M54 Engine Oil

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yme402
Joined: Sat 25 Jul, 2015 19:22
Posts: 15

  Z3 roadster 2.2i

M54 Engine Oil

Post by yme402 »

Having worked in the engine oil industry man and boy, I set myself a mission at the beginning of the year to find an answer to the burning oil issue of the M54 engine.

I have been working with my lubricant scientist collegues over the past 6 months with my much loved 2002 Sport 2.2 as a test bed. The bottom line in laymans terms is that with all these engines now 10 years old or more, the OEM prescribed 5W-30/40 is too thin.

We have been running my car on Valvoline All-Fleet Extra 15W-40.
(Please don't think I have lost the plot now.....)

Although not the cheapest oil out there, this more viscous fluid has all the essential chemistry of thinner oils, but in particular has a very high level of detergents and heat-dispersants that the M54 needs. My car has been on this now for about 5,000 miles and is not burning any oil, and is without a doubt running much quieter on both start-up and when up to running temperature. Timing chain noise in particular is much quiter and smoother.

Stong oil pressure and subsequant smooth delivery of power are also noticeable with the Valvoline product.

Any questions, please feel free to get in touch.
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Brian H
Joined: Tue 16 Dec, 2008 19:55
Posts: 2505

  Z3 roadster 3.0i

Re: M54 Engine Oil

Post by Brian H »

Some good info there, a family member took her M54 engined e46 in to a main dealer to be told "it's a performance engine, what do you expect!" Interesting my M54 3.0 is very good with oil.
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Southernboy
Joined: Thu 07 Oct, 2010 12:39
Posts: 6436

  Z3 roadster 3.0i
Location: Johannesburg

Re: M54 Engine Oil

Post by Southernboy »

Well done with the research and testing ! This has been a recurrent query on this and other forums regarding the M54 engine. Oddly the M52 motor never had this issue and even with well over 230,000 kms didn't ever use a drop of oil. One has to ask what the difference is in the materials used in the block, pistons, rings, valves etc which would lead to the M54 deteriorating vs the M52.
"Normal is overrated"
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Vic-Z3
Joined: Fri 11 Jun, 2010 19:28
Posts: 915

  Z3 roadster 2.2i
Location: Redditch
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Re: M54 Engine Oil

Post by Vic-Z3 »

All-Fleet Extra engine oil is a Super High Performance Diesel (SHPD) Premium conventional engine oil
for use in heavy-duty, turbo-charged industrial and truck engines.
Taken from the Valvoline web page.
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Mein altes Auto riecht nach Nudeln, hat dieses Auto eine Wurst Geruch.
Del
Joined: Sat 19 Nov, 2011 18:35
Posts: 2136

  Z3 roadster 1.9

Re: M54 Engine Oil

Post by Del »

The M54 engine is well known for having an oil usage "problem" as it was widely used across the BMW range. Not all M54s have the problem - older BMW techs suggested they had a fairly fussy, running-in regime which, if followed to the letter, seems to have avoided the problem on some cars. From what I have been able to gather, the "problem" surrounded "low friction" piston rings and is nothing to do with adverse wear etc. I suspect that 10W-40 was the trendy oil when the M54 engine was designed. Personally, I would be a little cautious about going "too thick" with the oil because of the more delicate oil-ways around the camshafts and vanos which might suffer short term oil starvation on a colder engine. When it comes to "high performance" engines, the recommendation on the later S54 M engine was 10W-60 and my understanding of F1 oil (closely guarded secret :D ) is that it is something like 0w-60. :D
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