[jdsboston]

Originally Posted by DarkRyan323

Just got mine changed for the first time since Nov. 2007!! Still had 7,000 miles left on the CBS. Whoever leased the car probably thought nothing of it. I've never seen oil that dirty before. And I'm very surprised how much peppier the car feels now, never realized how sluggish it was in 1st and 2nd gear. I also seem to be getting better gas mileage as well. The CBS should measure 15,000 miles (give or take) OR 1 year instead of 2.

thanks for sharing this bro. as a fellow recent CPO buyer I am gonna get my butt over to buy a filter and check out the oil condition ASAP.

how can we pull a visual sample of our oil on these e90s if we don't have a dipstick? what do people do?

/josh

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by jdsboston

I am quite interested in the brand of oil and weight you guys hauling 20K+ miles/ year are using? What have you guys chosen after all those miles and changes ENINTY and Richwm? Cheers. Oh and sorry if you already mentioned this earlier - If so I just missed it.

/Josh

I use BMW 5w-30 and the OEM filter. I get my oil from Tischer as a kit off of getBMWparts.com

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by Samuel L Jackson

Do you guys do mostly freeway or stop-and-go driving?

My commute is 80 miles one way. 65 of it is backroad two lane 60 MPH driving. 15 miles is stop and go/cut and thrust driving. The the 65 miles part I hammer down the back roads pretty good. My average tank MPH is usually around 48 MPH. MPG is around 27.6.

[Ryan323i]

Originally Posted by jdsboston

thanks for sharing this bro. as a fellow recent CPO buyer I am gonna get my butt over to buy a filter and check out the oil condition ASAP.

how can we pull a visual sample of our oil on these e90s if we don't have a dipstick? what do people do?

/josh

I just wiped some up from inside of the cap. I would be afraid to actually stick something down in there. When I've checked oil with a dipstick on my past cars, it's always been clean and clear looking. This oil was the exact opposite, very dark and definitely not clear!! The change in acceleration feel was crazy, as if I was running on mud before.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by jdsboston

thanks for sharing this bro. as a fellow recent CPO buyer I am gonna get my butt over to buy a filter and check out the oil condition ASAP.

how can we pull a visual sample of our oil on these e90s if we don't have a dipstick? what do people do?

/josh

You can pop off the filter and look at the oil that drains off it but TBH there's nothing you can gain by just looking unless you have experience with extended drain interval synthetic oils.

[jdsboston]

Originally Posted by darkryan323

I just wiped some up from inside of the cap. I would be afraid to actually stick something down in there. When I've checked oil with a dipstick on my past cars, it's always been clean and clear looking. This oil was the exact opposite, very dark and definitely not clear!! The change in acceleration feel was crazy, as if I was running on mud before.

good idea thanks.

[jdsboston]

Originally Posted by Socom

You can pop off the filter and look at the oil that drains off it but TBH there's nothing you can gain by just looking unless you have experience with extended drain interval synthetic oils.

oh yeah but i mean you can tell a lot by the color and the feel between your fingers if it's way gone as posted above... /josh

[Richwm]

Originally Posted by jdsboston

I am quite interested in the brand of oil and weight you guys hauling 20K+ miles/ year are using? What have you guys chosen after all those miles and changes ENINTY and Richwm? Cheers. Oh and sorry if you already mentioned this earlier - If so I just missed it.

/Josh

Mobil-1 5w-30 OEM filter every 7-7.5k miles. I know its not LL-3 or what ever but I dont need long life oil at my change interval. BTW my car runs better on Mobil-1 or Royal Purple than that Castrol crap BMW sells.

[Richwm]

Originally Posted by Samuel L Jackson

Do you guys do mostly freeway or stop-and-go driving?

Mine is 4 miles of surface streets and 120 miles of freeway doing 75-80 Mph each day.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by Socom

You can pop off the filter and look at the oil that drains off it but TBH there's nothing you can gain by just looking unless you have experience with extended drain interval synthetic oils.

