[KiX1911]

So a buddy of mine just purchased a nice 328i coupe and decides to do the oil change himself. He he comes by and asked is he can use my oil adapter for the filter, I give it to him and hes off.

2 days later he brings me back my stuff and I asked how he did and he goes on how hes so surprised at the quality and yada yada. Then I asked him what oil he used and he told me what BMW recommended, Castrol syntec 5W-30.....and im like wait a sec was it in 1 l jugs (thinking it was GC) hes like no, it was on sale at Wal mart



So I told him that it had to say LL-01 on the back, he said he didnt even check he just say the BMW oil cap and went to go find the full suntetic castrol...(I dont even know why BMW does that)

My question is, is he says he wants to keep this for a long time, should he drain it and put the right oil? or change it at 5000kms and call it a day? I know my old corvette needed higher something and I had to get a additive for it, could he do something like that in the meantime?

I also told him to join this damn forum and start reading up...and dont you worry when he joins ill make it clear the mistake he did

Brad

[edirtaynine]

not that big of a deal. he can just change it later.

[cstmx_ryder]

Castrol Syntec 5w30 is actually what the manual recommends......So there's nothing wrong. Although many uses 0w30 European Formula (including myself), but I have a modded N54.......So IMO, either one will work JUST fine......

Just make sure it's fully synthetic, I think that's the most important part.

[ndog14]

in b4 only 328,


0W30 Euro Formula here, love it.

[username604]

are our cars really that sensitive to oil type? i'm not gonna be the one to experiment , but i'm interesting in finding out.

[sy2767]

Originally Posted by Verbatim

are our cars really that sensitive to oil type? i'm not gonna be the one to experiment , but i'm interesting in finding out.

No, the car has no idea what oil you pouring in so how can it be sensitive to it. I would change it early because its not classed as a long life oil and consider it a good flush. Will not harm anything in the engine

[galahad05]

Originally Posted by sy2767

No, the car has no idea what oil you pouring in so how can it be sensitive to it. I would change it early because its not classed as a long life oil and consider it a good flush. Will not harm anything in the engine

[kevinbahnz]

I've used mobil1 5/30 on my 330ci since 2003.

[uniter]

the only thing it will hurt is your warranty (if your engine explodes with this oil in it.)

[FCBuff]

Castrol Syntec 5w-30 is not the same and is not recomended if you are the anal retentive type (like me).

Use BMW 5w-30 (made by Castrol but different oil). Also use Castrol 0w-30 or Mobil 1
0w-40 (best choice).

The regular Castrol 5w-30 won't hurt anything, nothing to worry about. Would just change to one of the above in 5k-7.5k miles.

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by Killerx

So a buddy of mine just purchased a nice 328i coupe and decides to do the oil change himself. He he comes by and asked is he can use my oil adapter for the filter, I give it to him and hes off.

2 days later he brings me back my stuff and I asked how he did and he goes on how hes so surprised at the quality and yada yada. Then I asked him what oil he used and he told me what BMW recommended, Castrol syntec 5W-30.....and im like wait a sec was it in 1 l jugs (thinking it was GC) hes like no, it was on sale at Wal mart



So I told him that it had to say LL-01 on the back, he said he didnt even check he just say the BMW oil cap and went to go find the full suntetic castrol...(I dont even know why BMW does that)

My question is, is he says he wants to keep this for a long time, should he drain it and put the right oil? or change it at 5000kms and call it a day? I know my old corvette needed higher something and I had to get a additive for it, could he do something like that in the meantime?

I also told him to join this damn forum and start reading up...and dont you worry when he joins ill make it clear the mistake he did

Brad

While there is a lot of good help/info here there is also a ton of misinformation. If you want FACTS you need to consult a dealer or mechanic.

[Rydicule]

Originally Posted by 335BBS

While there is a lot of good help/info here there is also a ton of misinformation. If you want FACTS you need to consult a dealer or mechanic.

If I want FACTS... I'd be reeeeeally hesitant to get them from either of those sources.

[Rydicule]

Originally Posted by Verbatim

are our cars really that sensitive to oil type? i'm not gonna be the one to experiment , but i'm interesting in finding out.

It really depends on who you talk to. At the end of the day oils are made for and good at a lot of different jobs and no one oil does them all better than any other.

