which oil?

[micahz3]

hello everybody. newbie alert. my 2.8L 1997 Z3 has done 117k miles, i live in the uk midlands.
it's time my machine had an oil change, i have done some research and i am still confused about which grade to choose.
my BMW garage recommended Castrol Edge Professional 0W30 last time but since i have used this grade i have seen oil consumption increase from nil to about 1litre over the last 2k miles (!)
the car has no obvious oil leaks and is not smoky. a lot of my manoeuvres are less than 2 miles across town.
i concede it is 3 years and 12k miles since the oil was changed. i know i am bad. i resolve to change the oil annually in the future.

my questions are:
is oil consumption connected to the type of oil used, my poor service history, or my usage patterns?
what oil should i use for the forthcoming oil change given my usage?

many thanks!

[Del]

0W-30 seems a bit "thin". As far as I am aware that is used on some of the latest BMW engines with turbos etc. I would suggest either fully synthetic 5W-30 or 5W-40. There is a lot of big oil company politics when it comes to the "right" brand to use.

The UK Castrol site gives a guide as to the viscosity to chose - many members are happy with Halfords or Euro car parts own brand (obviously made by a big unknown company) Triple QX Fully Synthetic 5W-40 (latest SN rating and BMW approved ). I use Triple QX.

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/sectionb ... Id=7072854

http://www.eurocarparts.com/

[Z3cade]

You need a fully synthetic 5w-40. That's what's recommended for the M Roadster too. I use Fuchs Titan race pro s 5w-40.
But any fully syn 5w-40 will be fine

[gookah]

I use the Halfords fully synthetic 5W/30,
At £10 for 4 litres it was a bargain, my tappet noise disappeared too, and it uses no oil.
It is BMW LL01 rated.

[Mint]

I used TRIPLE QX Engine Oil 5w40 Fully Synthetic from Carparts4less

[t-tony]

Most oils come from a refinery which produces oils for more than 1 company. Often what sets them apart is the additives which different companies add to the basic oil to produce their own "brand". Some oils are long life some are low ash (diesels) the main thing is regular oil changes.

[micahz3]

many thanks! very helpful!

[t-tony]

Sorry, I see what you mean. All I was trying to tell you was you choose the oil, but as you can tell from the responses you received everyone has their own choice. Just get the correct recommended grade and use it. Keep an eye on consumption and react accordingly. We, at work, have 5w/40 in a bulk tank. I use this, as do many customers, but I couldn't tell you who produces it!. All I can say is my car doesn't use oil between changes. So it's good for me in normal road use. Maybe if you are looking at track days and really abusing your engine maybe I would use a top grade expensive oil. End of the day it's up to you.

[warhammer23]

Didn't want to start another oil thread.

I own a Z3 with 1.9 M44 from 97 with 151k miles.

What oil should i use?

In an older receipt from the car it said full synth oil on a previous oil change but no other details.
I presume it is at least 5W-xx.

So any good brand 5W40 or 5W30 will suffice ?

From carparts4less and eurocarpatrs - are these any good?

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/BMW_Z ... 7f2&000398

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/BMW_Z ... 0cb&000398

Any input is of great help.

[Del]

I've always used fully synthetic 5W-40 in my 1.9 (and occasionally 0W-40). When I got the car a few years back most software "oil recommendation systems" were confirming 5W-40. Very recently I notice that some have started recommending 5W-30 for my 1.9 which surprised me as that is the usual recommendation for much newer cars. I've stuck with 5W-40 and I have used the Triple QX brand from ECP - I've now got 90K plus miles and change the oil very regularly - hot and cold compression tests on my engine have been "like new". On these cars it is probably more important to keep it clean and changed regularly rather than chasing a sexy (and expensive) brand.

[warhammer23]

Perfect, so 5w40 it is and the Triple. (the exact one , the yellow one or the black jug ?
Thank you.

When i lived in Europe, i used for my E34 with M50 engine, a 10w40 Liqui Moly that i also changed very regularly (every 5-6K km) so i know what you mean.
Here i plan to do the same, at least 2 times a year and/or every 5k miles i think is a good start.


