Recommendation for 3 1990s BMWs

[Danus_ex]

Since finding this forum, I've already learned far more about synthetic oil than I ever wanted to. I figured I'd run my current oil situation past you guys to solicit your input.


RESIDENCE

St. Paul, MN. Cold starts at -25°F must happen occasionally. Same with 100°F starts in the summer.


VEHICLES

In 12 years, I've only owned BMWs. Ran my previous two cars for nearly 10 years together (E28 535is and E30 318is). Bought all of these in 2011:

1997 BMW 318ti Sport (E36), 57000 miles, M44 1.9L I4 engine, Getrag S5D 250G transmission
1995 BMW 540i M-Sport (E34), 30500 miles, M60 4.0L V8 engine, Getrag S6S 420G transmission
1994 BMW 740i (E32), 70500 miles, M60 4.0L V8 engine, ZF 5HP-30 transmission


OWNER'S MANUAL RECOMMENDATIONS

M44: API SH or SJ, recommendations vary by climate from 5W-20 to 20W-50
M60: API SG or SH, recommendations vary by climate from 5W-20 to 20W-50


HOW EACH CAR IS DRIVEN

1997 BMW 318ti Sport: Wifemobile. 40-mile one-way commutes into Wisconsin. Open freeways, mostly. Some city driving in Minneapolis/St. Paul.
1995 BMW 540i M-Sport: Stored in winter. Driven fast and fun primarily. This is the nicest used BMW I have ever seen, let alone owned.
1994 BMW 740i: Daily driver. 25 mile trafficky commutes into the southern suburbs. Very mixed between stop and go, slow rolling, side streets, cruising, and speeding.


KNOWN PROBLEMS

None with any vehicle, aside from those stupid door panel clips present on 1990s BMWs.


LIKELY OIL CHANGE INTERVAL

My old oil change pattern on the E28 and E30 involved Mobil 1 5W-30 for any oil change done between October and February, Mobil 1 10W-40 for any oil change done between March and September. I usually changed oil at ~5000 miles.

With these three cars, I'm looking to extend the OCI to ~7500 miles. Oil and air filters will always be some combination of Mahle/Knecht, Mann, and Hengst products. Depends on what's cheapest from whichever supplier I order from. Have lots of Hengst at the moment.


MINDSET

Given my desired OCI, I've been looking exclusively (and perhaps wrongly?) at BMW LL-98 and LL-01 oils. Additionally, I'm viewing this from a bulk perspective as well as an ease of acquisition perspective. When I say bulk, I mean the quantity of oil needed to change each engine's oil once, so:

M44: 5 L (5.3 quarts)
M60: 7.5 L (8 quarts)
M60: 7.5 L (8 quarts)

Total: 20 L

I will likely start buying oil in 20 L increments.

Ease of acquisition essentially boils down this way:

1. Can I place the order online, at any time, and have it show up to my door without having to do anything else?
2. Do I have to drive around creation picking up 22 1-quart bottles?

Both have their upsides and downsides. Usually if I'm out, I'm out to get other stuff as well.


MAIN OPTIONS

Here are the five most cost-effective options I've identified, in order from least to most expensive:

1. 20 L (4x5 L) of Lubro Moly Synthoil Premium 5W-40 (LL-98) from AutohausAZ—$134.88 shipped
2. 20 L (4x5 L) of Total Quartz 9000 Energy 5W-40 (LL-01) from AutohausAZ—$142.52 shipped
3. 22 quarts (22 x 1 quart) of Mobil 1 0W-40 (LL-01) from Wal-Mart—$151.95 ($6.47 each plus sales tax)
4. 22 quarts (22 x 1 quart) of BMW-branded 5W-30 (LL-01) from ECS Tuning—$153.76 shipped
5. 20L (4x5 L) of Motul 8100 X-Cess 5W-40 (LL-01) from Amazon—$156.16 shipped (but ships in 1-3 months

)

What do you think? Right now, I doubt I can go wrong with any choice, so I don't see a good reason not to let total cost (Lubro Moly 5W-40) carry the day. I'd like to use one oil year-round, but I could be persuaded to return to a two-oil paradigm.

