I'll probably get told off for this...

Im on 230k miles, do 1000 miles a month, lose about 1.5 litres of oil a month, do oil change every 2 to 3 years or something (whenever i feel "its been a while"). Oil i use the cheapest synthetic 5 30 or 10 40 i can find - even if it says its for another car brand I will use it because its cheaper. Ive mixed the 2 as well at times. Ive been doing this for 9 years and 120k miles of driving.

My oil service interval indicator is showing 45000 mile intervals now for next service (yep 45000). Have watched it go up over the last few years.

Engine is running sweet as a nut and its very clean whenever I take off the valve cover. Long term fuel trims between 0 and -2 always.

People speak of liquid moly here or rotella i think to help with consumption.

Good luck!

 

Im on 230k miles, do 1000 miles a month, lose about 1.5 litres of oil a month,

you meant 1.5 L of oil per 1000 miles oil consumption?

 

Um...yeah...the above recommendation is even worse than what mine is going to be!

I had one of the longest running cars here at 386,321 miles before I lost it. I got it at 140k miles--always used an LL-01 and started slowly raising my oci. Its last 8 years with me it went at least 12, usually 15K miles...just like the engineers at bmw say.

Buy good oil and leave it in so it builds up a film, as in 'seasoning' a cast iron frying pan. There's some evidence that if you change oil too often, its additives with 'cleaners' remove this film...but you want this film as another layer of protection between fast moving metal parts rubbing against one another.

Not sure how cold you get, but any weight could be fine for you, as long as it's LL-01 (or meets the acea needed standards.)

 

Buy good oil and leave it in so it builds up a film, as in 'seasoning' a cast iron frying pan. There's some evidence that if you change oil too often, its additives with 'cleaners' remove this film...but you want this film as another layer of protection between fast moving metal parts rubbing against one another.

''Buy good oil and leave it in'' - for how long?
Sorry, but that is a myth. Only layer oil could leave in engine is a polymer layer coloring engine in that golden yellow or reddish tint and it has nothing to do with protection. There is nothing in there what fresh oil would wash off the engine surface leaving it unprotected.

 

I am a big fan of Rotella T6. It (and the o2 pilot mod) effectively halted my oil loss between changes.

 

Freezing, hah.
Come to the beach here in winter with a Nor'easter, that will show you freezing.

You'll get a lot of replies. Personally I would highly recommend Liqui Moly Leichtlauf 5-40. Fully synthetic and has detergent to combat dirty stuck piston rings.

Since the car is new to you, get the inside of the engine clean. Many bullshit issues start with dirty rings as a result of neglected oil changes.

I've fixed a few cars with this oil. So have a couple of folks here. L-M formulated it with low drag piston rings in mind.

Good luck with the car.

 

Do you still recommend BG EPR?

 

When warranted, yes.

 

Over the last 8 years I've had the BMW I've ran with several brands of oil...car was tolerant of Mobil1 0w40. Car preformed well with Castrol LL-01 0w40. as of 2 mos ago I've now moved to LL-01 5w40 Castrol, started out a bit harsh but the more I drive (just went on a 1000mile trip) it's been settling out smooth and just fine. I've wanted to try the Rotella but I keep finding good deals in the Castrol.
The M54 engine always started fine when it gets occasionally uncommonly cold here say about 40°. However, burnt in my memory is the excellent performance I got when using Pentosen 5w40 several summer's ago right from the start the m54 loved it.
Anyways my goal is one oil change a year...this year I made it to October.
Now of course we're talking the mighty m54 2.5 and 3.0 engine you take care of it and it'll take care of you. Engine has roughly 250k on the clock.

Sent from my SM-J727T using Tapatalk

 

Bought the car at 96k five years ago, now at 210k. I use Motul 8100 ExCess 5W40 at the factory 15500 mile OCI and have done use oil analysis with Blackstone.

I have plans to replace this engine at some point in the near future with an M54B30, but were it not for that I'd be comfortable thinking that this engine will go well over 300k.

 

Great to know that you've had Blackstone do an analysis and there are no issues at the factory recommended interval. I've read the same over the years and seen similar data. The analysis always seems to come back looking great even with 15K+ miles. Not sure if that is a testament to the quality of oils being produced, the design of the engine, or both. Makes me wonder if there is any need to reduce my change interval since I've been doing fine so far at ~12k or so like I posted.

 

I just passed 330,000 on my 2004 325i and I'm due for another change in a few thousand miles.

I was running Mobil 1 0W-40 until it lost LL-01 certification, then switched to Castrol Edge 0W-40 Euro formulation LL-01. Lately I've been using Pentosin High Performance 5W-30 which is also LL-01. It's available on FCP Euro and is covered by their lifetime replacement warranty. It's about $90 for two five liter jugs and a filter, but you return your used oil and filter each time and they refund you the replacement cost. After the refund the only thing you end up paying is return shipping which is around $30 each time.

