What oil?

[Ki3r]

Afternoon all,

Hopefully a quick question, just wondering if anyone can tell me which oil my car would be best.

I've got a 1997 528i auto. I think it needs 10w-40 part synthetic, but want to double check.

Thanks.

[Frances The Mute]

The M52 engine is normally happy with 5W40 fully synth.

Can't remember off the top of my head if there is anything specific for the 5er. Pretty sure there isn't, though.

[E38Ross]

5W30 fully synthetic is what you want

http://direct.asda.com/Castrol-Magnatec-5W-30-A1--...

i use that on my 728i, recommended by BMW, opie oils and my local independant

[Ki3r]

Cheers . Will keep that in mind, thought I was going to need a top up, but all in order it seems!

[muthaducka]

Hymen said:

I was running my 525i on 5w30 for a while, but due to a rather large thirst for it I switched, due to interweb recommendations, to Mobil 0w40. Much better now!!

Interesting that. My 325i has a thirst for oil. I've been ploughing castol edge fully synth into it and bought 4 litres yesterday - it isn't cheap. Has switching to 0w40 really improved the oil consumption that much? I like to stick to manufacturers guidelines but understand 0w40 may still fall within their recommended limits...

[E38Ross]

Hymen said:

muthaducka said:

Hymen said:

I was running my 525i on 5w30 for a while, but due to a rather large thirst for it I switched, due to interweb recommendations, to Mobil 0w40. Much better now!!

Interesting that. My 325i has a thirst for oil. I've been ploughing castol edge fully synth into it and bought 4 litres yesterday - it isn't cheap. Has switching to 0w40 really improved the oil consumption that much? I like to stick to manufacturers guidelines but understand 0w40 may still fall within their recommended limits...

Switching has halved my oil consumption! I think to be fair a 30 weight oil is all well and good for a low mileage tight engine, but with a few miles on the clock (in my case 104k) it's very thin when hot!

Mine has 117k on the clock and hasn't used a drop in the last 3k miles, and I use 5w-30...

[muthaducka]

Once mine starting drinking a bit of oil, I checked the forums and it doesn't seem to be a problem for older BM's.
Still doesn't sound right to me because the oil has go somewhere unless it just gets burnt? I might try something thicker next time. Mine uses about 1 litre every 1500 miles.

[E30M3SE]

Have you guys with consumption issues checked/changed your crankcase ventilation valves, a failing valve can lead to increased oil usage.

[528Sport]

I use 5/30 semi in my 2000 built 528 sport. Done 151K miles (last 40k on the semi stuff)
can go between services and does not use ay at all.

One moring about a year ago I stareted it up, massive cloud of blue smoke.. checked oil very low. changed crank case vent valve and cleaned out the drain back into the sump. Smoke gone and no oil usage at all.

I have heard that the M54 engine do have a thirst for the golden stuff so comparing oil usage on m52 and m54 engines is a bit of a waste of time in my opinion.

[muthaducka]

Hymen said:

Yeah, I've changed the valve and associated hoses, and yeah, mines a M54....

I wasn't aware of the valve issue until E30 mentioned it but after reading on the web, it seems to be a fiddly / costly fix and isn't guaranteed to fix the problem.
I like the idea that it keeps the oil clean and fresh but I might be tempted to try the Mobil 1 fully synthetic next time.