Take a look at this old oil filter...

[four.8is]

Originally Posted by JCL

Was it the Mahle one built to BMW standards (OE) or a Mahle discount filter?

My bad it is the Hengst same as the picture posted a while ago.
I got confused because the first one they gave me was for a 2007+ 4.8i and when I saw the difference I called back and got the correct one plus 4 quarts of oil for free..whoever needs a filter for a newer x5 I can send it out for free just pay shipping.I see they charged 26$ for it so their loss your gain

I always stay in top of my oil changes and do them usually at 6000 miles .With my e39's which had the filters on top of te engine thus easier to change ,I would also change the filter at 3000 miles mark so I was using 2 filters before the oil got replaced for a better filtration...I might do it with my x too .i don't know if it was really needed though..