My lifetime average interval is around 12k, but I've been looking to reduce that to around 7-8k since each change is cheap and I was having to top off a quart or two between changes due to oil consumption. The Pentosin on average seems to burn less than the M1 or Castrol did.

 

Pentosin oils are produced by Fuchs. I've been using Fuchs (5-40 is our preference) for decades. A VG oil.
Fuchs is impossible to find. Pentosin not so hard.

Given he just got the car and the real truth about oil servicing may not be known. Hence the suggestion for the Liqui Moly Leichtlauf 5-40.

 

Good to know, I'm considering running a few oil changes of Liqui Moly based on your recommendation. Looks like it's also available on FCP Euro as well. Their warranty is just so enticing.

5W40 Leichtlauf High Tech Engine Oil (5 Liter) - Liqui Moly LM2332

5W40 Leichtlauf High Tech Engine Oil (5 Liter) - Liqui Moly LM2332

www.fcpeuro.com

 

I use the new Liqui Moly 5W40 and replace oil every 5 or 6k miles. There's a kit here for E46 that has everything for an oil change.

BMW 5W40 Oil Change Kit - Liqui Moly Molygen 11427512300KT6

BMW 5W40 Oil Change Kit - Liqui Moly Molygen 11427512300KT6

www.fcpeuro.com

It has lifetime warranty so you'll only be buying it once. When I switched to the above Liqui Moly, oil consumption shot up tremendously. I've done 4k miles since the switch and already burned 3 Liters. Previously, I was using 5W40 Pennzoil with BG MOA 110 additive and that only burned 1 Liter after 3k miles.

 

This is a VG oil, albeit is is NOT LL-01 approved, rather falls under the "recommendation" category.
Interesting find and I remember your experience!

 

I switched to Liqui Moly Leichtlauf 5W 40 in both my M54 engines in my E53 and E46 recently. No complaints.

 

I do Mobil 1 040 at 180k. Rip to redline every day. 2005, zhp.


Sent from my iPhone using E46Fanatics

 

Folks, we have a list of LL-01 oils here: Official MOTOR OIL LIST

 

I bought my car with 122k, and she used who knows what oil, but the valve cover was caked and you could tell there were EXTENDED intravals used. I did a quick changeover to Rotella T6 and Liquimoly engine flush first. It has been ran to a touch over 128K and did Vanos yesterday. I have after pics, but I wish I had done before pics. The engine builder who helped with first gasket when I bought it could NOT believe how clean and spot on everything looked yesterday.

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention I loose exactly zero oil between changes, and I know she mentioned that was not the case when she owned it. I chalked it up to a bad VCG at the time, but it was barely leaking at that point

 

Oh, and I forgot to mention I loose exactly zero oil between changes, and I know she mentioned that was not the case when she owned it. I chalked it up to a bad VCG at the time, but it was barely leaking at that point

The bulk of my consumption has been from the leaking oil pan gasket that I just fixed last month. Looking forward to seeing how little I actually burn.

And no stain on the garage floor!

 

On my very first E46 I used LiquiMoly oil saver and it virtually stopped any loss as long as I used in every oil change. I did not know about the CCV issues at the time though. So, obviously start there

 

I don't have any oil loss. Previous owner took good care of the car. No leaks, no burn.

 

My experienced opinion, but take it as that. A bit of background. I am 52 and own a small performance motorcycle shop. I have raced both cars and motorcycles for my whole life. From Yamahas, KTMs, to Porsches, BMWs and soon to be getting into performance off road side by sides. I build engines, and tear them down when they fail. I am anal about my work. I live in Boise, Idaho where we see temps from 110 in the summer to below zero in the winter (As I type this it is snowing). And then the kicker, I keep my vehicles and bikes a LONG LONG time. My E46 has 238,000 miles on it. I also have a Mercedes ML430 overland adventure build 4x4 with 190k, a Triumph Tiger adventure touring bike with 80k on it, and even my KTM Dirt bike has over 30k on it. I am picky about my vehicles.

My opinion about LL-01 specifications, and all manufacturer specifications: Just because a brand of oil does not carry a certain specification from whatever manufacturer, does NOT mean that it does not meet, or greatly exceed that specification. It just means that they chose not to pay that manufacture (BMW, Porsche, whoever) to have their oil certified. Yes, it comes down to money.

There is so much marketing hype around oils it is hard to get to real facts and to really know what is what. Period.

