Added 4 qts. of oil! Where's it going? - Page 4

fulltilt · #31 02-17-2010, 10:41 AM

JCL, that is excellent information. Thanks! I like that you (the owner) are the consistent variable in all 5 of your inline 6s. I won't be as concerned when mine comes up short. As it were, I was going to blame BMW first, for letting people get complacent with a 15,000 mile oil change recommendation, and the previous bonehead owner second, who let it go 2000 miles over that TWO TIMES!!!

Ugh, makes me sick.

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Piston · #32 02-17-2010, 11:07 AM

15k is recommended?!?!? FAWK ME... i don't think i ever went over 7 or 8. That's just insanse.

JCL · #33 02-17-2010, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Piston

15k is recommended?!?!? FAWK ME... i don't think i ever went over 7 or 8. That's just insanse.

Your information is outdated. BMW went to 7500 mile maintenance intervals in 1991 (19 years ago) and to 15,000 mile maintenance intervals in 1999 (11 years ago). There are qualifiers relating to oil specifications, and low annual mileage vehicles (an annual service is a good idea, two year intervals would be the maximum). Remember also that engine oils have improved significantly in the last 11 years, and that we haven't been seeing engine failures relating to oil quality. Actually, we have photos posted on this site of the internals of a 100,000 mile engine that followed all the BMW intervals (15,000 miles). Many owners continue to do more frequent services, but that has a lot to do with the feel-good factor, and not any evidence that those additional services are required.

As another reference, Meister has posted in another thread what BMW's most recent CPO acceptance guidelines are. If a used vehicle has had two oil changes in 45,000 - 60,000 miles, BMW will certify it as a CPO vehicle without even doing an engine inspection. Since they are taking the risk, that is a pretty good endorsement of their confidence in the 15,000 mile recommendation.

fulltilt · #34 02-17-2010, 02:47 PM

Understood, but 2 oil changes in 45000 miles could be the same as 15000, right? And they are only banking on the fact that the engine will not cost them money before the CPO runs out. I'd take that gamble on many non BMW engines. I buy mine when CPO runs out, and would like to get 200,000 out of them. I've seen under my valve cover, and it really is ok. I know it's good synthetic oil and extra capacity which helps a lot. But man, wouldn't you get a little nervous at 17,000, TWICE?

I just think automakers are far more motivated by statistics that tell them what will cost them money inside of their warranty period, and not by their small percentage of customers that will own them beyond 100,000 miles.

MosH · #35 02-17-2010, 03:38 PM

Hmm, this is making me re-think if every 5000 miles for an oil change is overkill. I bought mine with 37K miles, have a receipt for oil change at 35K from an Indy, not sure what oil was used so I did a full BMW synthetic oil and filter change at 38K and now have 42K. I was going to change it at 45K and then every 5K there after.
Above is a great point, this 6 cylinder holds almost 8quarts of oil which is almost twice the amount of a normal V6 and its a very good synthetic oil, maybe I will my intervals to 10K miles between changes, 15K still scares the crap out of me...

JCL · #36 02-17-2010, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fulltilt

Understood, but 2 oil changes in 45000 miles could be the same as 15000, right? And they are only banking on the fact that the engine will not cost them money before the CPO runs out. I'd take that gamble on many non BMW engines. I buy mine when CPO runs out, and would like to get 200,000 out of them. I've seen under my valve cover, and it really is ok. I know it's good synthetic oil and extra capacity which helps a lot. But man, wouldn't you get a little nervous at 17,000, TWICE?

I just think automakers are far more motivated by statistics that tell them what will cost them money inside of their warranty period, and not by their small percentage of customers that will own them beyond 100,000 miles.

Two oil changes in 60,000 could be the same as 30,000 on each change, to take it to an extreme. And at that interval, BMW will still take the gamble on engine condition, without even looking inside the valve cover. What do you think their safety factors are in the calculations? Personally, I wouldn't run past 15,000 miles/24,000 km on an oil change, but it is interesting to see what the actuaries are basing their risk calculations on.

All of the above assumes that an owner is still checking under the hood occasionally, keeping the oil level up, etc. One of the best reasons to do an annual oil change is it gives you a chance to look the vehicle over very carefully. I don't think that owners who in 30 minutes drain and refill the oil and change the filter are necessarily doing those other checks, but it is always a good idea.

JCL · #37 02-17-2010, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MosH

Hmm, this is making me re-think if every 5000 miles for an oil change is overkill. I bought mine with 37K miles, have a receipt for oil change at 35K from an Indy, not sure what oil was used so I did a full BMW synthetic oil and filter change at 38K and now have 42K. I was going to change it at 45K and then every 5K there after.
Above is a great point, this 6 cylinder holds almost 8quarts of oil which is almost twice the amount of a normal V6 and its a very good synthetic oil, maybe I will my intervals to 10K miles between changes, 15K still scares the crap out of me...

This is opinion here, informed opinion, but still just my opinion. I think that 5000 miles is significant overkill. 10,000 miles would be reasonable if you don't trust 15,000 mile intervals. You have good points on the oil quantity, and oil quality, but also consider that very low emission vehicles put far fewer contaminants into the oil as byproducts of combustion. That is what allows the oil additives to last longer. At the end of the day, do what you feel is right.

m5james · #38 02-17-2010, 04:36 PM

5k is overkill. BMW's have pretty large oil pans just so they can get these extended servicing intervals. Many people over on Bimmerforums have taken oil samples and had them tested at indy places like Blackstone. From what I remember, the biggest issue was the filter life more so than the oil life, but BMW does use pretty large filters. I just follow what the OBC gauges and usually change it at the yellow mark instead of waiting till it's in the red.

Ldiggs910 · #39 02-17-2010, 11:25 PM

I use a quart about every 700 miles. I get the oil changed as per the oil service life indicator on the dash. But I bought a case of synthetic oil from BJs because I was topping off so often and that case was done in about 9 months...

1stE53 · #40 02-17-2010, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ldiggs910

I use a quart about every 700 miles. I get the oil changed as per the oil service life indicator on the dash. But I bought a case of synthetic oil from BJs because I was topping off so often and that case was done in about 9 months...

Holy Crap! I would only be changing the filter with every box of oil and call it good

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