Hi I’m looking for advice regarding oil choice for my 2002 BMW 330Ci with 140,000 miles. Mostly I do short city driving but usually the engine gets to operating temp. I drive hard every 2-3 months on the Highway 1 “race course” heading up North on the California coast (the fun stuff).
My main objective is to make the car last as long as possible.
Currently my shop uses 5W-40 full synthetic every time the car is serviced (not sure what brand) and I’ve been topping it off with Mobil 1 5W-50 advanced full synthetic in hopes of reducing oil burning off with the thicker viscosity. The manual recommends BMW synthetic 5W-30 or 5W-40.
I’m wondering whether high mileage synthetic might be appropriate and whether I should go with a big name brand or maybe a specialized oil like Liqui Moly or similar. Price isn’t really of concern unless it’s significantly more expensive than a viable alternative.
Also I only drive ~1500 miles a year so I’m also wondering if since I do a lot of city driving I should change the oil every 6 months or so.
I would use 5W-40 synthetic that meets the BMW spec, and I’d take longer drives at least once a month. I wouldn’t use off-spec oil. Does your BMW require the special spec oil that many BMWs require?
@texases The manual says: “The quality of the engine oil is extremely important for the operation and service life of an engine. Based on extensive testing, BMW has approved only certain grades of engine oil. Use only approved “BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil.” If you are unable obtain an approved “BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil,” you may use small volumes of other synthetic oils for topping up between oil changes. Use only oils with the specification API SH or higher.”
The link I provided to bimmerworld.com says in the Various Types of Oil to Buy section " Big Box off-the-shelf . Shopping from any of the chain stores will give you plenty of options for modern engine oil. These are almost always API SN rated oils for the engines built within the last ten years. And always aimed at the mass-market DIY person. If you use your BMW for commuting or exclusively on the street there is very little downside to a big box oil and frequent oil changes (4,000-6,000 miles)."
TTFM? (RTFM with a T instead of an R) Waddaya think should I take the red pill or the blue pill?
Mobil-1 FS and 0W-40 and 5W-40 meet BMW LL-01, and that’s what your E46 needs. Click on the product guide in your link and find the FS oils near the bottom of the list.
Any other affordable options? Like MOPAR or something? I’m in San Francisco Bay Area California. My shop charges $250/hr I suppose I could see how much they’d charge for an oil change.
I just changed the oil in my Toyota truck that calls for 10K mile oil changes/12 months which ever comes 1st, @ 6 months with only 1,300 miles on it, 0w20 Toyota full synthetic, I also used an oil filter from the dealer… I too want to make my vehicle last a long time… it is what it is… lol
Currently my shop uses this stuff every service. They claim it cleans the crankshaft IIRC. Thanks but I don’t even drive enough to warrant using something to reduce oil burn since I’ll be replacing the oil every 6 months anyways now.
(the fun stuff).