By far, the most important factors when choosing an oil is the oil weight and if it matches up to what oil weight that engine was designed to use. The second would be the quality of oil filter. And the final would be choosing a reasonable oil change interval OCI. (For this posting I am assuming we all are talking about fully synthetic fluids, so that is all I am going to talk about here)

Personally, I have some other standards I use to make an oil selection. Availability. I do not like mixing oil brands. Granted, there is nothing really wrong with doing so, I just do not like to. So any oil I choose must be available just about anywhere I go without much hassle. Price. As much oil as I use I refuse to pay $10, $12 or more per quart. Not when very good quality oils can be had for much less.

So, what do I use? I use one oil type for every vehicle I own, including my lawnmower. I also use this oil exclusively at my shop in every rig that goes through my doors unless the owner is adamant about something else and can not be swayed. And that oil is the Rotella T6 family of oils (in various weight ratings). Yes, I use HD "Diesel" oils in every rig I own as well as every motorcycle, side by side, ATV and dirt bike that I work on. I have NEVER seen an oil related failure in any vehicle using this oil. Ever. I have never seen engines carboned up either (with reasonable OCIs). I can buy this oil anywhere, it is top quality, and the price is more than fair. It checks all the boxes for me. I have raced Porsches with this oil. I have raced 1000cc superbikes with it as well as very high strung 4stroke dirt bikes. It keeps my antique motorhome plugging down the highway and my Mercedes and BMW operating perfectly. It even perfectly protected a FZR400 race bike being held at near 18,000 rpm during an endurance race with no issues. All for $22/gallon at Wallyworld.

When you break it down, are there better oils? Sure. But the difference is so marginal that you will never see the benefit other than a lighter wallet. If it makes you feel great that you are using a boutique oil, formulated in Germany only from the finest chemicals and filtered through organic silk filters, great, its your car and your budget. But I will make another bold statement; I would bet hard money that you could buy Supertech or Amazon Basics synthetic oil, decent filters, and normal OCIs and never have an oil related failure for the normal life of the engine. Sure, one oil brand may burn off more than another, but it is still protecting. I wont do it, but I bet you could. I had a customer years ago that rode his old, 80's vintage Honda Goldwing everywhere. This thing had over 150,000 miles on it and visibly looked beat to death. He changed his own oil with very cheap NAPA brand 10w/40 oil every 3k miles since new. There was not a darn thing wrong with that motor. It started, ran perfectly, and was silky smooth. I had the valve covers off to do a valve adjustment and it was spotless inside. I saw no abnormal wear anywhere. He asked if he should change to my oil (T6) and I told him no. His motor was perfect. Told him to just keep doing what he had been doing and smile all the way to the bank.

My best advise is to have your standards for how you choose an oil, pick an oil and stick with it. For me it has to be reasonably priced, protect well, and be available anywhere when I travel. T6 ticks those boxes for me.

 

My experienced opinion, but take it as that. A bit of background. I am 52 and own a small performance motorcycle shop. I have raced both cars and motorcycles for my whole life. From Yamahas, KTMs, to Porsches, BMWs and soon to be getting into performance off road side by sides. I build engines, and tear them down when they fail. I am anal about my work. I live in Boise, Idaho where we see temps from 110 in the summer to below zero in the winter (As I type this it is snowing). And then the kicker, I keep my vehicles and bikes a LONG LONG time. My E46 has 238,000 miles on it. I also have a Mercedes ML430 overland adventure build 4x4 with 190k, a Triumph Tiger adventure touring bike with 80k on it, and even my KTM Dirt bike has over 30k on it. I am picky about my vehicles.

My opinion about LL-01 specifications, and all manufacturer specifications: Just because a brand of oil does not carry a certain specification from whatever manufacturer, does NOT mean that it does not meet, or greatly exceed that specification. It just means that they chose not to pay that manufacture (BMW, Porsche, whoever) to have their oil certified. Yes, it comes down to money.

There is so much marketing hype around oils it is hard to get to real facts and to really know what is what. Period.

By far, the most important factors when choosing an oil is the oil weight and if it matches up to what oil weight that engine was designed to use. The second would be the quality of oil filter. And the final would be choosing a reasonable oil change interval OCI. (For this posting I am assuming we all are talking about fully synthetic fluids, so that is all I am going to talk about here)

Personally, I have some other standards I use to make an oil selection. Availability. I do not like mixing oil brands. Granted, there is nothing really wrong with doing so, I just do not like to. So any oil I choose must be available just about anywhere I go without much hassle. Price. As much oil as I use I refuse to pay $10, $12 or more per quart. Not when very good quality oils can be had for much less.

