new e70 x5 4.8i 2010
 

so I just bought a new x5 and had a few questions since its my first BMW and German car as well.

1.) I was tempted to buy a performance drop in filter to get a little more air in my engine. For now i just got the Mahle filter since I've heard it filters better than K&M or Afe dry filters. Should I opt for a performance one instead or stick with the stock one?

2.) I live in Seattle where winters don't generally get under 20 degrees and bought castrol edge full synthetic 5w-30. Is this optimal?

3.) Do I need to buy a Mahle/Mann oil filter or will Wix suffice? All of my autobody stores only carry Wix it seems

4.) I put an aftermarket sound system in the trunk since I wanted a bit more bass. If its not tied into the factory system whatsoever, would I have anything to worry about voiding an extended 2 year warranty?

5.) Any other suggestions or easy ways to make SUV run smoother/perform better? I bought this v8 beast with 80K but it drives like a dream, I'm just paranoid things will go wrong so I'm wondering if there's any more upkeep I should perform as I just bought the car. I've always had Japanese cars which require 0 upkeep and run fine so now I'm prepared to be on point with maintenance.

Thanks!

Devin

Welcome and congrats on the purchase.

OK a lot to unpack here.
1. Stick with an OE filter (my favorite is Mann). You’ll gain nothing with a drop in filter and only cause increased engine wear and MAF errors with an oiled type filter.

2. Unless you purchased Castrol EDGE 5W-30 “A3/B4” (gold bottle), you purchased the wrong oil. The MOST important thing when it comes to oil choice is to pick an oil with BMW “Longlife-01” approval (Walmart has approved Castrol 0W-40 for ~$25 a jug. You’ll 2). Any Longlife-01 oil is fine for your climate.

3. Wix is fine, but I would stick with Mann if I were you. Mann is an OE BMW supplier.

4. No comment.

5. There’s another thread here from a new member with a 4.8. I’d start there and also look for the cooling system maintenance one (should be on page 1).

[QUOTE=adevster8;1141585]https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-03037...4JED3DV5ZARRR5


https://www.walmart.com/ip/Castrol-E...xoCDikQAvD_BwE

https://www.bavauto.com/mini-oil-832...BoCb3wQAvD_BwE

which one of these should I go for?

I would go with the Amazon linked one, Castrol EDGE 5W-30 A3/B4. Or save yourself some money and drive to your local Walmart and pickup EDGE 0W-40.

I ended up buying the original bmw twin turbo LL-01 and mann oil filter kit. Probably overspent by 30 bucks but o well. Thanks for all your help! appreciate it.

No prob. Now you know for next time. The BMW oil is also really good stuff, just more expensive.