E36 M3 Oil Recommendations

[samvia]

Alright chaps, my '97 Evo is about due its first oil change in my hands before a trip to the 'ring in 3 weeks time. What brand/grade would you guys recommend? The car is primarily a daily driver but will obviously see some higher temps around the track. I'm more used to turbo Nissan stuff where I've heard Silkolene Pro S is decent. Tried a bit of a search there but couldn't come up with a whole lot!

Also, while I'm here - for those that run their M3s on track, what sort of oil temp range is "safe"? I've never really seen it budge much past 90 yet, no idea what to expect after a lap or 2 of the 'ring. Last time I was there in the S13 ignorance was bliss!

Thanks!

[MarkwG]

Just got same from Opie Oils, one of their recommendations: not poured it in, yet, though!

[Neil.D]

Speak to BMW or any specialist and they will say that Castrol Edge isthe Amber nectar and nothing else will do. Indeed edge 10W 60 is great oil and is of a very high quality and will last a long time in an engine but I don't beleive this BMW/Castrol relationship. It's clearly a money making partnership. With the E36 the standard service intervals worked out at 8k miles and I would change the oil mid way.
I found Millers 10 60 very reasonably priced and would do the Interim change with this oil and never had any issues.
The oil debate will rage for eternity and a day but it is mostly subjective

[htid]

I would go for the Silkolene Pro S as per opie oils reccomendation. It's what I use in mine anyway 98 m3 evo.

[318is boy]

i use silkone pro 5w 40, have been using it for the last 5 thousand miles and been very impressed. have just ordered another 6 litres from opie olis - very competitvley priced if you have are a memeber from one of their associated forums. (if not sign up ;p)

5w 40 is the correct oil to use in a e36 m3, not 10w 60 (that was for the e46 m3 lump)

some people do however use 10w 60 in their evos but this tends to be those who have track cars as the oils get thinner at high temps afaik.

as for on track temps, the oil cooler will open at approx 100c so that gives additional cooling. i wouldnt expect to see more than 110c even on a warm day.

if it does get a bit warm just do one lap at a time of the ring and let her cool for 10 mins or so

[E36GUY]

htid said:

I would go for the Silkolene Pro S as per opie oils reccomendation. It's what I use in mine anyway 98 m3 evo.

What he said, i use it too. it's good to 130 degrees aparently so you should be fine

[samvia]

Great advice, thanks lads! Silkolene sounds like a plan then, seems to get a decent rep everywhere. Am I right in saying it'll take 6.5 litres?

318is boy - I'm a member of SXOC so hopefully they're associated, I'll need to investigate. Don't worry, I'm not planning any back to back laps - last time out there with the Nissan I got used to huge gaps between laps to let it recover Good advice on the temps, I really should read up more on this but I had no idea the cooler opened at 100! It's been so consistent around the 90-95 mark when driving spiritedly I figured it must be around 90 it opened.

Neil - Yeah by my calculations it's done between 4-5k since the last change with the previous owner so seems about right to me, especially with some track duties coming soon.

[iguana]

Needed to change coolers on both my 3.0 e36 m3s I've tracked, just ran too hot for my liking on track for long engine life, the coolers get blocked up after all these yrs, realitivly cheap from gsf get the 325td one is a row bigger & far cheaper & a direct fit, on both= dropped oil temps on track 30degrees!

Oil wise, lots of folks inc myself are happy with a regular 10/40 semi & change it regually, is what a few of the khumo guys do anyway.

[samvia]

Thanks mate, that's what crossed my mind tonight actually - that I've not been able to put it through the temp ranges you'd see on track yet, so no idea how much effect the cooler will actually have once I'm hitting over 100. I'll just be gentle to start with, I'm well used to nursing a shed around so it should be a delight in the M3!

Went for the Silkolene Pro S from Opie with the discount, thanks again for the advice

[five50]

Coming late to the party here but my m3 evo is with Iridium Engineering in Southampton (very well reviewed over on e36coupe.com) and they strongly recommended the Silkolene Pro S 5W 40 - so that's what I got.

This also seems to be the oil to have for m3's on e36coupe.com.

The info that I received was that the 5W 60 is (E46 oil) is often used by BMW dealers who dont know their ar5e from their elbow (E36 from their 46) but that the 5W 60 is too thick for the 36 for road use.

Hoping to pick the car on Saturday and fingers crossed I will feel the difference!

[chris7676]

Mine seems work well on Mobil-1 0-40, including track work. Also hardly need to top it up. Can't imagine though how someone would "feel" the oil in the car though.