oil specs and other stuff?

For those with a new X1 with the 4 cylinder, what oil is called for? What gas, premium? Do all BMW's no longer have oil dipsticks or does the N20 have one? Rear fluid, GF5? And anything else along those lines you might find helpful, I would really appreciate the info.

Thanks

Approved oils: BMW (Castrol synthetic) High Performance 5W-30, BMW Longlife-01, or BMW Longlife-01FE. The manual doesn't provide detailed specs, and indicates "further information can be obtained from the service center". It does specify that up to one quart of API SM or higher quality oil can be used if level is low.

The recommended gasoline octane rating is 91. The minimum octane rating is 89. BP or other top tier brands recommended.

http://e84.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=734101

raleedy-Thanks, great info.

Couldn't ask for anything more. Thank you VERY much.

also why are you worried about the oil? free service for the first 4yrs!

Originally Posted by stary

also why are you worried about the oil? free service for the first 4yrs!

Because I might be the kind of person who may want to change the oil between the free BMW service interval. If so, I need to use the correct spec oil. And I may want to change the diff fluid, or the brake fluid. I have a favorite brand I have used for 30 years and their stuff works great, usually at a lesser price than what BMW would charge, if it weren't free.

The sales lady at one dealer I was at swore up and down,that these cars can run on 87:-/, funny how clueless they can be....

Newc6--I follow your same logic and change my oil every 7,500. I do always use the BMW 5w30 synthetic as it is reasonably priced at $6 a quart and it really is the best choice for how the engine is designed.

Also, no more dipstick on BMW engines. This started with the introduction of the n52 inline 6 motor when the e90 was released.

Originally Posted by stary

also why are you worried about the oil? free service for the first 4yrs!

Let me count the ways.....but first and foremost yes you should worry. I have 99k on my 09 x3 with the 100k mile maintenance plan. Do you know how many free oil changes I got? 5. Yikes!!! That's approx 19k miles between changes. No matter how good your oil is it isn't going to last that long.

As a side note there is a well know valve ticking problem that develops in these motors around 50k to 60k (n52)....I strongly believe this in part caused by too long duration between changes. Also my n52 is quite as a church mouse.

Here is a nice article that shows the head off of two inline 6 m54 motors...one changed every 7k miles the other as BMW suggests:

http://www.bavarianmachine.com/doc_see_the_light.html

Originally Posted by Gonepostal

The sales lady at one dealer I was at swore up and down,that these cars can run on 87:-/, funny how clueless they can be....

She was right. You can run 87 all day long with no ill impact to mpg, motor or fuel system. Performance differences are minor.

I am a super commuter and years ago I had a brand new 08 128 vert. I decided for 4 weeks I would run premium 91 and 4 weeks regular 87 all from chevron. It was spring so weather was a consistent temp in morning and night (California), driving conditions the same (80 miles each way at 80mph, 20 each way in stop and go) and I checked cold tire pressure every day.

Result -- there was less than a .3 mpg variance between 91 and 87 and no perceptible performance difference in normal driving.

Conclusion -- I have used 87 in all BMWs I have owned since. Like I said my 09 x3 has 99k miles on it no issues with mpg or fuel system so far...

Originally Posted by x3brian

Newc6--I follow your same logic and change my oil every 7,500. I do always use the BMW 5w30 synthetic as it is reasonably priced at $6 a quart and it really is the best choice for how the engine is designed.

Also, no more dipstick on BMW engines. This started with the introduction of the n52 inline 6 motor when the e90 was released.




Let me count the ways.....but first and foremost yes you should worry. I have 99k on my 09 x3 with the 100k mile maintenance plan. Do you know how many free oil changes I got? 5. Yikes!!! That's approx 19k miles between changes. No matter how good your oil is it isn't going to last that long.

As a side note there is a well know valve ticking problem that develops in these motors around 50k to 60k (n52)....I strongly believe this in part caused by too long duration between changes. Also my n52 is quite as a church mouse.

Here is a nice article that shows the head off of two inline 6 m54 motors...one changed every 7k miles the other as BMW suggests:

http://www.bavarianmachine.com/doc_see_the_light.html




She was right. You can run 87 all day long with no ill impact to mpg, motor or fuel system. Performance differences are minor.

I am a super commuter and years ago I had a brand new 08 128 vert. I decided for 4 weeks I would run premium 91 and 4 weeks regular 87 all from chevron. It was spring so weather was a consistent temp in morning and night (California), driving conditions the same (80 miles each way at 80mph, 20 each way in stop and go) and I checked cold tire pressure every day.

Result -- there was less than a .3 mpg variance between 91 and 87 and no perceptible performance difference in normal driving.

Conclusion -- I have used 87 in all BMWs I have owned since. Like I said my 09 x3 has 99k miles on it no issues with mpg or fuel system so far...

Nice to meet a kindred spirit. Though I may only have 44 posts on this forum, I have been around cars for a while. And I also have other forums I post on. 7500 miles sounds about right and I also agree with you on the 87 octane. My biggest questions were pretty much answered by others but it's always nice to have backup. Thank you.