Anyone running Amsoil 0W-30 in their BMW?

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I am curious if anyone has been running the Amsoil series 2000 0W-30 in their BMW? My car is a 2001 BMW 325i with 112000 miles. I am almost done with my ARX rinse and am still trying to decide on an oil. According to the Amsoil tech I talked to he said that the 0W-30 is the oil he would recomend for my car because my engine has very tight tolerances. On the other hand I have also seen numerous posts about how important it is to run a ACEA A3 oil in that engine. What are some thoughts on this?
 
If you want to use a 30 weight oil, then spend the same amount of money on the Series 3000 as it is an ACEA A3 oil. Stick with the type recommendation by the manufacturer. The European 5w-40 would most likely be the best choice though.
 
ACEA A3 and BMW ll-98, ll-01 are what I keep hearing (I have a '95 M3). The only 30W that meet this currently that I am aware of is Castrol 0W-30 and BMW 5W-30. I believe the older Amsoil 0w-30 met A3, but the current one does not.

Also maybe a new BMW specific 5W-30 from Lubro Moly and maybe an ELF brand as well.

*I am about to send in for UOA's on GC and GC + Ceratec, and will then proceed to a UOA with Lubro Moly 5-40
 
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I am using GC 0w-30. This is THE oil for my BMW according to UOA's and a certain well respected paid service provider and site supporter.
 
srl if you don't mind me asking, do you know what tech you spoke with? If your car calls for an ACEA A3 rated oil, I'm not so sure I'd use Amsoil 0w-30 and I'm not sure why that was suggested. There was an old BMW Oil study article that suggested this was the oil to use. Back then it was ACEA A3 rated which requires an oil to have a HT/HS of 3.5>. Also, how would he know your tolerances are tight, especially on a car that is a 2001? As engines age tolerances loosen up.
 
I'm running GC in our '95 325ic and it does seem like a good choice.

When I run out of GC, then maybe Elf Excellium Full Tech 0W-30

[ it also meets the same specs and is the same thickness 12.2 cSt @ 100 c ]

Otherwise Redline 5W-30 or 5W-40, or Valvoline Synpower 5W-40...will be my choice for this engine.
 
My independent mechanic, who is a BMW specialist and races his own BMW, recommended Amsoil 5W40 for my BMW 740. I believe it's an excellent oil, and I don't think ''tight tolerances'' are a factor at 112,000 miles as you have on your car. I used the Amsoil 5W40 and would still use it except German Castrol 0W30 is easier to get up here (Canada) and I like the 0W rating for our cold winters.
 
What are you guy's opinions on whether a 5W or a 0W will make that much of a difference?
 
I feel what everyone else says makes a lot of sense.
Sometimes the techs at Amsoil are not the most knowledgable around. I think Pablo would be a better person to ask the question.

If you wanted to be a rebel you could run the Amsoil 0-30. But it seems like it would be on the thin side for a 40wt application.

Where I live I would say 0w vs 5w no difference. Where you live I would say it makes a difference.

How much I don't know? If I lived in Wyoming I would try to run a 0w vs a 5w oil JMO.
 
All BMW LongLife-approved oils are xw-30 or xw-40. The BMW-labeled oil that they sell at the dealers for use in almost all BMWs (Castrol TXT Softec in disguise) is 5w-30, albeit a very thick 5w-30.

They do seem to like thick-ish oils, to a point of course. That doesn't preclude the possibility of a slightly thinner oil with superior chemistry working well.

As far as viscosity, 5w versus 0w only makes a difference if you live where it gets really cold. If that's not you, don't sweat it. The only thing you should always bear in mind when trying to decide between 5w and 0w is viscosity index improver content. Less is almost always better. Typically narrower viscosity ratings (e.g. 0w-30 compared to 5w-40) have less, so if you don't know, err on that side.

For BMW, the line in the sand seems to be the ACEA A3 spec. BMW owner's manuals usually say something along the lines of "if you absolutely can't get anything LL-xx certified, at least make sure it's ACEA A3 certified." As stated previously, ACEA A3 requires the oil's kinematic viscosity to be relatively stable over a long period of time under hard use, and also requires a HTHS viscosity of at least 3.5.

Amsoil TSO (Series 2000 0w-30) has slightly lower kinematic viscosity when hot than the BMW-labeled synthetic, but IMO that's not really a big deal. The most important point of contention is its HTHS viscosity of 3.2. That's not a life-and-death matter, but it's significant. Whether that actually translates to reduced wear protection depends on a lot of things about the oil's chemistry, e.g. film strength, which theoretically could be higher despite the oil's lower viscosity.

I suspect TSO probably would be just fine in most BMWs. The reason you don't hear a lot of people talking about it is twofold:

- The people who don't know or don't care about actual viscosity ratings (beyond what's on the front of the bottle) usually don't see why they should spend nearly $8/qt for oil.
- The people who will spend that kind of money for oil have access to a variety of other options with higher viscosities, so they don't see why they should take the chance on an oil with thinner viscosity ratings.
 
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