 

[Flying_A]

M1 0W-40 year round for all vehicles is my initial thought... It is a thick 40wt but has excellent cold start up characteristics, a ton of engine approvals and is regarded as one of Mobil's 'best' synthetics. It will perform admirably in all your applications.

 

[ueberooo]

wow, that's cold. what about a 0w30, eg like mobil. For slightly more moderate weather i was going to suggest a regular 5w30 like the kendal gt liquid ti which they install at any firestone garage. I would also recommend a dose of LubroMoly add'v once a year.

 

[Danus_ex]

I should add that I stated the extreme extents of temperature here. The averages are more like this:

 

[JHZR2]

Rotella syn 5w-40 is my favorite for my M42. While it gets cold, I don't see a massive benefit toM1 0w-40, and have generally had better experiences in my BMWs with oils that start and stay a little heavier. If the m-sport 540 really is summer only, id almost recommend M1 15w-50, based upon my highway M42 summer consumption tests.

For transmissions, I've found that the amsoil 5w-30 MTF has been better than redline for longevity.

I'd run svg 75w-90 in all of their diffs unless you have an LSD, in which case id go heavier per the TSB.

If you're really set on a 0w- oil for the winters, I'd probably just run it for the winter and then top-off/change with 15w-50 or m1 HM 10w-30 or 10w-40. Since my average cold soak temp doesn't go below 10F, I've decided to go M1 10w-40 year round right now, because my engine needs a bit of seal swell I think (minor consumption), and I think likes the 15w-50 in the summer for what is essentially 3500+RPM highway cruising at this point.

But I did have years of great service from RTS 5w-40 when my 318i was my round-town DD. will report if I go back to that year round. Don't think you can go wrong with either really.

 

[BullyT]

I live north of Toronto so our weather characteristics are similar. In my '99 BMW 740iL I've used German Castrol 0w30 most of the time, along with Mobil 1 0w40. Car now has 320,000 km on it and the engine runs strong as ever and burns no oil...none. OCI varies 10,000 - 15,000 km. GC is widely available locally and it is my number one choice. Second would be the Mobil 1. The M62 is extremely smooth and quiet, but its always seemed just a little quieter with GC in it.

 

[oliveoil]

GC 0-30 it is here in Colorado with cold winter temps and then hot summers for my E36 1998 M3. I use the OLM too, and usually get 9.5-10K miles per OCI. M1 0-40 would also work very well.

 

[Oregoonian]

Originally Posted By: Flying_A
M1 0W-40 year round for all vehicles is my initial thought... It is a thick 40wt but has excellent cold start up characteristics, a ton of engine approvals and is regarded as one of Mobil's 'best' synthetics. It will perform admirably in all your applications.


+1.....agree....M1 0w40 year-round....the 'gold standard' in 40 weight oils....and highly touted on the BITOG forum.

You can't go wrong with M1 0w40.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Oregoonian
Originally Posted By: Flying_A
M1 0W-40 year round for all vehicles is my initial thought... It is a thick 40wt but has excellent cold start up characteristics, a ton of engine approvals and is regarded as one of Mobil's 'best' synthetics. It will perform admirably in all your applications.


+1.....agree....M1 0w40 year-round....the 'gold standard' in 40 weight oils....and highly touted on the BITOG forum.

You can't go wrong with M1 0w40.


Generally agree except IMO in older BMW engines. I think they just like a bit heavier oil overall.

 

[calvin1]

another bump for M1 0w40 year-round and don't bother trying to make sense of the rec's in the owner's manual

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: calvin1
another bump for M1 0w40 year-round and don't bother trying to make sense of the rec's in the owner's manual


Disagree. While oils have gotten less volatile, more robust, cleaner , more oxidation-resistant, etc., you cannot change fundamental rheological measurement results, and thus a 5w from 20 years ago is a 5w today, when measured for flow at the limits.