And the Man filter has all the washers needed ? Like the copper for the oil plug, o-rings for the filter housing etc?

I see that i have to get this one as well.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191177909611? ... EBIDX%3AIT

[Del]

I suspect that when some of the early Z3s were built in the 1990s, the widely-used oil at that time was semi-synthetic 10W-40. The goal posts keep moving as oils improve I've used several Z3 Mann oil filters from my local GSF and they have always come with all 4 seals - the two small ones for the end of the filter holder, the large one for the filter thread and a copper washer for the sump plug - I use a vacuum pump to suck my oil out of the Z3 and so I haven't used the latter.

[warhammer23]

Ah yes with the pump via the dipstick.

And it sucks everything ?

May i ask what pump do you use so i can do it myself - in the nick of time i was just looking to buy ramps, tools from ebay etc.

But you gave a more comfortable approach.

Something like this?

http://www.pvrdirect.co.uk/productinfo. ... Atyo8P8HAQ

[Del]

You get strong views on these pumps. I have a PELA one. The oil needs to be good and hot - so that it is nice and thin with dirt suspended in it. People say it does not suck "sludge" from the sump floor - but in my experience sludge does not accumulate there. We experimented on my son's car once (not a z3) and drained it the normal way - afterwards we put the suction tube down the dipstick and got more oil out!

I find it so easy to use that it encourages you to change the oil more frequently. Unfortunately, it won't work on my modern Audi which has some sort of "baffling" in the sump

[warhammer23]

Yeah i guess, i will give it a try non the less, because it's exactly as you said, more frequent and i like to do it myself.

Ok this one i presume - golf ball looks.

http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/oil-extractor-pump-38535

If you had success whit your z3 1.9 m44, that's all i need to get going.

Too bad with the Audis..

[Del]

That's the one. It had a good name for build quality and getting spare parts. The suction tube is strong and reinforced with metal wire so that it is neither damaged by hot oil nor curls up when it hits the bottom of the sump.

[warhammer23]

Excellent.

Sir, you made my day.
Thank you.

I will get it and start some transfusions.

[Mike Fishwick]

If you read the Owners Handbook you will see that the "2.8 engine is not too critical where oil is concerned - and you certainly do not 'Need' to use a synthetic. The 1.9 is listed as requiring synthetic (probably due to its use of roller cam followers) but not the 2.8.

Don't tell me - you do not have an Owners Handbook? Then buy one, or look on line for a download - and read it!

For your dreadful usage cycle of 2 mile (therefore cold) runs, I would suggest using a cheap mineral oil and changing it at least every 6 months, with a filter change every year - VW Quantum 10-40 from GSF would be fine, and being a high detergency oil it will keep the poor old engine clean.

[DC]

You get strong views on these pumps. I have a PELA one. The oil needs to be good and hot - so that it is nice and thin with dirt suspended in it. People say it does not suck "sludge" from the sump floor - but in my experience sludge does not accumulate there. We experimented on my son's car once (not a z3) and drained it the normal way - afterwards we put the suction tube down the dipstick and got more oil out!

I find it so easy to use that it encourages you to change the oil more frequently. Unfortunately, it won't work on my modern Audi which has some sort of "baffling" in the sump

Agreed. I have for several years used the same Pela pump as warhammer linked to and it does get all the oil out as you say.
First use I tested it the other way round, pump first then removed plug and none came out both on my Morgan and my M44.
It makes an oil and filter change dead easy so no hassle to follow Mikes good advice.

Dave.

[Mike Fishwick]

Just in case you think that a more expensive oil 'must' be better, I used the above VW Quantum 10-40 SJ oil in my Golf GTI which was used for sprint event, running to 7500 rpm, and never had any problems. Oil consumption was about a pint at every 5000 mile oil change, and when bought by 25 litres it was really cheap.

Oh - and forget about the Service Interval lights. Just reset them at every oil change - you can use a piece of wire in the data link socket. Look on the Z3 Knowledgebase for details.