'82 BMW 733i M30 - Which Oil

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Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by TXCarGeek


Lovely E23 you got there. How many miles? Mine is sitting around 75k.

I've done two valve adjustments on mine already. The second was just for good measure after I ran it a bit and went through a few hot/cold cycles. Adjusted the valves on the cam side because of potential wear on the valve side and it has that nice, sowing machine sound. Idle isn't entirely silky smooth, but it could just be old electronics or something. Don't have another L-Jet car easily accessible to compare how they're supposed to run...only have a buddy with a mototronic system. Also, checked the spray bar bolts and they were good to go.

I sold it a few years back. Maybe about 100k miles?

It never idled perfectly either. Sounds like you've got a handle on your car; they're wonderful machines.


Fun things to tinker with. I'll probably enjoy mine for a bit before I sell it off. Have another old, German machine...an '89 560SEL that needs some attention as well. Runs, drives, and brakes but I want to make it do all of those reliably.
 
Originally Posted by Gokhan
It carries a ton of OEM specs and unlike the Rotella it's dual-rated.

And the dual rating means nothing in this application. If an E7, E9 oil was suitable under CJ-4, then the successor product also holding E7, E9 is still suitable.
 
Originally Posted by TXCarGeek
So essentially I'm looking for a high mileage with seal conditioners and thick enough for these older BMW engines. ZDDP levels above 800 I presume should be more than adequate for a stock engine like mine?

I don't think technically a "high mileage" oil is important.
ZDDP above 1000ppm preferably.

And yes, a slightly "lumpy" idle is totally acceptable. There's varying degrees of "lumpiness" as you'll come to experience.
Recently I've discovered my M20 really prefers only "Chevron" premium fuel. Reduces cranking time and idles much smoother.
 
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
Originally Posted by TXCarGeek
So essentially I'm looking for a high mileage with seal conditioners and thick enough for these older BMW engines. ZDDP levels above 800 I presume should be more than adequate for a stock engine like mine?

I don't think technically a "high mileage" oil is important.
ZDDP above 1000ppm preferably.

And yes, a slightly "lumpy" idle is totally acceptable. There's varying degrees of "lumpiness" as you'll come to experience.
Recently I've discovered my M20 really prefers only "Chevron" premium fuel. Reduces cranking time and idles much smoother.


I've seen varying opinions on how much zddp these M30/M20 engines actually need. I'm thinking of maybe doing 5 quarts of a HM oil and perhaps a quart of something with high(er) amounts of zddp. Maybe I'm just overthinking, but I love discussing all of this anyway.

And yeah, I've been wanting to try some Shell V-power in there to see if it makes any difference. I like Chevron too, but there isn't one in my town. Next fill-up I'll run some Shell in there.
 
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Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
The M20 in my e30 is very similar to the M30 in your 7 series.
That being said, I'd recommend Rotella T4 15w40 as it has additional Zinc these old solid lifter engines need.
Other oils may be thick enough, but don't have the higher levels of additives (when considering a dino oil).
thumbsup2.gif


Maybe I should use a 15w-40 since I use mostly in the warm weather and it's always in garage.

Here's a pic I found on my laptop from a couple years back that I took when I converted the title to Classic Car

2012-12-12_e30.jpg
 
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I always ran M1 15W-50 in my E28 535is. I know that the fourth owner drove it to over 300,000 miles.
 
Originally Posted by Vaca
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
The M20 in my e30 is very similar to the M30 in your 7 series.
That being said, I'd recommend Rotella T4 15w40 as it has additional Zinc these old solid lifter engines need.
Other oils may be thick enough, but don't have the higher levels of additives (when considering a dino oil).
thumbsup2.gif


Maybe I should use a 15w-40 since I use mostly in the warm weather and it's always in garage.

Here's a pic I found on my laptop from a couple years back that I took when I converted the title to Classic Car


Love the way this generation of BMW looks with the projector headlights. Got some projectors from an E32 to convert my E23 headlights.
 
Originally Posted by TXCarGeek
Originally Posted by Vaca
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
The M20 in my e30 is very similar to the M30 in your 7 series.
That being said, I'd recommend Rotella T4 15w40 as it has additional Zinc these old solid lifter engines need.
Other oils may be thick enough, but don't have the higher levels of additives (when considering a dino oil).
thumbsup2.gif


Maybe I should use a 15w-40 since I use mostly in the warm weather and it's always in garage.

