What oil to use on my m20?

[rThor432]

And FWIW, Walmart is the place to go for oil ;)

Yes.

[Kwaaahhh]

And FWIW, Walmart is the place to go for oil ;)

I actually did just that. Bought 6 qt of 10w-40 for about $18. :up:

[ethree]

Dude you should buy the big jugs, 5 quarts for $11, even if your car leaks/burns a lot of oil and you need that 6th quart for your pass. side floorboard 5+1.
I order my filters online three or four at a time, I don't trust parts store/fram shit, get oem or at the very least purolator or bosch.
20w50 if you don't like lifter noise.

[DCColegrove]

Trust me on this one...I know what I'm talking about...This is the final word:

The only acceptable weight of oil in an M20 is 20w/50. (15w50 synthetic is usable)

Modern synthetics are better in every way than mineral based oils the only drawback is price.

[Kwaaahhh]

Dude you should buy the big jugs, 5 quarts for $11, even if your car leaks/burns a lot of oil and you need that 6th quart for your pass. side floorboard 5+1.
I order my filters online three or four at a time, I don't trust parts store/fram shit, get oem or at the very least purolator or bosch.
20w50 if you don't like lifter noise.

Damn its like you were spying on me. :) I got the 5 qt jug and a extra one. Plus got a filter there to. :up: Time for a meet at walmart. LOL!

[drift]

Trust me on this one...I know what I'm talking about...This is the final word:

The only acceptable weight of oil in an M20 is 20w/50. (15w50 synthetic is usable)

Modern synthetics are better in every way than mineral based oils the only drawback is price.

What's the oem / owner's manual on engine oil viscosity?
(I've been thinking about 20W-50)

[Hairos E30]

hey mine has about 175000 miles on it and has no leaks ive been using 10w-40 and when i put my spare tire on it i saw some damn oil spots...wtf!!!!!!:!: what should i do oil wise..pm me.....

[norwood e30]

Yes castrol is great for your bmw e30! b 4 i used penzoil 10w 40 senthetic oil but the castrol holds up real nice not that slugish feel if you know what i mean

[Emre]

For dino-based oil I use Castrol GTX 20W50.

+1

Like just about everyone else, I use GTX 20w50. Even on the track. I just change it regularly and check to make sure it's topped up every 1000 miles or so. Oil consumption has not been an issue with any of my M20B25 engines over the years.

Then again, I don't run my E30's in the winter months. Maybe a different oil would be better for cold starting in -15degC Montreal winters. But 20w50 works just fine in the warmer months.

I favor Bosch and Mahle filters, but I'm not really convinced that makes such a huge difference. I've used generic Fram and Purolator filters in a pinch.

[golde30]

For dino-based oil I use Castrol GTX 20W50. It works - it's cheap - 'nuff said.

Jon

+1

[Devil Inc]

I used 5w-30 after I fixed my leaky head gasket for about a 1000 miles and my m20 didn't leak oil but you could tell it was burning it on a cold start. Now I use 20w-50 and it runs excellent!

My old lady's Tribute uses Ford Motorcraft 5w-20 all year around, I think my blood is thicker than that.

[Devil Inc]

+1

Like just about everyone else, I use GTX 20w50. Even on the track. I just change it regularly and check to make sure it's topped up every 1000 miles or so. Oil consumption has not been an issue with any of my M20B25 engines over the years.

Then again, I don't run my E30's in the winter months. Maybe a different oil would be better for cold starting in -15degC Montreal winters. But 20w50 works just fine in the warmer months.

I favor Bosch and Mahle filters, but I'm not really convinced that makes such a huge difference. I've used generic Fram and Purolator filters in a pinch.

Purolator "PureONE" filters are supposed to top of the line, from what I've been told. Fram=JUNK!

[e30wheelman]

i run 10w30

[nineohfour]

i use shell rotella t, i read it has a certain chemical in in that properly lubricates flat tappet cam shafts. used castrol GTX high mileage before that. always 20w-50. i'm pretty sure that castrol is BMW's OE dino oil supplier.

[Stanley Rockefeller]

i used to run M1 15w50 for canadian summers, but found the engine would "lug" thru power strokes. Only when cold, and in summer(not a winter car).

Then I switched to Delvac1 5W40 ( and found that the engine valvetrain noise was nicely uniform thru the temp range), and the engine didnt' "lug" when idling cold with the 15W50/

IMHO, if you're going syn and doing shorter OCI's you can go thinner and enjoy slightly marginal increases in performance and MPG. But if you have a leaker or burner (or you just can't afford syn) go dino and get something that's cheaper, but will need to be changed out more often.