[GTstunna612]

Originally Posted by Surly73

The general term "shearing" refers a reduction in viscosity due to mechanical shearing in the engine, transmission, whatever unit the fluid is used in.

One thing that's important to know is that oil grades (like 30 or 40) are wide bands of measured viscosities. There is a whole range of true viscosity covered by "40", for instance.

GC is a very thick 30, just a couple of fractions off of being a 40 (specs say 12.1 cSt@100C I believe), "40 weight" starts at 12.5. M1 0W40 is a thin 40. It's not right on the edge, but is thinner than most 40s. It's specified as 14.1cSt@100C IIRC.

After 6000km (not miles) in my M52, M1 0W40 was in the high 11s or low 12s as measured by a lab. After 8000-10,000km GC in the same engine is still in the 12s. All of these samples were lab tested. M1's wear protection was just fine, but I like oils which stay at the viscosity they are supposed to be.

Further, I found all of the engines I had around the early 2000s (BMW M52, Acura Integra with the B18A1, Porsche 968 with the Variocam 3.0L) were all noisy on Mobil1 (0W40 in the BMW, 5W30 in the Integra, 15W50 in the Porsche). If you google "Mobil1 noise" you'll get all kinds of stuff. It affects some people, others don't seem to notice. My M52 was so much quieter on anything that didn't come in an M1 bottle that I switched and am not likely to ever switch back. YMMV. For me the difference in engine noise both idling in the garage and winding it out on the street was unmistakable and dramatic.

Something to keep in mind - dino oils are WAY better than they used to be. Unless you have extreme cold temperatures where you need an oil that's thin in very cold temperatures but still "tough enough" for European specs when up to temp, or you want to run long dealer-style change intervals synthetics aren't truly necessary in most cases. Direct injection engines cause concern as well because in North American tune most of them run rich and contaminate the oil with fuel (basically pouring a solvent into your motor oil). If you're under warranty, don't fool around and just use something that says BMW LL-01 on the bottle (I recommend GC).

My favourite oil in my M52 was Shell Rotella-T 15W40 dino HDEO. Smooth, quiet, cheap, great lab results. I could only run it in the summer, and you couldn't run a full CBS oil change interval but the lab confirmed great results and lots of oil life left changing between 8,000km and 10,000km. Second favourite was Rotella T6 5W40 group III synthetic. That I can run all year round though it's not quiet as smooth and quiet as T.

I'll probably start running Rotella in my N52 this summer (extended warranty expires). Right now I'm running GC.

Some people really like the BMW dealer oil. My dad ran that in his mostly-highway M62TU at half the dealer interval (an extra oil change mid-way between when the car said it needed changing). There were red deposits and staining all over, top end ticking, bottom end knocking, VANOS noises - the thing sounded like a diesel. We did a driveway oil change to GC and on restart 75% of the noises were gone. We had to run a bit of a cleanup regimen but we eliminated the VANOS and all other noises and it purred like a kitten within a few months.

very interesting and helpful information...so far I like everything about the GC 0w30 but I have noticed that my mpg has gone down just a little.

Originally Posted by Surly73

I've heard lots of success stories with GC in Nissan VQ35s.

True, the VQ35 is pretty hard on oil...I've gotten VERY similar UOAs out of both GC and Rotella T6 in my '08 G35x. Going with 8k mile OCIs are about as far as I'm willing to stretch it in that car. Haven't tried M1 0w40 yet though, but I doubt I would notice much difference.

[Ph0zenstone]

First time I've seen it for sale in Ny in 5 quart jugs. $24.97 for 5 quarts definitely beats $9 a quart at the dealership. Walmart in Islandia, Long Island still had about 3 cases of these when I left

[GTstunna612]

Originally Posted by phozenstone

First time I've seen it for sale in Ny in 5 quart jugs. $24.97 for 5 quarts definitely beats $9 a quart at the dealership. Walmart in Islandia, Long Island still had about 3 cases of these when I left

Nice!

[omerfar23]

Is this is a good deal http://goo.gl/Jt8Gdp??

Castrol 06244 EDGE 0W-30 SPT Full Synthetic Motor Oil - 1 Quart Bottle, (Pack of 6) for $45.

The BMW manual says 5w-30 so I am confused, but the review on Amazon and this forum suggest this is a good oil. Just need confirmation.

[Meeni]

M1 is cheaper when bought in 5qt jugs, and I have been plenty happy with it.

[007_e350]

I recently tried 0w 30 edge, 0w 40 edge & m1 0w 40, M1 by far the best for our N54 motor atleast for my car, edle 40 is too thick, and 30 too thin, M1 is just perfect, light weight 40

[GTstunna612]

Originally Posted by 007_e350

I recently tried 0w 30 edge, 0w 40 edge & m1 0w 40, M1 by far the best for our N54 motor atleast for my car, edle 40 is too thick, and 30 too thin, M1 is just perfect, light weight 40

nice glad M1 0w40 worked for you, I've had better luck with Castrol 0w30, 0w40, 5w30 for my car. But for now I like the Castrol 0w40 (German made) since i live in FL

[gtaccord]

I have used the GC 0W-30 in all my turbo cars for years. (STI, 2 N54 335s and a Mini Cooper S). Through multiple oil analysis on all the cars it always shows very good viscosity stability and long life with low wear. In fact, I pushed my OCI intervals out on all of my cars.

