There are tons of topics about oil and I just got somewhat confused.

What oil and weight do you southern californian people put in your S52 engine ; what is recommended by BMW (I don't have an owner manual) ?

Thanks in advance.

I guess nobody has an M3 in socal :shifty

5w30 fuck it

Back in the day the 40 weight was widely used in the S50/S52...I would swing by Inter Auto on Convoy st. and pick up Lubro Moly 5w40 (purple jug not blue), it's BMW LL-98 approved and is a great quality Group IV German oil that pulls strong UOA's on bobistheoilguy.com. Make sure to say your BMWCCA.

However, since you just swapped in or are in the process of swapping in the engine, I would intially run a 500-1000 mile oil just for safety sake. A 15w40 (Chevron Delo or Shell Rotella are good) has good cleaning detergents and well it's a 40 weight so that's fine. In most of so.cal the 0 to 20w doesn't really matter for us since it's never cold enough that we have to actually worry about which pour point temp the oil has.

That's some great advice, I appreciate it man :)

10w-40 lubromoly.

I top off with Mobile 1 5w-30 or 15w-50 depending on what Costco has.

10w-40 lubromoly.

I top off with Mobile 1 5w-30 or 15w-50 depending on what Costco has.


Wow, brilliant.



5W40 synthetic here.

10w-40 lubromoly.

I top off with Mobile 1 5w-30 or 15w-50 depending on what Costco has.
That's their MoS2 oil, I wouldn't be mixing Mobil 1 with that personally.

So I buy the purple Lubromoly Vollsyntese jugs from Interauto. If I need to top off every once in a while how do you go about measuring one quart from that big 5 litre jug ?

So I buy the purple Lubromoly Vollsyntese jugs from Interauto. If I need to top off every once in a while how do you go about measuring one quart from that big 5 litre jug ?

Really? Youre serious?

I keep a 5L jug of Pentosynth 5W40 in my trunk, it fits perfectly in the pocket above the battery compartment. Who says you have to only fill it 1qt at a time?

So I buy the purple Lubromoly Vollsyntese jugs from Interauto. If I need to top off every once in a while how do you go about measuring one quart from that big 5 litre jug ?
Ah ok, so not the MoS2 oil. Lubro Moly usually sells a 1 liter bottle of the 5w40, sometimes they are out though.

Really? Youre serious?



Yes. I check the oil dipstick every time I fill up with gas. If it's under the line then i figure i should add a quart. Or if I'm about to autox I like to overfill by a quart.

So typically I save a couple empty quarts of the Mobil1 and refill those with the Vollsynthese.

That 5 litre jug is clumsy to carry around, and then using it to refill whenever I'm low 1 quart.

Yes I know Inter carries the 1L bottles but it's cheaper to buy the 5L jug, so I usually buy two whenever I'm in there.

why do you need to top off?

cause M3's burn oil inbetween oil changes ? Maybe it's just mine.

cause M3's burn oil inbetween oil changes ? Maybe it's just mine.

Seems that way :dunno

15w50 Mobil 1 all year.

Yep. Just me. And the rest of the people in these threads.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/search.php?searchid=5841809

Yep. Just me. And the rest of the people in these threads.

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/search.php?searchid=5841809

Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms.HAHAHAHAHAHA :lol :lol :lol

HAHAHAHAHAHA :lol :lol :lol

:confused It don't take much for you to get a good laugh

FWIW, it seems like lots of people - at least on the forums- have to top off their M3's when running thin synthetic oils :dunno

It doesn't seem to be the case with thicker regular oils like a 20w50.

I might try a 20w50 'blend', that worked well in my old M50 :dunno

20w50's are generally old school oils that aren't as shear stable or have as good additive packs as a 5w40 or 15w40 (which are still common oils). I really don't see the reason to run a 50 weight unless called for or burning lots of oil (which there is a problem them).

20w50's are generally old school oils that aren't as shear stable or have as good additive packs as a 5w40 or 15w40 (which are still common oils). I really don't see the reason to run a 50 weight unless called for or burning lots of oil (which there is a problem them).

Thanks for the headsup. So a 20w50 seems more suited for an old engine. I'm gonna follow your advice and run some oil for 500/1000 miles then put the good stuff.

10w-40 lubromoly.

I top off with Mobile 1 5w-30 or 15w-50 depending on what Costco has.
I do the same. Lubro Moly Voll Synthese 0w40 topped off every so often with 0w40 M1. I may switch back to M1 or Redline since Lubro Moly isn't readily available.

15w50 all year long.

