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Quick Guide to Oil in Your E36

377K views 407 replies 108 participants last post by  hornhospital 
#1 ·
This guide will help you understand what we recommend for your E36. This guide primarily focuses on the I6 models (M50, M50TU, S50, M52TU, S52), but is a good starting point for those of you with the I4s (M42 & M44). This guide is NOT intended to spoon feed you exactly what you should use for your exact car in your exact location, rather, to provide you with the information necessary to make an intelligent, educated decision based on your knowledge.

The first thing is, ABOVE ALL, read your manual. There is a chart printed with the proper viscosities in it. If you don't have one, there are places online you can download copies for free, or you should buy one. It is invaluable to have, and you absolutely should have a copy for your model of E36. The chart for the;) E36 M50TUB25 engine is shown later.

Filters

Your E36 uses a paper filter that sits in a canister, which is much more convenient than the metal units. BMW uses 3 suppliers for its OEM filters: Mann, Mahle, and Hengst. It's generally accepted that OEM BMW filters are superior to pretty much everything else on the market for E36s. They're available at your dealer, or you can buy them in bulk (~12 filters) from various sponsors for much cheaper. My recommendation here is absolutely to stick with one of the OEM BMW filters listed above.

Oil Types

Your E36 came with dino oil from the factory. Will it hurt to keep using it? No. But, full synthetic oil does have its advantages. Primarily, extended oil change intervals due to its chemical properties. If you're a nerd like many of us and want to know more, there are many great sites that go VERY in-depth about oil types. I won't cover that here. That said, it's generally accepted that once you use synthetic, you shouldn't switch back to dino. Also, it's generally accepted that higher-mileage engines shouldn't switch to synthetic. Again, I'm not going to debate the merits of those here, but if it concerns you, there is plenty of information on both sides of the debate available with a quick search on Google.

Oil Intervals

Another hotly contested subject. The quick recommendations:

Dino Oil: 3000-4000 miles
Full Synthetic: 6500-9000 miles

You'll hear claims that you can go to 8000 miles on dino from some nuts, and sadly even BMW recommends 15-18000 mile intervals for its new cars on synthetic. Personally, I would never dream of driving anywhere close to that long on one change. Keep in mind, if you put HARD MILES on your car, you need to change at or earlier than the lower recommended numbers above.

The HARDEST driving you can do to your car is frequent cold starts, and short drives. That 1.5 mile drive around the corner 10 times a day is the worst thing you could ever do, and you NEED to change the oil regularly if you drive like that. Obviously, tracking/racing/auto-x'ing is also hard driving, and if you do this regularly you should keep short intervals. The easiest type of mileage on your car is a nice constant cruise at 70MPH on the freeway.

Oil Brands

Oh fun. This is a good topic. I won't bother with dino oil here, but lets deal with synthetics, which are becoming increasingly more popular. In fact, I'll narrow it down to 2 that I'll discuss.

Mobil1: To be short, you can't go wrong with Mobil1 full synthetic of the right viscosity. It's a tried and true oil that performs to expectations. If you have any doubts or are not feeling particularly sporting or adventurous, no one will be upset if you use this.

Royal Purple: The drama. Royal Purple makes some pretty outrageous claims, like increasing horsepower and gas mileage. There are some that swear by it, and there are some that claim it will destroy your engine. A simple search should bring up plenty of arguments for and against. I won't pretend that you'll get a huge bump out of RP. I will say that I have used it on several cars for tens of thousands of miles combined, and the engines do seem to run smoother and quieter to the untrained ear on RP than other oils of the same viscosity (including M1 full synthetic). Personally, this is the oil I use, and will continue to use, until someone develops something better.

Oil Viscosities

There is NOT a one-size-fits-all answer for this. However, lucky you! BMW published just what you should use in your owners manual. It is climate specific, and if you live in a region that climate varies from season to season, then you likely will need to use different viscosities for cold and hot seasons. I would recommend using either exactly or just slightly above what BMW recommends for a higher mileage E36. Personally, living in sunny coastal California I was able to run 20W-50 all year round. Chances are, you won't be able to. So, READ THE MANUAL. Don't ask us what viscosity you personally should use, because we are not meteorologists for your region and we don't know your driving style. For most E36s on this board, this chart will give you a pretty good representation of what to use - I am fairly certain the same specs should be used for the M52 family, but not positive - hence why I say to read the manual for your model.