So, what do I use? I use one oil type for every vehicle I own, including my lawnmower. I also use this oil exclusively at my shop in every rig that goes through my doors unless the owner is adamant about something else and can not be swayed. And that oil is the Rotella T6 family of oils (in various weight ratings). Yes, I use HD "Diesel" oils in every rig I own as well as every motorcycle, side by side, ATV and dirt bike that I work on. I have NEVER seen an oil related failure in any vehicle using this oil. Ever. I have never seen engines carboned up either (with reasonable OCIs). I can buy this oil anywhere, it is top quality, and the price is more than fair. It checks all the boxes for me. I have raced Porsches with this oil. I have raced 1000cc superbikes with it as well as very high strung 4stroke dirt bikes. It keeps my antique motorhome plugging down the highway and my Mercedes and BMW operating perfectly. It even perfectly protected a FZR400 race bike being held at near 18,000 rpm during an endurance race with no issues. All for $22/gallon at Wallyworld.

When you break it down, are there better oils? Sure. But the difference is so marginal that you will never see the benefit other than a lighter wallet. If it makes you feel great that you are using a boutique oil, formulated in Germany only from the finest chemicals and filtered through organic silk filters, great, its your car and your budget. But I will make another bold statement; I would bet hard money that you could buy Supertech or Amazon Basics synthetic oil, decent filters, and normal OCIs and never have an oil related failure for the normal life of the engine. Sure, one oil brand may burn off more than another, but it is still protecting. I wont do it, but I bet you could. I had a customer years ago that rode his old, 80's vintage Honda Goldwing everywhere. This thing had over 150,000 miles on it and visibly looked beat to death. He changed his own oil with very cheap NAPA brand 10w/40 oil every 3k miles since new. There was not a darn thing wrong with that motor. It started, ran perfectly, and was silky smooth. I had the valve covers off to do a valve adjustment and it was spotless inside. I saw no abnormal wear anywhere. He asked if he should change to my oil (T6) and I told him no. His motor was perfect. Told him to just keep doing what he had been doing and smile all the way to the bank.

My best advise is to have your standards for how you choose an oil, pick an oil and stick with it. For me it has to be reasonably priced, protect well, and be available anywhere when I travel. T6 ticks those boxes for me.

Gold Right here!
Thanks Apseagle

I should have known to ask about oil. It's like asking about what firearm to buy, or what ammo to shoot. So I guess my only question now is what oil weight should I be using at 204k? Back in them old days, we used to increase the weight with the miles, is that still the issue?

 

And that oil is the Rotella T6 family of oils (in various weight ratings). Yes, I use HD "Diesel" oils in every rig I own as well as every motorcycle, side by side, ATV and dirt bike that I work on. I have NEVER seen an oil related failure in any vehicle using this oil.

THIS ^ I am 49, and been digging in engines since I could remember, and this oil always has been the best additive package etc for miley cars, and trucks. My 2 best friends own a performance shop and they always use it in SAABs and anything that can handle the heavier weight oils.

 

See his starter post. He just acquired the car.

 

I'm another Shell Rotella T6 user. I use the 5w40 oil in my 2001 325ci and change the oil every 5K miles. The car currently has ~233K miles and I got it when it had ~116K. When the valve cover was last off everything looked real good.

 

.

 

Just hit 204,000 Looking for recommendations on oil

Whichever oil(s) got it to 204k miles will be fine (if you have previous service records you may be able to determine what was used). Any LL01 5w30 or 5w40, 7500m intervals, and quality filters (Mahle, Mann, Hengst) and your set.

 

Any oil has washing package. Some have more powerful (like diesel oils), some have less. Disregard all those smart words about triple quadruple protection, it is hard to prove so consider it marketing trick.
You can use cheap oil and change it with shorter intervals, it will be healthier than having the most modern oil and run it for many thousand miles.
LM you posted is good. LL-01. if you really care. Still, change it often.

 

Truth is whatever you've been doing has obviously been fine...ditto my approach. That said, I have no idea how my approach will work with my new motor. I'm going to keep to the 10K mile oci, but I really do hate myself for having used a 0/20 oil--the LL-14 spec'd for my car. I know it's a fuel saving measure, but hope it isn't also a motor destroying measure--I'm sure I'll shift to a thicker 0/x oil my next change in an LL-01 (also spec'd as an alternative to LL-14).

 

While the company supports the warranty of oil, filters, and other consumables, I choose not to. I buy all my hard parts from FCP and have needed to warranty one part in the past (MAF) which they did with no fuss. But, I just have a personal problem with warranting things like oil and filters. First, I buy my oil at WM (T6), but I do buy my filters in bundles from FCP. I will not send back the used ones. If I cannot afford a filter for my car every 7,500 miles I have no business owning a BMW. I figure I am doing my part to keep their prices as low as possible. That said, since they advertise the warranty, I do not have any negative opinions of those who use it for consumables. I just choose to not do it my self.