What oil?

[IamFODI]

Good Info

Most of it is, with some exceptions (sorry, Tbone).

Viscosity is the most important single aspect of a lubricant, so viscosity grade is very important. However, Tbone is right that you do NOT want to choose engine oil based on that alone because there are other differences that can matter.

The "TWS shears down to an xW-40" thing is many years old, based on rare occurrences, and even those cases it was often suspect (fuel dilution wasn't always ruled out). The factory oil's formulation has been updated several times since then and hasn't been shown to shear lower than xW-50 in years.

He's right that some of Red Line 5W-50's viscometrics are comparable to those of an old version of Castrol TWS. We don't know how that compares to modern formulations because not all the info is published.

He's right that one can't conclude cold start performance based on viscosity grade alone. It depends how cold you're talking about and some other obscure viscometrics.

Red Line's products aren't lightly additized. Their race oils are light on detergent additives, but we're not talking about those here (hopefully). However, it's a VERY safe bet that Castrol/BMW's additive package is better suited for street use, as Tbone says.

He's right that Castrol/BMW oil will be friendlier to cats than Red Line's (or basically anything from Penrite, from what I'm seeing), while retaining more than enough anti-wear properties that you don't have to worry about it.




The people who built this engine – the only ones who have a complete picture of what it needs – strongly advise sticking to the factory oil. This isn't like other engines, where they write a spec and say everything that meets the spec is fine; they're saying "you really should use this exact particular oil." And as BMW has gone back and back-specced more modern and thinner oils for so many of its older vehicles to simplify its supply chains, they haven't touched this one – except for that one time they released a confusingly worded bulletin and then immediately retracted it.

If you're going to insist on rolling the dice and deviating from that, at least stick to what your favorite lube manufacturer recommends. AFAICT, the only engine oil Penrite recommends for this engine is their 10 Tenths Premium 10W-60, and they actually go out of their way to say it's the only one you should choose.

[BL92]

*PSA*

Talking about oil weights by using terms like 5w50 or 10w60 is almost useless. Just like tires - A 265 Michelin PS4S can be wider than some ling ling 275 tire.

Castrol TWS is called a 10w60, but it acts like a heavy duty 40 weight from my research. Then there's something like Liqui-moly 10w60 with a CST of 26+ at 100degress, which is about the highest I've ever seen, much higher than castrol or other 10w60s.

The "redline 5w50 instead of castrol 10w60" argument for S54/s65/s85 has gotten popular, but is redline lighter than castrol?

Well, 1st formula of redline had HTHSV rating of 5.9, newer formula is 5.0. Castrol is 5.3! Barely any difference. "ReDlInE is bEtTer in the CoLd!" Well, RL 5w50 has a cold pour of -45 and Castrol's is -39 so no.

Viscosity, Kinematic 100°C of Redline is 21, Castrol is 22.7, almost no difference.

You cannot conclude that redline is better for cold starts than Castrol just because Redline says 5w50 on the bottle and Castrol says 10w60.

Haven't even discussed additives. Perhaps Redline is low on additives because their product is meant for race cars. So even if redline and castrol were neck and neck in terms of viscosity and resulting oil pressure etc, Castrol could still be a better choice for most (Street cars) due to better/more additives.

Or maybe you have cats and don't want a race oil high in ZDDP? Castrol has other anti-wear properties that don't damage cats.

Good Info, Can you please look into these oils for me ? Tbonem3

[BL92]

Thanks for answering again

Sorry man, I only picked up the car at 110k miles
When i pulled the thermostat, It was dated 2001, and the car ran at the 1st dot ( cold ), so i am not sure if was over heating prior

Here in Australia, all local Indy shops, Sticker the windscreen with a, ( Oil change due in 6 months or 3100 miles, Which ever comes first ). , As I do all the work myself, i seem to like those intervals with the money i save, Only the main dealers here are the 1s that insist on the extended intervals

What are your local indy guys like over there with interval changes in NA?

