check out this video ............on oil changes

[electricalserv x5]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayguEDw3JJY
I know I always have treads about oil but it is sooooooo true.

[x5Alpine]

My 02 x5 had its oil changed every 10,000 miles all the way up to 117k when I bought it. I change it every 5,000 miles with pentosin high performance 5w-30.

[JCL]

In engineering design, safety factors are often 10 or 20 %. You could be extreme and go 50%. But to change the oil three times as often as it was designed for (ie 200% more) when using oils that are generations better than the API SJ oil that was originally called for, seems extreme. It is your money, but take a look at inspection pictures of a 100,000 mile engine maintained to spec, ie every 15,000 miles.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...intervals.html

No oil consumption or engine issues here, with experience of four BMW vehicles maintained similarly. The Z4 got early services based on low annual mileage.

[BMW_E53]

Hmmm that is interesting. I usually bring my vehicle in for service at the dealer every time the lights go down. My car is a family car, so it is mainly driven on the highway (very little city driving). Infact, my car usually sits in the garage for about two-three weeks without being driven. Would it be best to change the oil at 10,000 mile intervals or the BMW recommended 15,000 mile interval?

[admranger]

I have to believe that those crudded up engines had some non-synthetic or generic oil put in it at some point over several oil changes.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by BMW_E53

Hmmm that is interesting. I usually bring my vehicle in for service at the dealer every time the lights go down. My car is a family car, so it is mainly driven on the highway (very little city driving). Infact, my car usually sits in the garage for about two-three weeks without being driven. Would it be best to change the oil at 10,000 mile intervals or the BMW recommended 15,000 mile interval?

There isn't a right answer. It is your vehicle, so you have to decide. BMW designed it, and they told you how long they designed it to go between services.

If when you drive it you are going far enough to get it good and hot, thus burning off accumulated moisture, and you are doing primarily highway driving, then I see little reason to do additional oil services beyond what BMW specifies. If it has very low annual mileage and sits for extended periods, you may want to do an oil change every two years whether or not the lights have gone off. Two years is as long as I leave mine.

There isn't a downside to more frequent oil changes except additional cost and depletion of non-renewable resources. I just don't like seeing scare stories not founded in fact. Most of the businesses promoting more frequent oil changes are selling oil, filters, or service work. If you want to go to 10,000 miles, that is fine. I don't see a reason to do it sooner than that.

[StephenVA]

Oil services are always based on YOUR driving, weather conditions, dust level, hot cold cycles, length of trips, etc. I personally change my oil once a year (12-14 months) as total annual mileage is low and mostly short trips under 5-10 miles. My decision. Could the time intervals be longer? Cheap insurance in my view.

A potential solution to this question/tread might be Oil sample testing. As it is cheap and easy.

Blackstone labs in the US is a great option for low cost testing and insight into your BMW based on oil used, length of service left in the oil (additives). This service also provides great insight in to the engine condition. Especially useful for those who have just purchased a X5 and high mileage X5 examples where you would like to know more about what is going on internally.

Blackstone lab info:
Oil analysis is a quick, nondestructive way to gauge the health of an engine by looking at what's in the oil. People use oil analysis for different reasons: to see if there are any problems developing, to see if their oil is working well in the engine, and to see if they can run longer oil changes. Get started with your analysis by ordering a free test kit.

Blackstone Labs

While the sampling kit is free, the oil analysis costs $25.00.
Follow the link for more info....

Oh, and No I do not work there, I have only used the services and I have been happy with their customer service and feedback insight.

[Riggodeaux]

x2 on Blackstone. They will get samples from my X5's manual transmission and engine oil next week. Mine probably has the original tranny fluid in it, and I want to see what Blackstone reports on mine with 5-6k miles on an oil change. I lean toward doing a 7500k change, which I followed with my previous BMW sixes, but what I do depends on the results. With high quality synthetic oil and a recommended 15k lifespan, I imagine anything more frequent than 7500 [unless you put less than that on the vehicle in 12-18 months] is an unnecessary expense.

[JCL]

I have always found oil sampling results interesting. I have worked in an oil sampling lab for a short time. I used oil sampling at work for years (heavy equipment).

I think we need to temper the expectations of what oil sampling does and doesn't do. It tells you little about the condition of your oil. It can tell you a lot about the rate of wear of internal engine components, if done regularly and tracked/trended. One result tells you practically nothing. The interpretation is nearly always to change the fluid, and test again.

Yes, you can see if a sample has water in it, and what the TBN is, from one sample. But people always look to the wear metals, as if that is contamination. It is simply an indication of how fast things are wearing, and isn't an absolute metric.

The challenge I have had with Blackstone results is their frequent comparison to universal averages. They have so few data points of the same engine/application/specific fluid in their database that a universal average is very universal.

Transmission fluid testing is a whole other issue. Manual transmissions aren't an issue, it is cheaper to change the fluid than to sample it. Automatic transmissions don't get analyzed for what is important in a transmission fluid, the friction modifiers that impact clutch engagement.

[BMW_E53]

Originally Posted by JCL

There isn't a right answer. It is your vehicle, so you have to decide. BMW designed it, and they told you how long they designed it to go between services.

If when you drive it you are going far enough to get it good and hot, thus burning off accumulated moisture, and you are doing primarily highway driving, then I see little reason to do additional oil services beyond what BMW specifies. If it has very low annual mileage and sits for extended periods, you may want to do an oil change every two years whether or not the lights have gone off. Two years is as long as I leave mine.

There isn't a downside to more frequent oil changes except additional cost and depletion of non-renewable resources. I just don't like seeing scare stories not founded in fact. Most of the businesses promoting more frequent oil changes are selling oil, filters, or service work. If you want to go to 10,000 miles, that is fine. I don't see a reason to do it sooner than that.

Thanks for the advice! Most of the trips I take with the X is about 100-200 miles of freeway driving. Because of this, most of the parts on my X are all original. Heck the front rotors I just replaced were original, as well as all four tires when I replaced them a year ago! Now what oil should I use when the time comes to change the oil? Do I continue to use the BMW/Castrol branded oil since it has always been to the dealer or can I use the Castrol Edge Extended Performance oil?