriven]

I would stick with the TXT, it is a very good oil and meets the BMW LL01 spec.....CG however does not...SLX AKA GC has the following spec, and it was formulated specifically for VW.....
ACEA A3/B3/B4
API SL/CF
MB 229.3, 229.5
GM-LL-A-025, GM-LL-B-025
VW 502 00/503 01/505 00

I would be inclined to change it a bit sooner than BMW's OBI shows.

 

[Craig in Canada]

GC most certainly does meet BMW LL-01. Obviously you cannot claim SLX = GC if SLX does not have LL-01. (or they forgot to print it on the bottle)

From the GC FAQ:
http://home.comcast.net/~dsmphotos/gc/2.jpg

 

[Quattro Pete]

Quote:

---

I would stick with the TXT, it is a very good oil and meets the BMW LL01 spec.....CG however does not...

---

Sure it does:
http://129.35.64.91/bpglis/lubtds.nsf/technicaldata/E0F4AD7C48A80D5480256DB70032C3FB?OpenDocument

http://129.35.64.91/bpglis/lubtds.nsf/technicaldata/926BB885BABE0D788025714C004FC0F4?OpenDocument

In Europe there is also an SLX version that meets the newere LL04 spec:
http://129.35.64.91/bpglis/lubtds.nsf/technicaldata/01EA6239BF1A2C908025711F004E083F?OpenDocument

The GC sold in North America meets the LL01.

 

[Hessam]

My Top 3 in terms of Value to quality:

Maxlife Synthetic 5W-30
Lubro Moly High-Tech 5W-30(The new SM rated, BMW longlife04)
PP