New to E30 325is What OIL?

[DCColegrove]

Haha, I was going to reply but you did it in far less words and with a lot more style. +1

I try really hard not to be sarcastic...

But it just kind of slips out at times.

[Mystikal]

Now there's a real expert for you....

Haha, I was going to reply but you did it in far less words and with a lot more style. +1

[CorvallisBMW]

10-30 summer, 10-40 winter (NY)

Shouldn't that be the other way around?

[DCColegrove]

10-30 summer, 10-40 winter (NY)

if you wana go synthetic which..(which isnt really for these older engines) use ELF oil, coastly but its better than mobile 1. my reason for saying that is seeing the differences in all types of cars ive done oil changes on in the past 2-3 years at a shope i used to work at, the difference in the smell texture and visual BLACKness of oil between mobile 1 and elf is horrendice(sp). when i tell you every car with mobile 1's oil was black smelled more burnt than normal, i actually felt bad for the motors. lol

Now there's a real expert for you....

[Greekstyles]

10-30 summer, 10-40 winter (NY)

if you wana go synthetic which..(which isnt really for these older engines) use ELF oil, coastly but its better than mobile 1. my reason for saying that is seeing the differences in all types of cars ive done oil changes on in the past 2-3 years at a shope i used to work at, the difference in the smell texture and visual BLACKness of oil between mobile 1 and elf is horrendice(sp). when i tell you every car with mobile 1's oil was black smelled more burnt than normal, i actually felt bad for the motors. lol

[nmlss2006]

5k it is, then. 4300 to go.

[moatilliatta]

didn't beat amsoil..

[z31maniac]

I change my oil about every 5k (even with synthetic)

Yup, that's advantage of using synthetic for me. That and I was sold on Synthetic from my sportbike days after seeing the HUGE difference quality oil made in the transmission, ie smooth, precise shifting. Has to be good for the motor too.

Change when the weather warms up, change again when it cools back down.

Oh, 20w-50 Royal Purple, beat all but one oil on a wrist pin wear test, and I get it with my buddies employee discount.

[ethree]

20w50

We have a winnnnar!!111

[Mulholland]

20W 50 = happy E30's in texas for sure.

[DCColegrove]

I change my oil about every 5k (even with synthetic)

[nmlss2006]

Well, I didn't even know that you used to have a job at BMW, so I learned two things.
As to cold starts, I certainly don't rev engines when cold, but I also tend to change vehicles well in advance of the 100kmi mark. One E30 right now has 123kmi, I plan to keep it for another 123k or so, we'll see where that goes.
Since I have you here and I think a lot of people beside me would benefit... what do you say IRT change intervals?

[DCColegrove]

Aha! Thank you sir, finally a reply that makes some sense. Of course the valve train would be the major difference and indeed http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...1_15W-50_.aspx supports your statement - I guess I should've read that earlier. I guess that'll be going in in 4800 miles. What about the other concern though - i.e. cold weather starts?

Edit: further info on the topic, http://landroverforums.com/m_65996/mpage_2/tm.htm, post 15.
Better URL to content above: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.p...topic&p=167978

Probably not a well known fact but one of my jobs at BMW was to test things to destruction...
Then go back to engineering...
and tell them how and where they fucked up.

On the topic of cold starts:

I don't really know what to tell you.

Because of emissions the amount of zinc (worked as a sacrificial coating that would bond to metal parts) has been reduced in modern oils.

This is a problem for the older engine designs. Just don't rev them cold...

[nmlss2006]

Aha! Thank you sir, finally a reply that makes some sense. Of course the valve train would be the major difference and indeed http://www.mobiloil.com/USA-English/...1_15W-50_.aspx supports your statement - I guess I should've read that earlier. I guess that'll be going in in 4800 miles. What about the other concern though - i.e. cold weather starts?

Edit: further info on the topic, http://landroverforums.com/m_65996/mpage_2/tm.htm, post 15.
Better URL to content above: http://www.steelsoldiers.com/index.p...topic&p=167978

[DCColegrove]

DCColegrove, I might even trust your experience, but 20W oil on a cold winter morning is going to do WONDERS for engine wear, be it an M20 or a Jag 2.4/3.4 DOHC from the 1940s (where I run the HPX I mentioned a few posts ago).
Given that a modern 5W30 synthetic (API SM / ACEA A3/A5) has better shear resistence than any oils that were out in the 1980s, possibly excluding the fabled bardahl -60s (the only oils that could keep the Delta Integrale engines running for more than 500 miles at a time) I'd really like to understand what benefit is to be gained by running a 20W50 oil in an engine such as the M20, which doesn't have a particularly difficult temperature profile, unless you're on the track.
I also don't quite understand where the tolerances on an M20 would be THAT much different from an M50 - and how an M50 would be different from an M52. I'd love to learn though :).

For reference IRT engine oils: http://micapeak.com/info/oiled.html .

The problem with running thinner oils in the m20 is mostly with the design of the valve train, the thinner modern oils, though more stable in shear, do not offer the same hydrodynamic lubrication properties.

The later engines with cam on bucket HVAs are very different, and the tolerances are getting tighter.