Whatis the best Engine oil to use?

Hello all,

There are so many engine oils out there and everyone seems to have
threr faviourte but what is the best oil to use?

I have a E46 325ci, which has just been serviced 6 months ago and the
oil low light has already come up!

sure there are many of you with the ame problem, my engine oil cap says
that BMW RECOMMENDS CASTROL! hmmm, but i heard mobil 1 were really
good!

Cheers

On 29 Jun 2006 14:42:59 -0700, " >
wrote:

>There are so many engine oils out there and everyone seems to have
>threr faviourte but what is the best oil to use?

I always recommend cod liver oil to the lube trolls I encounter.

>I have a E46 325ci, which has just been serviced 6 months ago and the
>oil low light has already come up!

Of course, even with today's bullet-proof engines, you still check your engine
oil level weekly, don't you?

-- Larry

BMW's house brand synthetic is good and often sold at a good price. Mobil 1
is approved by BMW (5qt jugs at Walmart at good prices sometimes). The 325
is supposed to be fed 5W30. You can also go with the boutique oils (Amsoil,
Redline, Royal Purple), all outstanding lubricants but probably not worth
the price premium unless you plan on long service intervals and don't
consume much oil between changes.

R / John

" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Hello all,
>
> There are so many engine oils out there and everyone seems to have
> threr faviourte but what is the best oil to use?
>
> I have a E46 325ci, which has just been serviced 6 months ago and the
> oil low light has already come up!
>
> sure there are many of you with the ame problem, my engine oil cap says
> that BMW RECOMMENDS CASTROL! hmmm, but i heard mobil 1 were really
> good!
>
> Cheers
>

pltrgyst wrote:
> On 29 Jun 2006 14:42:59 -0700, " >
> wrote:
>
>
>>There are so many engine oils out there and everyone seems to have
>>threr faviourte but what is the best oil to use?
>
>
> I always recommend cod liver oil to the lube trolls I encounter.
>
>
>>I have a E46 325ci, which has just been serviced 6 months ago and the
>>oil low light has already come up!
>
>
> Of course, even with today's bullet-proof engines, you still check your engine
> oil level weekly, don't you?
>

You'll have to show us how to do that on the new models that don't have
dipsticks.


--
-Fred W

In article >,
pltrgyst > wrote:
> Of course, even with today's bullet-proof engines, you still check your
> engine oil level weekly, don't you?

It's a very long time since I've found this necessary. Both my cars - one
BMW and one 20 year old 'classic' don't need topping up between oil
changes, and both have low oil level warning circuits. Of course it will
depend on driving style and conditions, but I'd say those would have to be
pretty exceptional to require a weekly check.

--
*Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Thu, 29 Jun 2006 18:05:30 -0500, John Carrier wrote:

> BMW's house brand synthetic is good and often sold at a good price. Mobil 1
> is approved by BMW (5qt jugs at Walmart at good prices sometimes). The 325
> is supposed to be fed 5W30. You can also go with the boutique oils (Amsoil,
> Redline, Royal Purple), all outstanding lubricants but probably not worth
> the price premium unless you plan on long service intervals and don't
> consume much oil between changes.
>
> R / John
>
> " > wrote in message
> ups.com...
>> [quoted text muted]

I agree with the above. For dino oil synthetic, I would go with mobile
one. For pure synthetic, red line seems to be what most bimmer folks lean
towards. The best performance/price/availability balance would be mobil
one.

I'm not sure about castrol's synthetic line, while they do make good
dino based oils- I haven't heard much about using their heavy additive
derived synthetics. They add some chemicals to make your seals swell up
and also some to clean the gunk out of your engine. But if your engine is
clean and leak-free, mobile one is typically the standard. BMW doesn't
typically recommend high end synthetics probably because of the
price/availability.

ER

"Enoch ROot" wrote
> For dino oil synthetic, I would go with mobile
> one.

You don't consider M1 products to be full synthetics? Care to elaborate and
provide some supporting references?

Thanks,

Pete

Enoch ROot wrote:

>
> I agree with the above. For dino oil synthetic, I would go with mobile
> one. For pure synthetic, red line seems to be what most bimmer folks lean
> towards. The best performance/price/availability balance would be mobil
> one.
>
> I'm not sure about castrol's synthetic line, while they do make good
> dino based oils- I haven't heard much about using their heavy additive
> derived synthetics. They add some chemicals to make your seals swell up
> and also some to clean the gunk out of your engine. But if your engine is
> clean and leak-free, mobile one is typically the standard. BMW doesn't
> typically recommend high end synthetics probably because of the
> price/availability.


Once again, you have it exactly backwards. Mobil 1 is a true synthetic
(PAO base) oil and Castrol Syntec is the cracked mineral oil base.

Mobil 1 (0W40) is one of the few BMW Long Life endorsed oils besides the
BMW branded oil which is supposedly manufactured by Castrol, but is not
the same as Syntec.

If I had a newer model I'd use BMW oil. Get it in case lots and save a
few bucks. It's about the same price as the others.

On all of my oldies, I now use Shell Rotella T Full Synthetic (5W40).


--
-Fred W

"Fred W" wrote
> and Castrol Syntec is the cracked mineral oil base.

Yup, with one exception though. The 0w-30 Syntec that says "Made in
Germany" on the back label (someties called German Castrol or GC), which can
be found at some AutoZone stores in the US, is actually a repackaged Castrol
SLX oil from Europe and does not contain group III (hydrocracked)
components. Of course the "Made in USA" Syntec 0w-30 is like all other
Syntec grades - group III.

One other Castrol oil called TWS Motorsport 10w-60 is also fully synthetic
AFAIK, but I'm not sure if it can be easily found in North America. BMW
dealers might have it as it was recommended for some M3 engines if I'm not
mistaken.

Pete

On Fri, 30 Jun 2006 13:06:10 -0400, "Pete" >
wrote:

>
>"Fred W" wrote
>> and Castrol Syntec is the cracked mineral oil base.
>
>Yup, with one exception though. The 0w-30 Syntec that says "Made in
>Germany" on the back label (someties called German Castrol or GC), which can
>be found at some AutoZone stores in the US, is actually a repackaged Castrol
>SLX oil from Europe and does not contain group III (hydrocracked)
>components. Of course the "Made in USA" Syntec 0w-30 is like all other
>Syntec grades - group III.
>
>One other Castrol oil called TWS Motorsport 10w-60 is also fully synthetic
>AFAIK, but I'm not sure if it can be easily found in North America. BMW
>dealers might have it as it was recommended for some M3 engines if I'm not
>mistaken.

correct, required for all 2001-2006 M3 models. You can not buy this
stuff at a regular shop, the dealer sells it for around 10 bucks a
quart.