Let's compare oils

[Townending]

Figured I'd make a thread for this since the list ended up being a good size. I have tried to compile a list of oils in the weights commonly mentioned on this forum. These oils cover everything from long life economy oils to race oils. If there is a blank, it means the spec sheets I found did not have that peice of information. I also tried to include if it was BMW or Audi approved (Sorry MB! I noticed that often the VW approved oils were also MB approved), be sure to double check!

NOTE: These oils are in no way my recommendation, just posting this information for others to use.


Ordered by Viscosity @ 100C

[Townending]

Ordered By Weight

10W-60

15W-50

5W-50

10W-40

5W-40

0W-40

[Townending]

Ordered by Brand:
AMSOIL

Castrol

Liqui Moly

Mobil 1

Motul

Ravenol

Redline

Royal Purple

Shell

Total


Excel Downloads:
Oil Specifications by Viscosity
Oil Specifications by Weight
Oil Specifications by Brand

[dreamspeed]

is there a minimum or optimal viscosity for 100c and 40c for the M3?

[Townending]

Originally Posted by dreamspeed

is there a minimum or optimal viscosity for 100c and 40c for the M3?

The only two on the list which have been or are currently recommended by BMW would be:

1. Shell Helix Racing 10W-60 (The New OEM IIRC)
2. Castrol Edge Pro TWS 10W-60 (The Old OEM IIRC)

Both seem to fall at about ~23 @ 100C and ~160 @ 40C.

As far as BMW is concerned, I would guess the above numbers are "optimal".

[pbonsalb]

If you believe that BMW's recommendations are optimal.

[e92m3jb]

so which oil is better?

[pbonsalb]

That is asking a lot.

[dparm]

You might want to put this on OneDrive or Google Drive and then share it out so people can grab a copy/manipulate it themselves.

[Townending]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

That is asking a lot.

^

Originally Posted by e92m3jb

so which oil is better?

Many of the oils listed above are great oils. One could be better for a specific climate or vis versa. A few of the oils are track oils meant to have very short OCIs.

I posted this list so that someone looking to move away from the OEM oil can compare all the manufacturers posted specs and chose an oil they would like to research from there.


My thoughts:
After reading through many of the rod bearing threads, and doing research on other threads, I personally felt 10W-60 was too thick for my daily driving style. My oil temp needle would normally stay around ~195F with the OEM fluid.

I read about how many were switching to Mobil 1 0W-40. I didn't really like the idea of jumping all the way to 0W-40, so I chose the 5W-50 group to focus on. I boiled it down to Amsoil Signature Series and Redline Full Synthetic. AMSOIL ended up being cheaper and easier for me to obtain, so that's the one I went with.

I've been running Amsoil Signature Series for the past ~25k miles with an OCI of 5-7k miles.

[Townending]

Originally Posted by dparm

You might want to put this on OneDrive or Google Drive and then share it out so people can grab a copy/manipulate it themselves.

I made it with Numbers (Apple's "excel"), I'll try to convert it and post it up.

EDIT: Added the downloads at the bottom of Post #3

[Bartledoo]

The Redline 5w50 provides an interesting middle ground in viscosity.

[165_M3]

how about ravenol 10w-60

[Townending]

Originally Posted by ato///M3

how about ravenol 10w-60

I'll get the pics up top updated later, for right now though check below


Brand: Ravenol
Line: RSS
SAE Grade: 10W-60

Viscosity @100C: 23.6
Viscosity @40C:154.4
Viscosity Index: 184

Flash Point: 236C
Pour Point: -51C
HTHS: 5.8
Total Base Number: 11.1
Evap. Loss:

BMW Approvals: N/A
Audi Approvals: N/A

[Townending]

Originally Posted by ksteckba

The Redline 5w50 provides an interesting middle ground in viscosity.

The rest of the stats look amazing as well. That would be my oil of choice if it was easier/slightly cheaper for me to obtain.

[Silverstoneorspacegray]

Originally Posted by Townending

The rest of the stats look amazing as well. That would be my oil of choice if it was easier/slightly cheaper for me to obtain.

I've done a bunch of reading on various oils and properties but would you mind sharing a little bit about how the differing characteristics affected your choice and feel free to pretend im a dummy

[pbonsalb]

Porsche 991 GT3 uses 0W40 Mobil 1 -- seems to work fine as the year round and track day oil in that 4.0L 9000 rpm motor.

[Townending]

Originally Posted by Silverstoneorspacegray

I've done a bunch of reading on various oils and properties but would you mind sharing a little bit about how the differing characteristics affected your choice and feel free to pretend im a dummy

After reading a few of the bearing issue threads, and reading that it is caused by inadequate oil lubrication, I didn't feel comfortable with 10W-60 for DAILY DRIVING. I would be more than happy to use 10W-60 on the track.

Using OEM Castrol and Shell fluid, I was never able to get the oil temp marker to stay at 210F, it would raise to 210F while I was on it, but drop down to ~195F when I would take it easy. In my eyes, this tells me I'm not getting the oil up to ideal operating temp.

I then read about the users (one being a very close friend) who switched to Mobil 1 0W-40 and saw acceptable wear on their bearings. (Can't say for sure if they were lucky to have minimal wear, or if the oil actually did help.)

Now, with the above information, I started comparing oil viscoisties. After seeing the numbers, I decided that Mobil 1 0W-40 was too thin for my liking. I was worried that if I did choose to really push the car, that the 0W-40 would not be thick enough once the temps started climbing.

I then focused on AMSOIL 5W-50 Signature Series, Redline 5W-50, and Motul 5W-50. Motul was a PITA to get, so that was dropped from my choices.

Back when I made this decision, AMSOIL had not introduced their new formula. At the time the stats on paper for AMSOIL were much closer to Redline, they were almost the same.

Since I was looking at two great oils with very similar specs (based on tested specs), I simply went with the one that made more sense financially. I buy AMSOIL in a 12QT case for $102* shipped (1-Day Shipping), bringing it to $8.50 a quart. Where as ordering Redline would have cost me $13 a liter, and I would of had to pay a ton for 1 day shipping through ECS (My store of choice for Redline).

After my first oil change with AMSOIL, I noticed the engine had a much smoother rev pulling out of my driveway after a cold start. Not only that, but oil temps stay at 210F for light daily driving / spirited driving.


And there you go, my thought process. Again, I have no concrete evidence saying 10W-60 is not ideal for DD. But after my research, I felt most comfortable with AMSOIL or Redline 5W-50

[Shredicus]

But which is the most slippery...?

[Townending]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Porsche 991 GT3 uses 0W40 Mobil 1 -- seems to work fine as the year round and track day oil in that 4.0L 9000 rpm motor.

Seems like an Apples to Oranges comparison. I'm not familiar with the GT3 4.0, does it have the same bearing clearances? Would you think the difference in engine balance could play a factor (Flat-6 vs V8)?

[Townending]

Originally Posted by Shredicus

But which is the most slippery...?

Making the worlds best slip and slide?

[Shredicus]

Originally Posted by Townending

Making the worlds best slip and slide?

Just want to put some in my differential because the slip is currently being limited and I do not like being told what to do