Thanks for the headsup. So a 20w50 seems more suited for an old engine. I'm gonna follow your advice and run some oil for 500/1000 miles then put the good stuff.
I'm speaking from a few years of reading at Bobistheoilguy.com. There was a point in time I had no clue about oils so I wanted to at least get the basics down...20w50's are still used for air cooled engines and well old German engines. I don't see them much in American cars.

is it bad if i just use royal p 5w30 all year long?

e36m3 s52obd-1.. really need to update my shize

is it bad if i just use royal p 5w30 all year long?

e36m3 s52obd-1.. really need to update my shize
There are better choices out there.

There are better choices out there.


for different times of the year or just all around? are u suggesting the lubromoly or ? what would you recommend as far as weight, etc

for different times of the year or just all around? are u suggesting the lubromoly or ? what would you recommend as far as weight, etc
I would personally go for a 0w40/5w40 if your using synthetic. Mobil 1 and Lubro Moly are good choices...they can be used year around.

I run Kendall GT1 20w50 non-synthetic. My motor has 148k, 48k on top end rebuild. I run this thickness of oil because my car sees extremely high temperatures on the track, and even on the street it gets up to 220 °C. I also change my oil every 3k miles because it gets dirty far earlier than it breaks down.

I ran my S50 on 5w-30 synthetic past 170k miles. Ticked a lot, but damn that motor liked to rev. After the new head I switched to 15-40 non-synthetic and there is virtually no ticking.

I'll bet you could run 5w-30 syn in your S52 for a while with no problems.

I run Kendall GT1 20w50 non-synthetic. My motor has 148k, 48k on top end rebuild. I run this thickness of oil because my car sees extremely high temperatures on the track, and even on the street it gets up to 220 °C. I also change my oil every 3k miles because it gets dirty far earlier than it breaks down.
You do realize the 50 weight will increase the oil temp on the track due to the more friction of the thicker weight? Also your oil is not getting to 428 degrees Fahrenheit...

You do realize the 50 weight will increase the oil temp on the track due to the more friction of the thicker weight? Also your oil is not getting to 428 degrees Fahrenheit...

Dude that car is a champ, those temps are legit

Dude that car is a champ, those temps are legit
300 is considered HOT...428 would be like engine melt down.

20w50 Castrol GTX is what we use in all non-synthetic cars at my work (independent BMW repair shop). If you use Synthetic, 5w30 is okay but try to get the oil from the dealer. BMW synthetic is imported from Castrol Europe. The quality of their oil is much better than American Castrol synthetic.

You do realize the 50 weight will increase the oil temp on the track due to the more friction of the thicker weight? Also your oil is not getting to 428 degrees Fahrenheit...
Durr...I had been doing o-chem homework for about 3 hours straight and everything is in celsius. Yes, I meant °F :eyecrazy

I would personally go for a 0w40/5w40 if your using synthetic. Mobil 1 and Lubro Moly are good choices...they can be used year around.


whats the difference in the two? i dont run my car hard that often but with summer right around the corner i dont wanna see any 300* on my temp gauge if i do.

20w50 Castrol GTX is what we use in all non-synthetic cars at my work (independent BMW repair shop). If you use Synthetic, 5w30 is okay but try to get the oil from the dealer. BMW synthetic is imported from Castrol Europe. The quality of their oil is much better than American Castrol synthetic.
Yea, the BMW stuff is Castrol TXT 5w30...a group III blended synthetic oil but it's pretty decent stuff.

whats the difference in the two? i dont run my car hard that often but with summer right around the corner i dont wanna see any 300* on my temp gauge if i do.
A 5w40 will generally be more robust and shear stable...the 0w40's have a tendency to be a bit better on fuel consumption.

20w50 Castrol GTX is what we use in all non-synthetic cars at my work (independent BMW repair shop). If you use Synthetic, 5w30 is okay but try to get the oil from the dealer. BMW synthetic is imported from Castrol Europe. The quality of their oil is much better than American Castrol synthetic.

I have a 97 328i. I tried synthetic 15-50 from mobil 1 and it started to make a leak. I switched back to castrol 20-50 and have been fine since. The car has 132K miles and I am about to change the oil next week. I am in so cal and the weather is getting pretty hot. Should I switch to a different oil?

^20w50 is old school for a healthy M52...I would run a 15w40 if you want to stay non-synthetic. I personally run Chevron Delo 15w40 in my `97 318ti and brother's `93 325is. Also a 15w40 is more robust, shear stable, can run longer intervals and better additive packages than a 20w50.

changing to 15-40 at 132k won't hurt the engine will it? What are some brands I should consider?

changing to 15-40 at 132k won't hurt the engine will it? What are some brands I should consider?
Of course not...your just changing the grade. Chevron Delo is one of the best 15w40's out there, Shell Rotella is good also and Mobil Delvac 1300 is supposed to be another good one.