[porsche959]

seen alot of people trying a bunch of different oils. wanted to share my experience over the past year. basically, still hunting for an oil that will quiet the lifters (i have reduced lifter tick noise by about 30% ish).

most recently: latest liquimoly molygen green oil change 5w-30. thought it would reduce ticking noise but still exists, however its the quietest oil ive tried so far. its probably 10% quieter versus castrol edge 0w-40. time will tell how this holds up. will update if anything changes. only drove about 20 miles so far.




things i have tried in the past (loudness rating could all be in my mind):

• Agip 5w-40: loudest tick, fuck this oil unless you want to tell people you are diesel swapped
  
• Rotella t6 5w-40: 2nd loudest tick, lots of positive reviews here, about 10-20% quieter vs Agip
  
• Castrol Edge 0w-40 AND 5w40: 3rd loudest tick, again, alot of positive reviews on the lifter tick thread, maybe 10% quieter vs rotella - startup/idle ticks quieter but once engine is warm, same ticking loudness as Rotella
  
• Lucas Oil Synthetic Goo: did nothing
  
• Liquimoly Ceratec: did nothing
  
• Seaform in oil/intake/fuel: did nothing; it made my valve cover leak though, not sure if it was causation or just coincidence
  
• Marvels Mystery Oil in oil/fuel: did nothing; makes me gain 1hp i think
  
• Redlining at every other stoplight: does nothing, so stfu about ur blessed life with a tickless n52

[oVeRdOsE.]

nice, you came back for a review.

Fortunately, even on 138k miles, I do not have ticking noise on mine, but if I had, the most common recipe is : diesel oil + 1/2 Lucas oil stabilizer snake oil.

This is what I run in my audi, and its smooth. ''projectfarm'' channel favourite's snake oil. he has my vote.

[ccourteau82]

Lol at least you got a good sense of humour about it...If it really bothers me I generally just rev it a bit and it goes away for a min or two until I get moving again.

Small annoyance for such a stout powerplant.

[porsche959]

Originally Posted by ccourteau82

Lol at least you got a good sense of humour about it...If it really bothers me I generally just rev it a bit and it goes away for a min or two until I get moving again.

Small annoyance for such a stout powerplant.

oo good point. i will add my driving habits.

redlining every other stoplight (no change).

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by ccourteau82

Lol at least you got a good sense of humour about it...If it really bothers me I generally just rev it a bit and it goes away for a min or two until I get moving again.

Small annoyance for such a stout powerplant.

Hmmm you sure it's tick then? i have similar description as you and I'm pretty sure it's the fuel tank breather valve in my case and not coming from engine.

[Gamb1t]

Man you better steer clear of those modern BMW 4-pot turbos. The engine cold start ticking would drive you crazy!

[clegg]

I have a 2008 328i and am using Pennzoil Euro L Full Synthetic 5W30. Zero lifter noise.

[porsche959]

Originally Posted by clegg

I have a 2008 328i and am using Pennzoil Euro L Full Synthetic 5W30. Zero lifter noise.

Thanks. Another one to try out. Did it have lifter tick before this oil? What oil were you using before?

[N54_e90]

Oil will only help so much.. If the tick is that bad than the lifters will need to be replaced.

[clegg]

Originally Posted by porsche959

Thanks. Another one to try out. Did it have lifter tick before this oil? What oil were you using before?

Very slight noise at start up when I bought the car in April. I got it from a dealer. It had about 118000 miles on it. Not sure what it would have had in it then. I'm sold on the Pennz.

Like others have said, if you have a constant tick it's probably lifter time.

Wouldn't hurt to try the Euro L though.

[N52bigblock]

Originally Posted by porsche959

Thanks. Another one to try out. Did it have lifter tick before this oil? What oil were you using before?

We used to use this additive when i worked for Mazda. Early 2000 Mazdas had bad issues with noisy lifters and this stuff shut them up real good. I have also used it in Mitsubishi engines with noisy lifters. Shut them up as well. Never tried it in a BMW engine but might be worth a try. It definitely works on other engines. A bottle has quite a few treatments in it iirc.
https://www.proma.global/ProductMore...25&MenuID=6612
Here's another link. It is an Australian product.
https://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/car...eec80d82c9-001

[CTinline-six]

You've only driven 20 miles, so keep driving with that oil and see if anything changes. The ticking is common on pre 11/08 production engines. The cylinder head was redesigned to fix the issue. Some have the ticking, others don't. My previous 2006 325xi had it but only when it sat for a few days not being driven. It would go away after a long highway drive.

[riczon.335i]

I have been running the same Liqui Moly oil instead I run 5w40 year around and since I have switched I longer hear the lifters.

