motor oil weight

[cbusrehab]

Thanks for everyone's input. I plan on getting an oil cooler, won't do and track days until then.

Fusion, thanks for the reference. The Mobil 1 0w40 that I am using now has VI of 185 but it is less viscous at 100C compared to 15w50 (13.5 vs 18 )

[AnimalE30]

I thought you were supposed to use castrol gtx 5w-30 for these 24v motors?

[Myster-E]

Valvoline VR1 20-50w S50

[JGood]

I'm running discontinued Mobil 1 20w50 that I have a drum of. It's old and has very high zinc and phosphorus additives. I use it in both my m20 and my m50.

Valvoline VR1 20-50w S50

Good stuff.

[Myster-E]

It sure is, I love this stuff

[Wanganstyle]

why not just run OEM bmw TWS 10-60 if your machine is track/play only? if you drive it infrequently, the added expense wouldn't even be an issue compared to a DD guy.

TWS 10-60 is pretty good at resisting breakdown. Lasts quite a while, if the motor is healthy (minimal blowby) you can go 6,000-8,000 miles between change no problem.

[JGood]

why not just run OEM bmw TWS 10-60 if your machine is track/play only? if you drive it infrequently, the added expense wouldn't even be an issue compared to a DD guy.

TWS 10-60 is pretty good at resisting breakdown. Lasts quite a while, if the motor is healthy (minimal blowby) you can go 6,000-8,000 miles between change no problem.

I change the oil in my track car after each track day. That's a LOT of abuse of the oil.

[Wanganstyle]

you can change after every event if it makes you happy.

BMW oem spec is change when the oil dirty sensor says dirty (whatever that means). BMW refused to change the oil in my friends e60m because the sensor said was not needed, even @ owners request.

Or you can change it every few track days. I like the TWS 10-60 because its designed around the vanos and HLA stress. The premium is not that bad when you compare to the non BMW top grade castrol, or amsoil etc-

amsoil is really good stuff; elf also.

[kalib0y]

I use either ELF or Total 10w50. Supposedly the Elf and Total 10w50 are specially formulated for the BMW M.

[Myster-E]

why not just run OEM bmw TWS 10-60 if your machine is track/play only? if you drive it infrequently, the added expense wouldn't even be an issue compared to a DD guy.

TWS 10-60 is pretty good at resisting breakdown. Lasts quite a while, if the motor is healthy (minimal blowby) you can go 6,000-8,000 miles between change no problem.

I like using 20 50w VR1 because the oil doesnt thin out too much. Honestly I would even run straight 50w.;)

[JGood]

you can change after every event if it makes you happy.

BMW oem spec is change when the oil dirty sensor says dirty (whatever that means). BMW refused to change the oil in my friends e60m because the sensor said was not needed, even @ owners request.

Or you can change it every few track days. I like the TWS 10-60 because its designed around the vanos and HLA stress. The premium is not that bad when you compare to the non BMW top grade castrol, or amsoil etc-

amsoil is really good stuff; elf also.

I'm not saying not to use the 10w60, I'm saying I don't think it's a great idea to go 6k-8k track miles between changes in an s50 with that oil. Maybe it will be "no problem" for a little while, but I bet that engine won't last nearly as long as one that has more frequent changes. 5k+ RPM's, full throttle, for 2 hours during a track day is a lot of abuse. And that's only ~100 miles.

What a local BMW dealer performs as far as service intervals on an e60 M5 has little to do with common sense s50 e30 track car maintenance. That sensor is probably nothing more then a collection of recorded DME events (throttle load, oil temp, coolant temp, RPM's, etc...) And of course since BMW is a well run business, they spent lots of time designing that light to only come on often enough to keep that engine running good just until the warranty period is over.

I agree though, the 10w60 is probably one of the best oils for that engine.

[Leo_328i]

Good discussion.

People should always take into consideration the climate they drive in. On my M42 (basically a 4 cylinder M50/M52) I run 10w-40 or 15w-40 in the winter where it can be around 5-10 degrees celsius in the morning on the way to work. Even 0w-40 or 5w-40 would be good during the winter.

However it can also get REALLY hot in summer in my part of Australia where it can get to around 110-120 degrees farenheit. During this time 20W-50 is the go.

When my M52 goes in my oil habbits will remain the same.

[Wanganstyle]

I'm not saying not to use the 10w60, I'm saying I don't think it's a great idea to go 6k-8k track miles between changes in an s50 with that oil. Maybe it will be "no problem" for a little while, but I bet that engine won't last nearly as long as one that has more frequent changes. 5k+ RPM's, full throttle, for 2 hours during a track day is a lot of abuse. And that's only ~100 miles.

What a local BMW dealer performs as far as service intervals on an e60 M5 has little to do with common sense s50 e30 track car maintenance. That sensor is probably nothing more then a collection of recorded DME events (throttle load, oil temp, coolant temp, RPM's, etc...) And of course since BMW is a well run business, they spent lots of time designing that light to only come on often enough to keep that engine running good just until the warranty period is over.

I agree though, the 10w60 is probably one of the best oils for that engine.

SOME take road going M cars to SERIOUS strain. There are still some people stateside that take high end land cruisers to WANGAN speeds on freeway, serious hard. 140-170mph pulls w large sized M cars......its quite fun, easy to do w 5000cc.

Many freeways in the bay area are designed to sustain over 140mph for quite a distance, you can easily cover 100+ miles @ autobahn pace here if you desire to risk the tickets.......many german style Airport runs .... I think thats what M5 was really designed for :)

I have ran my prior S54/s52 M engines harder on the freeway than on track :). high speed /high grip cornering wears tires seriously to- (turn in at 150++ on line). High speed ESSES are built into the freeway system, there are some you can turn in @ 140mph+ and keep the right foot planted for the next 3 ESSES.

high temp summer tracking def strains the oil, I might side w you and choose a less pricy oil to change more frequent in the summer time.

Amsoil as a company has a strategy towards different environments, they supply different oils to different countries!!!