Whether or not the oil in an engine is going to reduce engine life compared to another oil is going to involve more variables than we could possibly go through on a forum. However, my personal feeling is that most engines don't go long enough to see their demise decided by the type of oil used.

[Rydicule]

Originally Posted by ndog14

in b4 only 328,


0W30 Euro Formula here, love it.

Not far off when it comes to oil, imo. I would say it depends on the year of the 328, however.

Personally, my OPINION is that the kind of oil you use is more important in 335s and new 328s simply because it has an additional job that most other 3 series don't have to deal with as much: Turbo coolant. As far as I've looked, I still haven't found anyone whose accused heat of being great for oil longevity.


The point being, I'd expect a naturally aspirated engine to be a bit more forgiving of alternate oil choices.

[John 070]

Originally Posted by sy2767

No, the car has no idea what oil you pouring in so how can it be sensitive to it. I would change it early because its not classed as a long life oil and consider it a good flush. Will not harm anything in the engine

It probably insn't that sensitive. For example, on bob is the oil guy, Pennzoil Platinum seems to be the oil of choice, even with all those lab analyses etc. It's not LL-01 approved. Mobil 1 seems to be junk if you follow that site, yet it's a factory fill with Porsche, MB, Corvette, etc. Oil = politics. Just like "Top Tier" gasoline.

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by Rydicule

If I want FACTS... I'd be reeeeeally hesitant to get them from either of those sources.

There is your first mistake....being paranoid. look at the different answers you have above already.

[techwhiz]

5w-30 is fine in a 328.
Unless you truly put crap oil in them all Castrol Syntec oils meet the service rating for the engine. Sheesh......

Castrol, Royal Purple, Amsoil, Redline, and others will do the minimum recommended job. now some are better than others but none so bad that they will ruin the engine of a NA 328i.

When I'm paying I use Amsoil. (Not to start a religious war.)
While I'm under service, it's whatever the dealer puts in.

[Rydicule]

Originally Posted by 335BBS

There is your first mistake....being paranoid. look at the different answers you have above already.

When I was young, I made my first mistakes by trusting your sources.

And they were costly mistakes.


I was also careful to not offer any "answers" above. Unlike your dealers and mechanics... I surely labelled my opinions as...



... wait for it...





"Opinions".


And they didn't differ from each other at all.

[derrick603]

I wouldn't worry about it, just don't follow BMW's recommended 15k oil change interval with it since it's not LL-01. Then again, some would say not to follow the 15k OCI regardless of oil used, but that's another discussion.

[335BBS]

Originally Posted by Rydicule

When I was young, I made my first mistakes by trusting your sources.

And they were costly mistakes.


I was also careful to not offer any "answers" above. Unlike your dealers and mechanics... I surely labelled my opinions as...



... wait for it...





"Opinions".


And they didn't differ from each other at all.

I think you're missing my point. All the OP is getting here is OPINIONS...no facts. If you get an oil recommendation from a dealer and there is a problem then you will probably have a case. If you take your wounded engine in for service and explain that you got some opinions on a forum you will probably get laughed at. He wants to know if he needs to flush that new oil out. Has there been a definitive answer or some opinions?

[fun2drive]

Fact
I run Castrol 5W30 in my 335 and change it at 8K miles with oil analysis. TBNs are good Blackstone tells me in their report that I can extend it.

End Facts
I will to 10K miles but not any farther.
The ONLY way to know if this oil is good is to do oil analysis and deciding for yourself.
Frankly Castrol 5W30 is very close to BMW 5W30 except the BMW oil meets the ACEA A3 and BMWs long life requirement.

It is not that big a deal most synthetic oils are excellent and a 328 is not running standard 245F oil temps so it should last a long time...

[328i M-Sport]

Originally Posted by uniter

the only thing it will hurt is your warranty (if your engine explodes with this oil in it.)

How are they going to determine a used oil type, assuming it has a reasonable weight? I seriously doubt a dealership would try to send oil to the lab. Not to mention that any decent oil of a reasonable weight can only cause very long term problems.

The things you read on luxury car forums sometimes. I would worry much more about cars with improperly offset wheels, stretched tires, bad alignments due to lowering, screwing up a sophisticated electric system due to poor stereo installations, etc.