I think you probably risk getting dirt in the oil by removing the filter cap and risk loosening the seal of the filter element in the housing once you've unseated the element. If you really need to look at the oil, just take a swab and get some through the oil filler cap. You can tell the oil is dark in color versus its lighter color when new, but it really doesn't tell you anything.

If you're that concerned about the condition of the oil, just change it every 7,500 miles.

People put way too much emphasis on needing to know the condition of thier engine oil. Stop believing the Jiffy Lube commercials.

You can see the oil from my pictures is still somewhat translucent, and it has 17,500 miles on it. The oil that comes out of my diesel tractor after 50 hours of use stains my hands black. Color doesn't indicate anything.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

I think you probably risk getting dirt in the oil by removing the filter cap and risk loosening the seal of the filter element in the housing once you've unseated the element. If you really need to look at the oil, just take a swab and get some through the oil filler cap. You can tell the oil is dark in color versus its lighter color when new, but it really doesn't tell you anything.

If you're that concerned about the condition of the oil, just change it every 7,500 miles.

People put way too much emphasis on needing to know the condition of thier engine oil. Stop believing the Jiffy Lube commercials.

You can see the oil from my pictures is still somewhat translucent, and it has 17,500 miles on it. The oil that comes out of my diesel tractor after 50 hours of use stains my hands black. Color doesn't indicate anything.

+1 Exactly.

[Samuel L Jackson]

I think that if you are doing most of your driving on the freeway, your oil is going to do better. But if you are doing just short trips with mostly stop & go driving, I don't think 17k mile oil changes are gonna fly.

[samchoi604]

Originally Posted by turkish335

ok so the computer calculates it based on a certain set of threshold parameters. Who says those parameters are adequate technically or were they backed into by financial analysis? Ie calculate the longest possible interval, given an everage bmw driver, that we can run the oil for, given that it costs BMW X dollars per oil change and the cost of not changing the oil is Y dollars of waranty work/vehicle repair (ie the concequences of not chaning oil to often).

Since the consequences of not changing your oil often enough occur into the future, typically to the latter end of a car's useful life, when present valued, that amount would be small when compared to the incremental costs in the short term that BMW has to pay to change your oil more frequently, assuming a certain % of problems or engine failures.

In the end, it probably works fine for most average drivers

+1

In the real world, accounts have more say than the engineers. It is BMW's accountants telling you when to do an oil change, not the engineers.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by samchoi604

+1

In the real world, accounts have more say than the engineers. It is BMW's accountants telling you when to do an oil change, not the engineers.

What you say just doesn't add up. An oil change costs BMW probably $65 dollars. Doubling the oil change interval down to 7,500 miles gets three more oil changes at 50,000 miles. The Buyer pays for the maintenance in the price of the car; it's not free. Do you really think charging an extra $200 per car to cover the additional three oil changes is really a decision factor that BMW fears will send a potential customer to Audi?

If Accountants had the last say, and not the engineers, a 7 Series wouldn't cost $85,000.

[742]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

What you say just doesn't add up. An oil change costs BMW probably $65 dollars. Doubling the oil change interval down to 7,500 miles gets three more oil changes at 50,000 miles. The Buyer pays for the maintenance in the price of the car; it's not free. Do you really think charging an extra $200 per car to cover the additional three oil changes is really a decision factor that BMW fears will send a potential customer to Audi?

If Accountants had the last say, and not the engineers, a 7 Series wouldn't cost $85,000.

In a world where BMW feels cost pressure that lead to deletion of power outlets and glove compartment flight lights -- yes, $200 per car does matter.

But lets try a different approach. You get good results while following the BMW schedule. However you appear to rack up miles at a high rate. What usage patterns and enviromental issues would lead you to take a more conservative approach?

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by 742

In a world where BMW feels cost pressure that lead to deletion of power outlets and glove compartment flight lights -- yes, $200 per car does matter.

But lets try a different approach. You get good results while following the BMW schedule. However you appear to rack up miles at a high rate. What usage patterns and enviromental issues would lead you to take a more conservative approach?

None; it's my daily commute. I don't have any environmental issues. I don't believe in man-made global warming, or climate change, or whatever the catch phase of the day is.

