Question on motor oil (not a best question)

[rocksteadyX5]

What do most of the high mile (over 100k) owners used for their oil changes?
BMW recommends the 0W-40 (LL-01 brands) in general but I see Mobil has a high mileage 05W-30 brand

Just interested in what people use for high mile X5


I have 04 4.4i

[TwinTurboGTR]

Originally Posted by rocksteadyX5

What do most of the high mile (over 100k) owners used for their oil changes?
BMW recommends the 0W-40 (LL-01 brands) in general but I see Mobil has a high mileage 05W-30 brand

Just interested in what people use for high mile X5


I have 04 4.4i

They do? I thought they rec 5-30? In any case, just follow the recommended API rating. The thing with those higher mileage oils is tha they cause seals to swell... in theory lessen oil consumption... But they additive doesn't know which seals to swell or tackle. So seals that weren't leaking before... may very well leak now because of that fact. Just use the 5w-30 synthetic and call it a day. I've been using M1 and Castrol religiously... depending which one is on sale.

[Gurjit]

liqua moly 5-40 made my engine smoother and no smoke and idle is more stable-compared to Castrol syntek 5-30

purple container, change oil before 10,000kms

[JCL]

I don't believe in high mileage oil formulations myself.

5w-30. BMW oil works well. I would also use Castrol,or Mobil 1. BMW oil was good for 20,000 to 25,000 km for me, so that sounds better than a 10,000 km boutique oil. LL-01 is an outdated 12 year old proprietary spec that only considers oil stability, not oil quality. I think a current API rating is better.

[J.Belknap]

5w-30 Castrol.

[rocksteadyX5]

Thanks for the response....Will stick with the Mobil 1 5w-30 sync

[jcp240z]

Need to look at why the BMW synthetic was good but you needed a 40 series for the mobile. Most 30 weight oils do not have the HTHS (high temperature high shear) rating necessary while 40 and 50 weight oils typically do. That is why German Castol 5-30 is good but typical Castrol Synthetic 5-30 is not. Most of the "European Car" oils that you see are due to these requirements.
This is just a small sampling of this subject. Much more info out there. Head over to BITOG for more info.

[bcredliner]

I am the camp that stays with the recommended weight oil but not with the recommended oil change frequency. Oil changes are a inexpensive preventative. In higher miles vehicles changing the oil and filter more frequently is better for the engine than a oil not recommended by the mfg.

[TiAgX5]

My X ran to 100k miles on BMW service changes at the SII interval, after 100k I switched to M[1] 0-40 EuroCar formula (LL Spec) changed when the 3rd green LED of the SII goes out. At over 170k now without issues (still running OE timing chain guides).

[AZX54.4]

I recommend changing before BMW's recommended intervals. I think it is possible for the oil to last that long. However, the times I have tried it, the oil filter is nearly disintegrated.