1997 850 NA - Switched to Pennzoil 5W-40

[misha]

...Will the 5W40 oil good enough to take me through the extreme cold for those final 3 months of its life/performance?

Should be good enough.
Volvo oil recommendation says that it is good for more than -30 Celsius.

[Sommerfeldt]

About synthetic vs mineral oil....
Bmw made a research with a 100k km in a car with synthetic oil and in other car also 100k km but with mineral oil.
After dismantling the engine in tiny pieces....neither engine had signs of wearing.

Think about it.

This I'd like to see - can't seem to manage to find any evidence that BMW did this kind of research, or that result, and their own oils are all proprietary formula synthetic.

- S

[misha]

I had a '93 BMW 750 v12 which users's manual had 20w-50 oil recommendation for hot climate among other viscosities.
It was imported from Switzerland.
I doubt that 20w-50 was synthetic.
Bmw don't have "their own" oils.Those oils are manufactured by Castrol,Shell or Mobil(depends of market)under BMW name.
That BMW research i was talking about was published in Serbian Auto Bild magazine about two years ago.

[Sommerfeldt]

I had a '93 BMW 750 v12 which users's manual had 20w-50 oil recommendation for hot climate among other viscosities.
It was imported from Switzerland.
I doubt that 20w-50 was synthetic.
Bmw don't have "their own" oils.Those oils are manufactured by Castrol,Shell or Mobil(depends of market)under BMW name.
That BMW research i was talking about was published in Serbian Auto Bild magazine about two years ago.

Okay... first off, what's strange about 20W-50 being synthetic? It may not have been in 1993, but things have indeed changed since then - seems to me that that's the one thing people agree upon when it comes to oil - synthetic isn't what synthetic was. I.e. it's better these days.

Strange that BMW doesn't seem to have published that kind of relatively extensive research anywhere but a Serbian auto mag... not a whitepaper to be found anywhere I've looked.

Also, BMW doesn't recommend anything even close to non synthetic 20w-50 anymore.
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/owners/access ... ren%C3%B6l

- S

[abscate]

If you are driving at least 20 minutes, even in the city, you don't need to follow severe service recommendations. 12500 km synthetic oil changes will be fine.

We've run ourBMW (7 liter sump) for 25000 km synthetic oil changes since 2009 and it uses little oil and the crankcase is very clean.

[xHeart]

Added 2 quarts since switching over. Is it an excessive oil burn?

[dorvin]

In warm summer months, is 15w-40 recommended in an almost even blend of city and highway traveling at all? It's listed on my chart in my manual, I'm curious as to if anyone has tried it and noticed any difference in consumption.

[dyn blin]

Added 2 quarts since switching over. Is it an excessive oil burn?

As we've added used cars and motorcycles to the "herd" , it hasn't been unusual to see increased consumption after putting them on their first couple of changes in their transition to synthetic. Synthetic may tend to remove sludge deposits that previously prevented seepage around seals and gaskets while its additives help condition seals & restore flexibility. If you're using a high-mileage formulation, you should see some recondition of seals and gaskets that will reverse the consumption trend by the 2nd change. I tend to cut the interval in half and make sure to pay attention to the filter to see what level of gunk the new formulation may be cleaning out of the engine.

You might also pay close attention to your spark plug appearance, and if you're really concerned, have a shop test HC emissions to see if it's increasing as well. 1 quart per 1000 miles may be within tolerance for what some consider "normal" and acceptable, but that won't always tell you what such consumption may be affecting.

[xHeart]

The loss of oil is visibly slower than previously stated. The dipstick will be at minimum by this time, but it is above the mid mark.

Possible or just an illusion?

[polskamafia mjl]

About synthetic vs mineral oil....
Bmw made a research with a 100k km in a car with synthetic oil and in other car also 100k km but with mineral oil.
After dismantling the engine in tiny pieces....neither engine had signs of wearing.

Think about it.

I would very much like to see a source for this. I wonder if perhaps in this study the conventional garbage was simply changed far more frequently than the synthetic. If you do a conventional oil change every day I'm sure after 100K km both motors will be very clean. The advantage though is that you can reduce your oil change to once a year with the synthetic. Better for your wallet, your engine, and most importantly, the environment.