Quote:
Originally Posted by W///
I'm about to switch to Mobil1 0W40.
What did you want to know?
My comments:
- Oil takes a while to heat up, and it cools down much fast. IMHO, great for track. Done a few mountain runs this summer, and my car barely went past 220F. But I want an oil that heats up faster (thus switching to 0W40).
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See in Texas we get terrible summer temps and my car does see the track at least 5 times in the summer. If BMW is recommending running 10w-60 and they test in germany where temps are much cooler i think we are fine in the US where temps are generally a bit warmer.
I wanted to ask the guys that are running liqui moly if you felt any change in engine noise, power, wear on oil analysis etc. I think TWS is an excellent oil but it always has me wondering is there anything better out there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by m6pwr
First of all, the other brands of 10w60 mentioned would certainly work fine in the M3, but are they better than the TWS? Where's the data? A single pass uoa with a different oil means nothing. How about a voa (virgin oil analysis) of the "better" oils. In what respect exactly are they better? For comparison here is a recent voa of the currrent formulation of TWS http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=839626.
You can certainly run a lighter grade oil in the M3 (e.g. Mobil1 0w40). As a matter of fact a recent uoa of the factory fill drained at 1200 mi seems to show it is a xw30 wt oil, and a fairly unremarkable one at that (it may even be a conventional mineral oil, as many break-in oils are) -
http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=848738.
FWIW, I think the reason BMW specs a 10w60 for the M3 is to counter the thinning effects of fuel dilution over the span of an extended drain. Fuel dilution is not that uncommon in high perf. motors like the s65. In fact if you look at the pds (product description sheets) of many "racing" oils (e.g. the Motul 300V series) you'll see they are intended to deal with fuel dilution. Many uoa's of TWS have shown that by the time the oil has run around 7k mi it is a heavy 40 wt. I don't recall ever seeing a uoa of an oil like Mobil 1 0w40 run to 7k or more; wonder what the viscosity would be at that point?
Franky, I think you could probably run Wolf's Head 5w30 in the M3 and get away with it as long as you kept to very short drain intervals.
As for the indie shops that say their brands of 10w60 are better - - ask them to show you the data. Tischer BMW (aka Get BMW Parts online) have said that the reason they don't offer TWS on sale at lower prices is because their profit margin on TWS oil is so low to begin with. I suspect that is the reason many indies don't offer it but sell other brands with a better profit margin. Still good oils, but better than TWS?
PS for W ///: if you want an oil to run at higher temps, you want a thicker oil like TWS. Thicker oil has more internal friction than a lighter oil and thus runs slightly hotter. |
The shop where i get my services done is more of a european performance shop they only carry motul but since its not available in the specified 10w-60 weight they told me to supply the oil so i dont think the profit margin is in question here. The bmw tech that works for the shop recommended i try out liqui moly, he said it has a higher zinc content and provides better wear and heat protection. I dont even know the cost difference between TWS and LiquiMoly so im not trying to cheap out, im trying to find the best solution since im planning on keeping the car for a while. Im thinking about doing a blackstone analysis on my current oil that is TWS and then do one when i switch over to liqui moly to see if there is any difference in oil breakdown and wear.
This is the main reason im trying to get some info from people that have already done this to see if its worth it to try 10w-60 liqui moly. My next oil change will not be covered by the service program since im doing oil changes every 5k miles as cheap insurance so i though i would try something else, motul is great stuff unfortunately its not available in the oem specified weight.