Oil service...advice please

[W444 LKR]

Hi,

My Z3M is due a service but I want to make sure they put the right stuff in.

When i bought the car from a dealer he said that he used "Castrol Sport Edge 0-40 Engine Oil for the service as this is recommended to keep both the engine and VANOS unit in top condition as it is a little thinner in composition to the RS 10-60 oil which is believed by many to 'clog' the VANOS filter and unit when it is cold ( 10-60 is motorsport spec oil that many use in M powered cars but unless being driven very hard towards the top of the rev range consistently or hard on track you do not generate enough heat to thin it down enough to operate effectively ) causing the unit to eventually start to fail over a period of time."

Is this the case and is this the best oil to use as the Vanos on my motor is very quiet.

Any guidance will be appreciated.

Cheers

[Taz]

I thought it was the worn gears in the VANOS that cause the noise so thicker oil would increase its life.

I've been using castrol 10w-60 for 3 and a half years and my vanos hasn't deminished at all. I think it is a case of letting the cars oil temp. gets to 60-80 before driving it hard aswell

[M_guy]

Every document and expert that I have seen have only said that the S54 must use the 10w60 oil - nothing else. I've also been using it for over 3 years in my '01 M Roadster.

[c_w]

Yes if it's an S54 it should be using 10/60 Edgeas this oil was developed for BMW sepcifical for this engine and the M5 V8.

It's the S50 that usually has the oil debate.

[W444 LKR]

Yes if it's an S54 it should be using 10/60 Edgeas this oil was developed for BMW sepcifical for this engine and the M5 V8.

It's the S50 that usually has the oil debate.

Mines the S50 engine (W reg 2000).

[Fender2004]

Also when you do an oil change, you can change the sump nut with a magnetic one, so that if there is any tiny pieces of metal in your engine:( they will stick to the magnet on the sump nut . I got mine from e-bay but I'm sure you can buy them from other outlets.

[W444 LKR]

Spoke to a BMW specialist today about the service on the Z3M.

After a short discussion on all the different recommendations of oil for the s50 engine, he said that the best to use is 10/60w on the car. He has worked on many of the S50 and S54 engines and am going on what he says, good guy as well.

Getting the car serviced tomorrow, will inform on prices etc.

[PERRIN Z3M]

When i spent many hours debating what oil to use when i had my inspection 2 done last year i spoke to many people including "oil man" who posts on here.

I was recomended :-

S50 must be 0/30 or 10/40

S54 must be 10/60

steve

[W444 LKR]

When i spent many hours debating what oil to use when i had my inspection 2 done last year i spoke to many people including "oil man" who posts on here.

I was recomended :-

S50 must be 0/30 or 10/40

S54 must be 10/60

steve

f

There is abit of a debate on the oil for the S50 , I am no mechanic and have to go on recommendation. He is putting 10/60 in tomoz, sure it will do the job!

[siwilson]

When i spent many hours debating what oil to use when i had my inspection 2 done last year i spoke to many people including "oil man" who posts on here.

I was recomended :-

S50 must be 0/30 or 10/40

S54 must be 10/60

steve

f

There is abit of a debate on the oil for the S50 , I am no mechanic and have to go on recommendation. He is putting 10/60 in tomoz, sure it will do the job!

There is certainly a debate, but mostly by people who know nothing about oil. If you follow what Oilman, Castrol and BMW say there really is no debate.

If BMW did not specify 10W-60 for my S54 I would not be putting it in. It's a lot more expensive and a lot less available. Castrol say 0W-40 or 0W-30 for S50, so go with 0W-40 or 0W-30.

Si.