Here's a pic I found on my laptop from a couple years back that I took when I converted the title to Classic Car


Love the way this generation of BMW looks with the projector headlights. Got some projectors from an E32 to convert my E23 headlights.


Yeah, I think they're the originals. They work great - better than a lot of headlights on new cars.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by nthach
15W-40. This is no place for a SN/SN Plus rated 20W-50. The reason why so many older German cars can get away with an SM/SN 20W-50 is the higher NOACK/HTHS number.

A modern 20W-50 will do just fine in the OP's engine.

I'm wondering what you think would be so detrimental.

lower ZDDP levels. I think a German engine would be happier with pre-SM/SN oils. Although, a 20W-50 isn't exactly meant for fuel economy and protecting the emissions system, which were the two main goals of SM/SN. I feel the newer Sx-spec oils aren't meant for older German engines, older Japanese and American as long as they aren't solid lifter, sure.
 
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Originally Posted by nthach
lower ZDDP levels. I think a German engine would be happier with pre-SM/SN oils. Although, a 20W-50 isn't exactly meant for fuel economy and protecting the emissions system, which were the two main goals of SM/SN. I feel the newer Sx-spec oils aren't meant for older German engines, older Japanese and American as long as they aren't solid lifter, sure.

So you would recommend against the OP using a BMW Longlife-01 oil such as Castrol 0W-40 because it is also licensed SN?
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by nthach
lower ZDDP levels. I think a German engine would be happier with pre-SM/SN oils. Although, a 20W-50 isn't exactly meant for fuel economy and protecting the emissions system, which were the two main goals of SM/SN. I feel the newer Sx-spec oils aren't meant for older German engines, older Japanese and American as long as they aren't solid lifter, sure.

So you would recommend against the OP using a BMW Longlife-01 oil such as Castrol 0W-40 because it is also licensed SN?

API SM/SN oils have been running fine in my flat tappet Ford cam for 15 years.
 
Originally Posted by kschachn
Originally Posted by nthach
lower ZDDP levels. I think a German engine would be happier with pre-SM/SN oils. Although, a 20W-50 isn't exactly meant for fuel economy and protecting the emissions system, which were the two main goals of SM/SN. I feel the newer Sx-spec oils aren't meant for older German engines, older Japanese and American as long as they aren't solid lifter, sure.

So you would recommend against the OP using a BMW Longlife-01 oil such as Castrol 0W-40 because it is also licensed SN?

In that case, it would be a pass, it's not a D1G2/GF-6 xxW-20/30. The Euro-spec oils that have the SN certification also have higher levels of ZDDP(just though - the newest BMW/MB/VW specs are cutting back on it). It's just I feel an oil with a healthy amount of Zn/P is better for these engines.

And I know I'm gonna backtrack here, a friend is running Castrol GTX 20W-50 in his VW buses. Not my first choice, but the NOACK/HTHS numbers make up for chemistry.
 
I think you have to be delirious to suggest that a Longlife-01 approved oil is not the correct choice for a BMW.

But maybe that's just me.
 
M1 15w50, VR1 20W50, Rotella in colder months. Valvoline maxlife hdeo if you can find it.

Originally Posted by kschachn
I think you have to be delirious to suggest that a Longlife-01 approved oil is not the correct choice for a BMW.

But maybe that's just me.


I wouldn't run a 0w40 in an old m30. 10w40 is pushing it in the south if you ask me (I'm in Louisiana). Mine is very happy on 20w50 or 15w40 hdeo.
 
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So far, I'm leaning towards mobil delvac 15w40. Might be a typical, overthinking BITOGer and get a gallon of the delvac and two quarts of some HM 10w40 because I like the idea of some HM oil in this older engine. I've used LM2020 with good results in previous vehicles and have also been wanting to try ATP205 but they are both not readily available here in town so I would rather go with an HM oil.
 
Originally Posted by Samrsnow
I wouldn't run a 0w40 in an old m30. 10w40 is pushing it in the south if you ask me (I'm in Louisiana). Mine is very happy on 20w50 or 15w40 hdeo.

So you wouldn't run Castrol 0W-40, a 10W-40 is "pushing it" in the south, but 15W-40 is good to go? What's the difference between them, I don't understand. What specific technical reason would you have for that recommendation?

Please don't say the 0W-40 is "too thin".
 
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