[mi_bimmer]

F30, is your E90 an automatic or manual?
Did you do any maintenance on the transmission and differential?
According to Mike Miller, the auto transmission on the E90s is more likely to die before the engine, so OCI doesn't practically matter all that much.

[bender rodriguez]

Originally Posted by mi_bimmer

F30, is your E90 an automatic or manual?
Did you do any maintenance on the transmission and differential?
According to Mike Miller, the auto transmission on the E90s is more likely to die before the engine, so OCI doesn't practically matter all that much.

I have an 09 328i 6spd man... I haven't done any of that mike miler stuff.. All I have done is change oil every 10kish, air and cabin filters.

[trk06]

i change oil every 5K. it my DD and a lot of short trips. if was long drives i dont mind changing it later.

[F32Fleet]

Oil filters get better as they load up. Only issue is when they fill completely causing the bypass to open. Not likely to.happen on a 14k mile OCI. Our engines have large sumps and operate at moderate RPMS. Both are easy on oil.

[Ml3456]

When I worked by the engine lab we ran synthetic 100K and it was like brand new, so ran it another 100K simulated test. The test engine was not turbo charged which does effect oil life some. BTW this is on some of the first synthetics ever made, and they are many times better now. Change the filter and top off the oil periodically is the best thing to do. I plan to do a change at 5000 miles to get rid of the break in oil, then change the filters at 7500 mile intervals. Use OEM filters too. Changing every 5000 miles is wasting money but won't hurt anything.

[SDV325]

curious to hear some reasoning to why a 5000 miles OCI when running full synthetic? When BMW and oil manufacturers who have a hell of a lot more to loose than you, state that oils can last to 15K miles and some even 25000 miles (AMSOIL).

just because a oil in black and dirty does not mean that its bad and cant perform just as well as new "clean" oil.

Change it at 7500, no later then 10k, especially on a turbo motor, 15k probably is alright for 328i.



There is a sweet spot, fresh oil actually causes more wear until its been broken in, the guy changing it at 2500 miles is crazy. Waste of money, causing excessive wear on the motor, causing more oil waste.

I'm not just talking out of my ass, this is proven with Blackstone labs oil sample tests.


http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ forums.

[SDV325]

Originally Posted by index1489

Change it at 7500, no later then 10k, especially on a turbo motor, 15k probably is alright for 328i.



There is a sweet spot, fresh oil actually causes more wear until its been broken in, the guy changing it at 2500 miles is crazy. Waste of money, causing excessive wear on the motor, causing more oil waste.

I'm not just talking out of my ass, this is proven with Blackstone labs oil sample tests.


http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ forums.

With my GC, i actually find that i get my best performance and fuel economy around 8-10,000kms (6K miles). When i hit about 15,000kms the gains wear off and i know its time to change it. Granted i am running AMSOIL but found similar results with M1 as well.

[Agentphish]

Speaking to two separate certified independent mechanics who specialize in BMW/Porsche/Mercedes/Audi and have about 60 years of industry experience with these cars combined both suggested the 7500-10000 mark for oil changes on these newer cars.

Both believe 15K is too long for the filter to be as effective as it should be, and that it doesn't hurt to change at those intervals with the synthetics we are supposed to use.

They both agreed that synthetics can/do last longer than that but they feel best about the many 100's of customer vehicles they service when it's done between 7500-10000.

[Efthreeoh]

I have 3 BMWs that have gone a combined 610,000 miles on BMW recommended OCIs with no engine failures.

[3cpephan]

As someone in the market for a used E92, I've looked at a number of Carfax reports for CPO cars. The vast majority show oil change intervals between 14-19,000 miles with time periods as long as 22 months (low mileage cars). But, the way I read it, there appears to be a conflict regarding oil change intervals in the BMW Service and Warranty Book.

From 2010 BMW Service and Warranty Booklet:

p.2, "Time intervals should be followed using the maintenance interval as indicated by the BMW Service Interval Display" (instrument cluster).

p.8 under Special Note, "The maintenance requirements for your vehicle are determined dynamically by the Condition Based Service (CBS) system". .... then goes on to state under Oil Service "Note: Change oil at least once a year." The Note text is in bold type, no mileage equivalent is listed.

Anyone know why the once a year statement seems generally not to be followed?

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by Agentphish

Speaking to two separate certified independent mechanics who specialize in BMW/Porsche/Mercedes/Audi and have about 60 years of industry experience with these cars combined both suggested the 7500-10000 mark for oil changes on these newer cars.

Both believe 15K is too long for the filter to be as effective as it should be, and that it doesn't hurt to change at those intervals with the synthetics we are supposed to use.

They both agreed that synthetics can/do last longer than that but they feel best about the many 100's of customer vehicles they service when it's done between 7500-10000.

Remember filters get better as they load up

[Tom K.]

Originally Posted by 3cpephan

As someone in the market for a used E92, I've looked at a number of Carfax reports for CPO cars. The vast majority show oil change intervals between 14-19,000 miles with time periods as long as 22 months (low mileage cars). But, the way I read it, there appears to be a conflict regarding oil change intervals in the BMW Service and Warranty Book.

From 2010 BMW Service and Warranty Booklet:

p.2, "Time intervals should be followed using the maintenance interval as indicated by the BMW Service Interval Display" (instrument cluster).

p.8 under Special Note, "The maintenance requirements for your vehicle are determined dynamically by the Condition Based Service (CBS) system". .... then goes on to state under Oil Service "Note: Change oil at least once a year." The Note text is in bold type, no mileage equivalent is listed.

Anyone know why the once a year statement seems generally not to be followed?

You have accurately pointed out the disparity between the published BMWNA recommended one year vs. the dash computer two year interval for low mileage changes.

I recall reading a few years back that the time interval for European cars is, in fact, two years. But it was reduced to one year in the US due to our poorer quality gasoline. However, the car's computer is still programmed for two years in the US as (at least on my 07 328i & 08 128i) the date advances by two years when reset after an oil service.

This has caused a great deal of confusion as some dealers would look at the CBS date and be reluctant to do the yearly "free" change during the warranty period. And a couple of years back, BMWNA actually tried to change the covered oil services to once every two years. This only lasted a few weeks after it was repeatedly pointed out that their Service/Warranty manuals called for a yearly change.

So while my dealer has always honored the yearly low mileage change, apparently not all have done so in the US. But since BMW reimburses dealers for the yearly change, there is no reason not to cover this service.

Tom