BMW 2002 synthetic oil recommendation

[alijzari]

Does anyone know what is the best oil to use for these cars? the guy I bought the car from said he used mobil 1 full synthetic does anyone know which one is good for these cars 0-40w?

[Mike87]

I use 20W50 Redline.

[ringkingpin]

I use Brad Penn in all of my antique or high performance vehicles.

[Preyupy]

These engines were not designed to run on 0 weight oils. Depending on where you live and the tempratures you are likely to be running I would recomend a 20w40 or 20w50 oil. Any brand you can buy easily will be more than good enough. I have seen M10 engines with over 100k miles with no cylinder or bearing wear using non synthetic oils, I am a believer in synthetic oils but they are not going to make a huge difference if this is your daily driver. The worst thing you can do is drive the car for short distances and never get it up to full opperating temperatures and it does not matter what kind of oil you are using.

I have seen as much as 5 hp difference at on the engine dyno just by changing oil. I went from a straight 40w break in oil to a 5w30 oil, I had tightened up the clearances knowing I was going to use a thinner weight oil and I believe the majority of the HP gain was less HP was being used to drive the oil pump. Consider how much HP it takes to drive an oil pump that moves 10-12 gal/min at 60 PSI and you can imagine that a thinner weight oil is MUCH easier to move than a thick oil and as such it takes a lot less HP to drive that pump.

You will find Terabytes of opinions about oil if you search long enough, everyone thinks their oil is so much better than the next guy. I can't tell you I have EVER seen a oil related engine failure, nor have I seen what I believe to be a oil issue that caused premature wear. If you change it on a regular basis, get the oil fully up to temprature 80% of the time you drive the car, take it easy on the engine until it is fully warmed up EVERY TIME you start the engine your engine will live a long and happy life. Engines that have been starved of oil (pressure drop while cornering, braking, or accelerating) or oil that has been run well beyond the service life are the primary reasons you will see what some believe to be Oil related failures.

[M3M3M3]

This.

You will find Terabytes of opinions about oil if you search long enough, everyone thinks their oil is so much better than the next guy. I can't tell you I have EVER seen a oil related engine failure, nor have I seen what I believe to be a oil issue that caused premature wear. If you change it on a regular basis, get the oil fully up to temprature 80% of the time you drive the car, take it easy on the engine until it is fully warmed up EVERY TIME you start the engine your engine will live a long and happy life. Engines that have been starved of oil (pressure drop while cornering, braking, or accelerating) or oil that has been run well beyond the service life are the primary reasons you will see what some believe to be Oil related failures.

[c.d.iesel]

Mobil 1 15w/50 = Yum Yum ! all year round

[ahlem]

I have 392000 miles on an M30 B35 motor with Mobil1 15w50 most of it's adult life. Motor has never been opened.

[Guest gliding_serpent]

Does anyone know what is the best oil to use for these cars? the guy I bought the car from said he used mobil 1 full synthetic does anyone know which one is good for these cars 0-40w?

Reliability has more to do with the owner/driver than the brand of oil.

[Preyupy]

What they said. The most important variable is the spacer between the steering wheel and the seat.

[TobyB]

...although, the Mobil 15-50 has just enough ZDDP to be nice to your camshaft, too...

t

[Emyers]

Used to run Mobil 1 15w-50 exclusively, used to be able to buy the 5qt jug at Wally World, have not been able to find it even in the Qt. for over two years. Have been running GTX 20w-50 since.

Earl

74 02Lux

02 M Roadster

72 Volvo 1800ES

[allbim]

Consider how much HP it takes to drive an oil pump that moves 10-12 gal/min at 60 PSI and you can imagine that a thinner weight oil is MUCH easier to move than a thick oil and as such it takes a lot less HP to drive that pump.

12 gal/min at 60 PSI calculates out to .42 HP with a pump efficiency of 100%.

Gear and Gerotor pumps are typically about 60% efficient. This means that it takes about .7 HP to drive the oil pump.

The power requirement obviously varies with viscosity, but is probably less than 1 HP and a lot less than most people think.

[allbim]

Mobil 1 and BMW endurance test. Amazing.

[Napes]

There are some valid and good opinions here, but FWIW, I use BradPenn 20W/50 in both of our '02s.

Bob Napier

[Mike Self]

or 15w-50 Pennzoil full synthetic (after 2k miles with conventional oil for better break-in). Prior to the rebuild (at 204k), and for the 69's full life (223k) I've used conventional Pennzoil, mostly 20w-50 for the past 15-20 years. The 73's crank showed no measurable wear at 204k miles, and the cylinder walls were still within stock dimensions to refit standard pistons, so I really can't complain.

Oil changes at 4k miles with conventional oil, 10k with synthetic.

cheers

mike