engine oil

jmjx5 · #1 09-27-2006, 04:47 PM

Hey, first time to change oil my 2002 3.0 x5, what brand do you think is better excluding bmw oil. Castrol or mobil 1. Thanks

Wagner · #2 09-27-2006, 04:53 PM

Mobile 1, IMO. That comes stock in Porsche.

motordavid · #3 09-27-2006, 06:36 PM

Hi jmj...if you want to read threads until your eyes
glaze over, and see about 4 main groups of opins,
do a search on "oil" or "what oil brand", here...

Any top brand full synthetic will do jes'fine, imo.

Welcome to the Board.
GL,mD

vinuneuro · #4 09-27-2006, 08:05 PM

The Castrol that we get in the US (including what is used at BMW dealers) is junk. The only good Castrol comes in 0w30 and 5w40, and even then make sure to look at the back and see if it says 'made in germany' (not all of it is).

Just go for the Mobil1. If you wish to go past 7,500 miles for the OCI, they have a M1 Extended Life oil that's supposed to be ok till 15k miles. In the case that you use a 15k OCI, make sure to still change the filter at 7,500.

AzNMpower32 · #5 09-27-2006, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

The Castrol that we get in the US (including what is used at BMW dealers) is junk. The only good Castrol comes in 0w30 and 5w40, and even then make sure to look at the back and see if it says 'made in germany' (not all of it is).

I thought the BMW Synthetic oil was just Castrol (german kind) relabelled for the US. I know the US Castrol does not equal the german Castrol. However, I use it currently in the X3 and have no driveability issues. I don't have an autozone nearby that sells the 0W-30 so I'm stuck with the 5W-30 for now. Inspection I coming up in a week!

vinuneuro · #6 09-28-2006, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

I thought the BMW Synthetic oil was just Castrol (german kind) relabelled for the US. I know the US Castrol does not equal the german Castrol. However, I use it currently in the X3 and have no driveability issues. I don't have an autozone nearby that sells the 0W-30 so I'm stuck with the 5W-30 for now. Inspection I coming up in a week!

The dealers use the american stuff. You won't have driveability issues if you use non-synthetic oil either...if you really do care just use M1 or Amsoil in between your free oil changes.

AzNMpower32 · #7 09-28-2006, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinuneuro

The dealers use the american stuff. You won't have driveability issues if you use non-synthetic oil either...if you really do care just use M1 or Amsoil in between your free oil changes.

Wait, so the dealers are putting in engine oil that's not good for my engine? Um, that's a bit far-fetched........

I know of a place that sells Castrol RS, but that's only in the 10W-60 formula for the M cars and that thick viscosity will screw up the VANOS unit on my Bimmer. Plus it's not gonna start this winter.

Honestly I don't know about you guys, but the places where I can get good synthetic oil are limited in my area. It's the dealer, the indy shop (which also sells the BMW oil or the Castrol RS), the Advance Auto Parts shop, or Pep Boys. I know Autozone carries the Castrol 0W-30 (whether that's US or Euro-spec I dunno), but I'm not driving deep into DC and getting lost just trying to find a store.

E61Silver · #8 09-29-2006, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

Wait, so the dealers are putting in engine oil that's not good for my engine? Um, that's a bit far-fetched........

I know of a place that sells Castrol RS, but that's only in the 10W-60 formula for the M cars and that thick viscosity will screw up the VANOS unit on my Bimmer. Plus it's not gonna start this winter.

Honestly I don't know about you guys, but the places where I can get good synthetic oil are limited in my area. It's the dealer, the indy shop (which also sells the BMW oil or the Castrol RS), the Advance Auto Parts shop, or Pep Boys. I know Autozone carries the Castrol 0W-30 (whether that's US or Euro-spec I dunno), but I'm not driving deep into DC and getting lost just trying to find a store.

Yes how can the dealer be using non spec oil?

The Cleaner · #9 09-29-2006, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

Wait, so the dealers are putting in engine oil that's not good for my engine? Um, that's a bit far-fetched........

I know of a place that sells Castrol RS, but that's only in the 10W-60 formula for the M cars and that thick viscosity will screw up the VANOS unit on my Bimmer. Plus it's not gonna start this winter.

Honestly I don't know about you guys, but the places where I can get good synthetic oil are limited in my area. It's the dealer, the indy shop (which also sells the BMW oil or the Castrol RS), the Advance Auto Parts shop, or Pep Boys. I know Autozone carries the Castrol 0W-30 (whether that's US or Euro-spec I dunno), but I'm not driving deep into DC and getting lost just trying to find a store.

No, the oil is fine, but look at the bottle, it's only 98 spec, not the 01 spec needed to go 15k.

The Cleaner · #10 09-28-2006, 12:28 PM

The short answer is look for synthetic that is BMW "01" spec. That is 15000k miles proven oil. The BMW "98" spec is only 7500k mile proven and is the spec of the the BMW USA Genuine oil. The only oil that I know of that meets European BMW longlife "01" spec is the VOLL-SYNTHETISCH Pentosin. It's about 10 bucks a liter and is by far the most prefered oil in my opinion.

http://217.237.184.77/shop.php