Originally Posted by porsche959

seen alot of people trying a bunch of different oils. wanted to share my experience over the past year. basically, still hunting for an oil that will quiet the lifters (i have reduced lifter tick noise by about 30% ish).

most recently: latest liquimoly molygen green oil change 5w-30. thought it would reduce ticking noise but still exists, however its the quietest oil ive tried so far. its probably 10% quieter versus castrol edge 0w-40. time will tell how this holds up. will update if anything changes. only drove about 20 miles so far.




things i have tried in the past (loudness rating could all be in my mind):

• Agip 5w-40: loudest tick, fuck this oil unless you want to tell people you are diesel swapped
  
• Rotella t6 5w-40: 2nd loudest tick, lots of positive reviews here, about 10-20% quieter vs Agip
  
• Castrol Edge 0w-40 AND 5w40: 3rd loudest tick, again, alot of positive reviews on the lifter tick thread, maybe 10% quieter vs rotella - startup/idle ticks quieter but once engine is warm, same ticking loudness as Rotella
  
• Lucas Oil Synthetic Goo: did nothing
  
• Liquimoly Ceratec: did nothing
  
• Seaform in oil/intake/fuel: did nothing; it made my valve cover leak though, not sure if it was causation or just coincidence
  
• Marvels Mystery Oil in oil/fuel: did nothing; makes me gain 1hp i think
  
• Redlining at every other stoplight: does nothing, so stfu about ur blessed life with a tickless n52

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

You've only driven 20 miles, so keep driving with that oil and see if anything changes. The ticking is common on pre 11/08 production engines. The cylinder head was redesigned to fix the issue. Some have the ticking, others don't. My previous 2006 325xi had it but only when it sat for a few days not being driven. It would go away after a long highway drive.

My 6/06 build N52 had a single ticking lifter at idle when I bought it. There was no 'occasional' tick, it was constant whenever the car was stopped and at idle.

I immediately did an oil change with Mobil 1 0w-40 and the ticking became less frequent, hearing it only sometimes when I was stopped and idling. I only ran a short interval on that oil (3500 miles if I remember correctly) and then switched to Castrol Edge 5w-40 (USA made, not the Belgian one) and the ticking at idle occurred less frquently over time. I've since done about 3 more oil changes using the Belgian amde Castrol Edge 0w-40, and I don't hear the ticking anymore.

Have you ever cleaned the VANOS solenoids and the check valves? I can't find the exact post, but I recall reading about someone who lessened the ticking by cleaning clogged VANOS check valves. I removed mine and they were fine, no clogging, just a light film of dark oil residue that came off with carb cleaner.

[Angelcma]

Just bought some 0w40 Castrol Edge oil.My car thick is constant. 75k miles bought used with this noise thincking it was easier to sort out. Hope this oil change helps.

[ECSTuning]

LM Molygen 5w40 does the best quitting down the N52 in my daily.

Also, keep in mind per Liqui Moly with Molygen the 5w40 is the suggested oil for the N52, N54, and N55, not the 5w30, this is due to their additive packages with Molygen. If you're running 5w30 LM Molygen it's not necessarily going to cause issues it's just not optimized for the motor like the 5w40.

-James

[clegg]

I have since changed to Castrol 5w40 LL01 approved and keeps my 07 335i, 08 328i and F15 X5 very happy and is best for QUIETING down the motors.

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by Gamb1t

Man you better steer clear of those modern BMW 4-pot turbos. The engine cold start ticking would drive you crazy!

Sounds like you play our game, we call it "N20 or diesel"Sometimes very hard to tell.

[mweisdorfer]

I have heard of guys adding Liqui Moly Ceratec

[Angelcma]

Well, I just did the oil change. Next one will be dónde in 5k miles more. The lifter noise persists but I hope that closer oil changes will help to fill or free the lifter.
Tomorrow I will try to red line it. I used Castrol 0w40 belgian Euro formula.

[porsche959]

Originally Posted by Angelcma

Well, I just did the oil change. Next one will be dónde in 5k miles more. The lifter noise persists but I hope that closer oil changes will help to fill or free the lifter.
Tomorrow I will try to red line it. I used Castrol 0w40 belgian Euro formula.

Get used to it. I’ve tried a few more oils and additives since the original post. Tick is alive and well.

[Angelcma]

Originally Posted by porsche959

Get used to it. I’ve tried a few more oils and additives since the original post. Tick is alive and well.

Don't want to be too pesimistic but Scotty Kilmer at least has a point. sometimes this cars are a pita to maintain. Also running costs can be higher than most other cars.