5000 miles on the STI (3750 factory recommendation) and 10k on the 335s (7500 recommended by anyone other than BMW). Analysis shows that I could probably run 12k OCIs easy on my 335 with no risk to the engine.

I usually run Mobil 1 in my NA cars but GC has proven to work for me in more aggressive applications.

[GTstunna612]

Originally Posted by gtaccord

I have used the GC 0W-30 in all my turbo cars for years. (STI, 2 N54 335s and a Mini Cooper S). Through multiple oil analysis on all the cars it always shows very good viscosity stability and long life with low wear. In fact, I pushed my OCI intervals out on all of my cars.

5000 miles on the STI (3750 factory recommendation) and 10k on the 335s (7500 recommended by anyone other than BMW). Analysis shows that I could probably run 12k OCIs easy on my 335 with no risk to the engine.

I usually run Mobil 1 in my NA cars but GC has proven to work for me in more aggressive applications.

There is a also Castrol Edge 0w40 that is also made in germany and you can find it at walmart in 5 qt. jugs. Both GC 0w30 and 0w40 are good oils. With M1 0w40 it use to burn for me.

[AdamN52]

Last oil change I used Castrol 0W30 for the first time and was happy with it. It seemed to quell the lifter 'ticking' noise I was having on cold starts. I still had a bit of consumption though - around 0.5L over 6 months.

[MiniXP]

Originally Posted by GTstunna612

There is a also Castrol Edge 0w40 that is also made in germany and you can find it at walmart in 5 qt. jugs. Both GC 0w30 and 0w40 are good oils. With M1 0w40 it use to burn for me.

I have always heard that the European formula Castrol Edge at walmart is not considered German Castrol.

Not that there is anything wrong with it (it is what I run), I've just heard they are two different oils.

[MiniXP]

Originally Posted by 007_e350

I recently tried 0w 30 edge, 0w 40 edge & m1 0w 40, M1 by far the best for our N54 motor atleast for my car, edle 40 is too thick, and 30 too thin, M1 is just perfect, light weight 40

How do you know the Edge 0w 40 is too thick? I just did my first oil change in my 335 and used the edge 0w40 after reading that it is debatable if the M1 is actually 100% synthetic.

[GTstunna612]

Originally Posted by MiniXP

How do you know the Edge 0w 40 is too thick? I just did my first oil change in my 335 and used the edge 0w40 after reading that it is debatable if the M1 is actually 100% synthetic.

your thoughts on the Castrol Edge 0w40?

[MiniXP]

Originally Posted by GTstunna612

your thoughts on the Castrol Edge 0w40?

Seems pretty good so far. I've only had it in for about a month. THere was Castrol 5w-30 in there before. The motor may be a little smooth now, but it's probably just in my head.

I'll be changing it at 5k miles and getting an oil analysis done, So I'll be able to post more info then.

[vapore0n]

Went through the whole debate last month.
Walmart over here only carried the M1 and Castrol 0W-40. Both LL1 oils, Castrol being marked as made in Germany.

Ended up with the Castrol. Car feels fine. Nothing out of the ordinary. This last oil change was done 10k after the last. Previous oil didnt come out as sludgy or dirty as I would have expected it though.

[007_e350]

Originally Posted by MiniXP

How do you know the Edge 0w 40 is too thick? I just did my first oil change in my 335 and used the edge 0w40 after reading that it is debatable if the M1 is actually 100% synthetic.

good question, there's no yard stick to measure that but the engine will tell you, with 30 weight it feels more responsive, higher weights will slow it down just a tad bit but also reduce the noise etc... Its for psychos like us who breathe the car in and out

[n54Xdinan]

Originally Posted by Stucks

Doing my next oil change soon and just wanted to get some opinions on my choices for oils. My car is a 2008 335i coupe. Thanks.

Maybe you don't have the e92 anymore but are you still running ow40 or how long did you run this oil and how did you like it?

Does/did your E92 have any engine rattle or ticking? Some say it is normal (BMW)..while others say it is due to the turbo wastegates, hose-replace, or the real reason ..improperly torqued fuel injector. If so, I heard 0w40 mobil 1 followed by cast. ow30 helps this issue tremendously? After fuel injector is re-torq the issue doesn't go away right away.

Maybe you do not have this issue. But, are you still running 0w40 or how long did ya use in your e92? Think it is better than OEM?

Thanks in advance

Bryan

08 e92 335xi coupe weiss
04 e60 525i schwartz

[n54Xdinan]

Originally Posted by vapore0n

Went through the whole debate last month.
Walmart over here only carried the M1 and Castrol 0W-40. Both LL1 oils, Castrol being marked as made in Germany.

Ended up with the Castrol. Car feels fine. Nothing out of the ordinary. This last oil change was done 10k after the last. Previous oil didnt come out as sludgy or dirty as I would have expected it though.

Better than OEM oil for high mileage n54? Thinking about changing as preventative as it seems my oil catcher in the oil pan should work more proficiently with this type of oil versus OEM. Just seems logical but I’m unsure. Any advice?

Bryan
08 e92 335xi coupe
04 e60 525i

[matreyia]

It most certainly is not placebo. on my n54 0w30 runs almost silent and temps are consistently lower than 5w30 in same conditions and roads. I have recorded the data for my personal reference and I know for a fact that my n54 runs cooler and quieter on 0w30 than 5w30.