For the M50TUB25 engine, here is the chart BMW printed in their manual:



Hopefully this cleared up some confusion, and gives you a good idea of what we recommend around here. If you have a suggestion or correction, please feel free to post it or let me know and I'll add it. It's late and I may very well have missed something or screwed something up inadvertently. :rofl:
 
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#39 · (Edited)
One thing I'm not clear about: under normal operating conditions and at operating temperature, the oil temp should be the same regardless of the ambient temperature (if it does, the cooling system is at fault). So what's the difference between a 30-weight at 10 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit?

also, isn't 0w-X inherently better in any climate than 10w-X because of the reduction in thickness at sub-operating temps

btw, I don't know what those asterisks are doing there
 
#40 ·
This board puts asterisks in retarted places sometimes. It doesn't like ellipses and colons, dunno why. :dunno:

I agree that the oil temperature should be fairly constant regarding ambient temperature, however, BMW and many other makes specify various grades for various ambient temperatures. I tend to follow the line of reasoning that they wouldn't have gone to the work of determining the best grade and wasting a full 2 pages in the manual spelling it out if there weren't some reason, even if it's not readily apparent to us.

As for 0-X vs 10-X, if the X's are kept constant (ie, 0-30 vs 10-30), yes, theoretically the 0 should be the preferable one. If you're going with 0-30 vs 15-50, then no, just because it starts with 0 doesn't make it the better choice.
 
#42 ·
By BMW, do you mean emailing BMWNA or asking a local dealer? If it's BMWNA I'd be very interested. If it's the local dealer, trust me when I say that they don't know crap.
 
#45 · (Edited)
I got this:
Thank you for contacting BMW of North America, LLC regarding oil recommendations and viscosity. We appreciate your inquiry.

Viscosity is a measure of an oil's flow rating, which can be affected by ambient temperatures. In many situations, ambient temperatures may not be extreme enough to warrant a different viscosity compared to a normal oil recommendation.

If you require a specific oil recommendation or would like to confirm if you should use a different viscosity due to your location, we suggest contacting your nearest BMW center. Should you need it, you will find a complete listing of authorized centers, categorized by name, state, or zip code, on our website at www.bmwusa.com/dealers.

If you have any further questions, please respond to this e-mail or contact the Customer Relations and Services Department at 1-800-831-1117, Monday through Friday from 9:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time. Again, thank you for contacting BMW.
which is useless, so I called BMWNA, and all they know is is in their "technical resource database," which is useless, and their engineers are in germany, so I got nothing.
Maybe ill try bobistheoilguy.

EDIT: Oh, and the only thing they said on the phone is that thinner oil can increase oil consumption, which is more of a bandaid than a fix.
 
#47 ·
QW, the database is almost assuredly info BMW developed, but the reps appear to be too lazy to look it up. :dunno:

Sorry about the dead end with BMW, Terry. I'll try asking my mechanic on Monday if he has any info on why that may be. They do BMW/Mercedes only.
 
#50 · (Edited)
I emailed bimmerworld:
Why would a different viscosity be recommended for different climates (like 5w40 for cold and 10w40 for everything else)? I understand that a 5W is necessary for cold starts in cold climates, but I dont understand why a 0W wouldn't be better in all climates since a cold oil is inherently too thick no matter how many viscosity improvers are added and at temperature the viscosity is effectively the same for a 0W40 or 15W40. Also, since most engine wear occurs when the engine is cold, wouldn't it be more beneficial to use 0W30 instead of 0W40 to get better lubrication?
By the way, I have an M52, which is why is used those as examples. And my info came from here if you're interested in spending the time reading.

Thanks for your time,
Terry
and got this:
Terry,

To get the best answers to your questions I would suggest calling Red Line Lubricants directly considering their abundant knowledge and decades of experience.

Our local BMW dealer uses 15W40 oil for the M52 engine and 5W30 for the later M52TU engines. These viscosities are approved by BMW and will work fine for most drivers in a majority of climates. BMW has never suggested a 0W-XX oil for any application I am aware. As a Red Line dealer, we consulted with them and their decades of knowledge to give better options for our customers based on their climate and use. These viscosities are what Red Line and BimmerWorld agree are the best viscosities for a given climate and condition.

