What oil viscosity are you using? 10w60/0w40/5w50?

TrAcK TRaP · 04-05-2018, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

I agree Mobil 1 is a great oil and reasonably priced compared to BMW Shell 10W60. Even cheaper with the Mobil 1 rebate. I have been using Mobil 1 0W40 for 4 years. Last change was Rotella 5W40 but will probably return to Mobil 1.

I wouldn't use it summer times if you are pushing your car to its limit and redlining daily.

pbonsalb · 04-05-2018, 08:48 PM

I live in NH and have found that in my street driving, I am unable to push the car to its limits. I can redline no problem— my tune is 8600rpm, but I cannot redline often enough successively to cause problems with the 0W40 oil. Maybe if I had unoccupied canyon or mountain roads to drive on I would be able to do that without getting arrested.

jeff@autocouture · 04-10-2018, 09:24 AM

i'm on my third redline 5w50 change, nothing but positive for me. Runs more quiet, temps are nice and cool (through the winter), also haven't burnt any oil in 5k miles on all 3 changes. My warmups in the morning were better as well i would assume since its not as thick as the usual 10w60 castrol i used before this.

dparm · 04-10-2018, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 330indy

Redline cocktail:
10w-60 (6)
5w-50 (3)
=
8w-55

;-)

What HTHSV is that giving you? Ultimately the HTHSV is more representative of operational viscosity.

G80indy · 04-10-2018, 10:15 AM

My Redline cocktail (3) 5w-50 + (6) 10w-60 averages out to 5.53 HTHS.

Shell Helix 10w-60 is 5.42

CSBM5 · 04-10-2018, 10:17 AM

Looks like RL 10W60 is 5.8 and 5W50 is 5.0 HTHS, so I'd assume the concoction is somewhere between those two values.

Transfer · 04-11-2018, 11:39 AM

I debated 0w40 for winter and 10w60 for summer but living in relatively mild Seattle I'm sticking with OEM.

groovetek · 04-11-2018, 07:46 PM

First post here so I can get activation...

Anyway, I switched to Mobil1 5W-50, and the only perceivable difference, and even this is subjective, is that when I start the car first thing in the morning there is slightly less mechanical noise.

I would say the argument regarding BMW's recommendation or specification of the 10W-60 TWS makes using anything else a poor decision is not exactly that convincing.

The M3 is supposed to be relatively track-focused car, and the S85/S65 are so-called Motorsports engines, so their recommendations would need to be based on these high load, high temperature applications where stability of the oil may be quite important to ensure the engine doesn't tear itself to shreds.

However, for those who don't track the car, live in cold cities, make short trips, and just occasionally take the car for a mild run up the twisties, I can't imagine that running 0W-40 would be a bad thing to do. If anything it should be better in the long run.

Put it this way, if I was going to take my M3 to track days, I would put 10W-60 in it, otherwise I think my switch to 5W-50 should be a good general compromise.

View Poll Results: What oil viscosity are you using?
10w60: the factory knows best	158	74.88%
0w40	30	14.22%
5w50	23	10.90%
Voters: 211. You may not vote on this poll

04-05-2018, 08:48 PM	#46
pbonsalb Lieutenant General 5227 Rep 10,610 Posts Drives: 18 F90 M5, 99 E36 M3 Turbo Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: New England iTrader: (4)	I live in NH and have found that in my street driving, I am unable to push the car to its limits. I can redline no problem— my tune is 8600rpm, but I cannot redline often enough successively to cause problems with the 0W40 oil. Maybe if I had unoccupied canyon or mountain roads to drive on I would be able to do that without getting arrested.
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04-10-2018, 09:24 AM	#47
jeff@autocouture BimmerPost Supporting Vendor 966 Rep 13,780 Posts Drives: 2002 E53 X5 4.6is Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New Jersey iTrader: (0)	i'm on my third redline 5w50 change, nothing but positive for me. Runs more quiet, temps are nice and cool (through the winter), also haven't burnt any oil in 5k miles on all 3 changes. My warmups in the morning were better as well i would assume since its not as thick as the usual 10w60 castrol i used before this.
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04-10-2018, 10:15 AM	#49
G80indy Save the Manuals 1714 Rep 2,937 Posts Drives: Z3, E46, G80 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Indy iTrader: (0)	My Redline cocktail (3) 5w-50 + (6) 10w-60 averages out to 5.53 HTHS. Shell Helix 10w-60 is 5.42 __________________ 2023 G80 6MT, CCBs 2002 330i Dinan, 5MT 2000 Z3 Conforti, 5MT
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04-10-2018, 10:17 AM	#50
CSBM5 Brigadier General 2721 Rep 3,334 Posts Drives: 2019 M2 Comp, 2011 M3, etc Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Greenville, SC iTrader: (2)	Looks like RL 10W60 is 5.8 and 5W50 is 5.0 HTHS, so I'd assume the concoction is somewhere between those two values. __________________ Current Stable: 2024 G20 M340i Melbourne Red/Cognac 2019 F87 M2 Competition 6MT, LBB, slicktop, exec pkg 2007 E91 328i Silver, slushbox, Eibach fr/E93 M3 rear sway bars, ARC-8
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04-11-2018, 11:39 AM	#51
Transfer Major General 5251 Rep 5,874 Posts Drives: Bronco Wildtrak, Tesla MYP Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Issaquah, WA iTrader: (1)	I debated 0w40 for winter and 10w60 for summer but living in relatively mild Seattle I'm sticking with OEM.
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04-11-2018, 07:46 PM	#52
groovetek Private 25 Rep 69 Posts Drives: AW E92 M3 Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: Melbourne, Australia iTrader: (0)	First post here so I can get activation... Anyway, I switched to Mobil1 5W-50, and the only perceivable difference, and even this is subjective, is that when I start the car first thing in the morning there is slightly less mechanical noise. I would say the argument regarding BMW's recommendation or specification of the 10W-60 TWS makes using anything else a poor decision is not exactly that convincing. The M3 is supposed to be relatively track-focused car, and the S85/S65 are so-called Motorsports engines, so their recommendations would need to be based on these high load, high temperature applications where stability of the oil may be quite important to ensure the engine doesn't tear itself to shreds. However, for those who don't track the car, live in cold cities, make short trips, and just occasionally take the car for a mild run up the twisties, I can't imagine that running 0W-40 would be a bad thing to do. If anything it should be better in the long run. Put it this way, if I was going to take my M3 to track days, I would put 10W-60 in it, otherwise I think my switch to 5W-50 should be a good general compromise.
	Appreciate 0 Quote