[742]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

None; it's my daily commute. I don't have any environmental issues. I don't believe in man-made global warming, or climate change, or whatever the catch phase of the day is.

By "environmental issues" I was referring to things such as temperature (and range), humidity, high dust levels -- or in other words, things in the environment.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by 742

By "environmental issues" I was referring to things such as temperature (and range), humidity, high dust levels -- or in other words, things in the environment.

My bad, I misunderstood your question (one of my friends gives me shit for driving so much- I a bit sensitive about it). I don't think any other environmental conditions would make me change my approach. I live in Central Virginia and commute to the outer burbs of D.C. It's hot and humid in the Summer (mid 40's in the Winter), and I sit in stop and go traffic for 15 miles of my trip each way, so it's not like my engine just happily sits at 3,000 RPM at 80 MPH the whole trip. The 65 miles I travel on the rest of the commute is about 12 miles of steady state 80 MPH highway (when I'm not racing Dodge RAM trucks) and the rest is moderately high-G cornering and braking. In the morning when my engine is still cold, a bit more than a mile from my house, I climb 1000 feet up a mountain on a 6-turn corkscrew that puts the one at Laguna Seca to shame.

So if my engine was gunked up now at 90K miles with the extended oil change interval I follow, I would think with the high G's I subject it to and the stress it goes through during the cold condition hill climb, it would have spun a bearing by now due to poor oil flow, or damaged the valve train at least.

However, if you read my other posts you'll find I changed the diff oil and engine coolant at 75K, and I just changed the manual trans oil at 90K. Go figure...

[fb888]

My 2003 330xi E46 had the "fixed" change interval at 15k but I returned that car after the lease at 45k.

My purchased 2006 330xi E90 auto has almost 74k miles now and first 2 free oil changes were changed at 18k intervals. I drive 80 miles a day with about 80% of it highway (80mph) avg mpg is 25.5. I don't drive my car hard or track. The 3rd oil change I paid for myself $95 at dealer and I think I did it at 12k interval. Engine runs fine.

I had the front-brake pad changed before 50k but rear brake never got changed and the computer still says it has 50k life left, I guess I don't brake that much or the sensor is not working properly. I haven't heard of any brake pad indicator either.

If air filter is only changed at Inspection II then my air filter must haven't been changed at 74k miles. I recently bought K&N but will give it to a mechanic to replace it. Brake fluid change due in November (2 yr interval).

Will keep the car till X1 in 2011...

[JRZFresh]

I just did a 7.5K mile oil change. Didn't want to wait until 15k. That can't be good for the turbos.

[Bimmer Al]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

I think you probably risk getting dirt in the oil by removing the filter cap and risk loosening the seal of the filter element in the housing once you've unseated the element. If you really need to look at the oil, just take a swab and get some through the oil filler cap. You can tell the oil is dark in color versus its lighter color when new, but it really doesn't tell you anything.

If you're that concerned about the condition of the oil, just change it every 7,500 miles.

People put way too much emphasis on needing to know the condition of thier engine oil. Stop believing the Jiffy Lube commercials.

You can see the oil from my pictures is still somewhat translucent, and it has 17,500 miles on it. The oil that comes out of my diesel tractor after 50 hours of use stains my hands black. Color doesn't indicate anything.

Oil is colour is irrelevant.

[roundle]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

And after 50,000 miles BMW doesn't pay the bill, the owner does.

And in Europe, BMW NEVER pays the bill yet the interval remains the same. Also, it's not 4YR/50K in Europe, it's 2YR/Unlimited...

Interval has little to do with cost, more to do with planet Earth. Said that, I have my oil changed every 7500 miles...

FYI: In Holland, it costs me about $300 for my first oil change at my local dealer (with Castrol SLX Professional Flow 0W30, about $30 per liter).

Random comment: When I first bought my 2011 328i, the car told me that I would not need an oil change until 16K miles. By 2K miles, the car told me that I'd need a change at 14K. By 4K miles, my oil was due at 12K. Most of my drives are 25+ (i.e. oil always comes up to temp) miles with a mix of highway and city.