Oil lubrication properties can be argued and discussed for hours on end and have been for decades, especially on public automotive forums. I***8217;m sure the forum you***8217;ve provided has some interesting insights to lubrication but we base our knowledge on decades of Red Line oil development and BimmerWorld***8217;s accumulated knowledge and racing.

If you adhere to our advised viscosities and oil change intervals your engine will last as long as BMW intended and there will be much less time spent on public forums and more time driving!

Thanks,

Brian Fowler

http://www.bimmerworld.com

http://www.bimmerworldracing.com

http://www.powerflexusa.com

Race Proven BMW Performance

877.639.9648
So I called Red Line, which i probably should've done earlier, and found out some interesting information. Basically, Dave said that he wouldn't bother running a 0w40 instead of a 10w40 unless he was really concerned with the cold running properties of the oil, not to mention that there is only about an 8% reduction in viscosity at 40C for the 0w compared to the 10w. Plus the 10w40 doesn't have any VIIs, although he said theirs don't have shearing issues so it doesn't make too much of a difference.
I then asked about a 0w30 and he said that would be reasonable, although there might be some sacrifice in protection under high load (I think that might have to do with oil pressure at high engine speeds but I didn't ask.). And since the vast majority of my driving occurs in trips that last less than 30 minutes, I think the 0w30 will probably be my best choice in the future.
He also mentioned dealers putting in 5w30 for cars where the recommendation calls for a 40 with no problems arising. (not exactly in those words)

I have a couple more questions though, so I'll probably call again tomorrow.

And here's the product info sheet: http://www.redlineoil.com/content/files/tech/Motor Oil Product Data.pdf
 
#54 ·
Thought I'd go ahead and add what I use regarding oil and filter. I'm also including a photo of the "Engine Oil" page from my owner's manual. I've got a '97 328i (M52B28) and what I find interesting is there are only two oil recommendations in my manual. 5W-30 for 10C/50F and below, 15W-40 for -10C/7F and above.

Where I live the tempurature is typically mild year round. Rarely does it drop below 10F or get above 90F. I'm sitting at 133,000 miles, which I consider high mileage but only mildly so. I understand that it's not just the amount of miles, but the type of miles those have been. I'm not even going to get into all that regarding my case for the sake of arguement, and just say they are an "average" 133,000 miles. :) Really I don't know what kind of miles they were, cause I just bought this car.

Okay so anyway, what I've decided to go with and am currently running is Mobil 1 Delo 15W-40. Yes Delo is a diesel-spec oil, however it IS safe to use and in many cases can be considered superior. Frankly though, that real reason I'm using Delo is because standard 15W-40 is not available anywhere locally for me, in either Synthetic or mineral. 5W-30 is but I am not comfortable using that light of oil taking into consideration the miles and my style of driving.

As for my choice of filter? Okay many of you are going to frown upon my choice, but I am currently running a Fram. -cringes- Be gentle... ..it's pretty much the only thing available in my area, and cost me $17... :/

 
#58 ·
a lot of people will tell you to get the heaviest oil you can find (20w50 or so) but I think you should be fine unless you plan to autocross or put your car under high stress.
Also make sure your cooling system is up to snuff, that's most common cause of catastrophic failure in these cars.
 
#60 ·
My son has been using dino oil on his 95-325 from day-1 the bimmer has 180k miles and the engine runs like new, only fix on engine spark plugs, valve cover gasket, new water pump and rad hoses. Oh yes he used any name brand 10-30 winter, 10-40 summer oil that was on sale and used oem oil filter. I have always told him never to try and outsmart the engineers that desined the car. Happy motoring
 
#62 ·
ok read it all but how do I figure the viscosity out? been using 10w-40 thinking about going to the -50 but cant figure out the meaning of the W... how does the w affect things... ie will a 5w-40 or 5w-50 do well in heat as well as 10w-40 or 10w-50 since most of the oils i can find seem to be 5w
 
#63 ·
the w just indicates the score on the "w" test, which is basically really cold winter conditions. In the heat the w rating doesn't really matter, and as long as your cooling system is doing its job, the viscosity should depend on the engine. I would stick to a 40, although I personally am going to start using Redline 5w30. The w rating depends on the climate, 5 or 10 is fine, Mobil 1 0w40 is very popular for these cars though.
 
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