[IamFODI]

I'm no expert, but isn't 13,840 KM (8,600 miles, and more on some of them) quite an excessive oil change interval?

Depends on the usage. If the engine is in perfect running order, with high quality fuel, doing few cold starts and a lot of easy highway miles, I can't see a reason you couldn't go that long. But there's really no way to tell without oil analysis (and even then it's sketchy).

Personally, I'd never run it that long regardless of usage.

[WoGGo]

The service history shows oil changes ( converted them to miles )

38,000
46,600

I'm no expert, but isn't 13,840 KM (8,600 miles, and more on some of them) quite an excessive oil change interval?

[bigjae46]

Was the head gasket failure accompanied by overheating? That could explain some of the brown staining (in addition to some of the 10k+ oil changes).

M3s are usually low mileage cars. If you consider time as well, 14 oil changes over 20 years? Need to change it at least every year. Shiet, my 2011 E90 M3 is almost 14 years old. About to get its 46th oil change.

[IamFODI]

Thanks heaps sideways

The service history shows oil changes ( converted them to miles )

1360
9,280
19,150
30,000
38,000
46,600
57,100
62,100
74,500
81,000
93,200
100,600
104,000
108,100
110,000 = Head gasket

Was the head gasket failure accompanied by overheating? That could explain some of the brown staining (in addition to some of the 10k+ oil changes).

[BL92]

Thanks heaps sideways

The service history shows oil changes ( converted them to miles )

1,360
9,280
19,150
30,000
38,000
46,600
57,100
62,100
74,500
81,000
93,200
100,600
104,000
108,100
110,000 = Head gasket

[Slideways]

Cheers man,

Was there any conclusions on the label change for Edge ? i can get this ordered in locally

They have had a few label changes. It is all the same 10W60.

Since you just had the cylinder head off, I'm guessing you had it cleaned by your machine shop. If that is the case, the head will not turn that dark gold color if you do the 7500 mile oil change interval.

[BL92]

Cheers man,

Was there any conclusions on the label change for Edge ? i can get this ordered in locally

[IamFODI]

After having the head off, and witnessing those brown stains, and rock hard seals, i am not convinced in using TT or Edge

If I saw brown stains and rock hard seals, I'd suspect overextended oil change intervals (too long for how the car was used) and/or not driving enough.

[BL92]

Why did you bump this thread? That’s so evil 😈

🤣

I Bumped it sorry man, i wasn't starting a new oil thread,

i can't find much 10W60 off the shelf here in Australia, It's all special orders or roll the dice online,
Penrite is easiest to source cause it's made here

After having the head off, and witnessing those brown stains, and rock hard seals, i am not convinced in using TT or Edge

Here is the 10 Tenths someone mentioned

[bigjae46]

Amsoil now has a 10W60 available.

[ATTACH]n295688[/ATTACH]

Why did you bump this thread? That’s so evil 😈

🤣

[IamFODI]

if you're going to use Penrite why not use 10 tenths R 15W-50 or 10 tenths premium 10W-60?

IMO, it's pretty telling that Penrite won't claim more than LL-98 performance levels from those. At least the HPR 10 is claimed to be at LL-01 level – still not enough for the S54, but better than LL-98.

Those 10 Tenths oils seem to be formulated for motorcycles and some track/race cars, not street cars. I don't see the point. Even if they reduce wear vs. other oils, the reduction will be so slight you'll never notice. That may or may not come with increased friction (and thus heat, which – oops – might increase wear in bearings and rings). The only thing that's certain is that they'll accelerate poisoning of the cats.

[elrichmeister]

Amsoil now has a 10W60 available.

[ATTACH]n295688[/ATTACH]

What is consensus on this oil?
Typically most of the independent shops i went to used Liqui Molly, but my last oil change the indy shop used Amsoil. Still not sure what to expect, but all seems fine so far.
From what I heard, Amsoil is a really trusted brand.

My last 2 oil changes i sent for Blackstone oil analysis so ill see what comes back with Amsoil, when I change the oil again.