So while the upper number may be somewhat irrelevant, the lower still stands, IMO.

The upper will be dictated by consumption.

 

[Capa]

+5 Mobil 0W-40.

 

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Disagree. While oils have gotten less volatile, more robust, cleaner , more oxidation-resistant, etc., you cannot change fundamental rheological measurement results, and thus a 5w from 20 years ago is a 5w today, when measured for flow at the limits.

So while the upper number may be somewhat irrelevant, the lower still stands, IMO.

The upper will be dictated by consumption.
If I understand the OP correctly it's the diagram that shows a thermometer with every oil weight known to man plotted next to it. Both my VW and BMW manuals had pretty much the exact same chart. It's mostly useless.

 

[JHZR2]

Yeah, this one:

So please explain how the definition and flow characteristics that dictate a 0w-, 5w-, 10w-, 15w-, etc have changed since 1991, which is the date in my owner's manual?

Ill give a hint: they havent.

Oils have gotten a LOT better in a lot of things, but the fundamental characteristics of low temp flow and their effect upon viscosity definition have not. Nor has the engine's specific heat loss characteristics, which, guess what??? Vary according to ambient temp!

So the table very clearly and accurately gives low-temp applicability ranges for various viscosity oils which still hold true. More robust oils do let us use lighter viscosities (30, 40) at higher temperatures, if robustness allows (e.g. ACEA a3 is met).

One can make the case for 0w- lubricants all day long, and 90% of the time I'd agree, but in older BMW engines ozone place where I wouldn't based upon experience.

 

[A_Harman]

Combining bars from the BMW chart, it looks like your best chance for a year-round oil is a 10W-50. At the low end, BMW has 10W's good down to -22F. At the high end a 50-weight is good to at least 104F. Maybe a 50/50 blend of M1 5w50 & 15w50?

But running a 50-weight oil during the winter in St Paul, Minnesota just seems wrong. M1 0w40 or Pennzoil Euro 5w40 would be better in the cold.

 

[JHZR2]

Yep, 5w-40 year round is my best bet. Top off with 15w-50 if there is consumption in the summer, 0w-40 if there is consumption in the winter, or that sort of thing...

 

[mva]

Originally Posted By: Danus_ex


MAIN OPTIONS

Here are the five most cost-effective options I've identified, in order from least to most expensive:

1. 20 L (4x5 L) of Lubro Moly Synthoil Premium 5W-40 (LL-98) from AutohausAZ—$134.88 shipped
2. 20 L (4x5 L) of Total Quartz 9000 Energy 5W-40 (LL-01) from AutohausAZ—$142.52 shipped
3. 22 quarts (22 x 1 quart) of Mobil 1 0W-40 (LL-01) from Wal-Mart—$151.95 ($6.47 each plus sales tax)
4. 22 quarts (22 x 1 quart) of BMW-branded 5W-30 (LL-01) from ECS Tuning—$153.76 shipped
5. 20L (4x5 L) of Motul 8100 X-Cess 5W-40 (LL-01) from Amazon—$156.16 shipped (but ships in 1-3 months

)

What do you think? Right now, I doubt I can go wrong with any choice, so I don't see a good reason not to let total cost (Lubro Moly 5W-40) carry the day. I'd like to use one oil year-round, but I could be persuaded to return to a two-oil paradigm.


The Lubro Moly will be fine for your application year around.

One other possibility that I have seen, in jugs, in my area, is Castrol Syntec 5W40. It is also LL98 approved.

 

[calvin1]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Yeah, this one:
That's the one. The one that gives you the choice of FIVE or SIX different weights for the part of the range that's relevant to the US. It's no wonder people aren't sure what to use.

 

[aquariuscsm]

According to your owner`s manual and that you live in Georgia,use a 50 weight. PP/QS 5W50,Syntec 5W50,M1 15W50,etc.

 

[oliveoil]

If you are changing oil every 5K or so then any top brand dino 10-40 will work well and you'll save money, Which is why we drive old cars. If you use the OLM then M1 0-40 or GC is the way to go.