Oil question.

My son's 96 318i called for 15-40W oil (for all seasons), which is, one - hard to find, two- too heavy in my opinion. Last owner used 5-30W pennzoil. I switched to Mobil One Synthetic 0-40 European car formula, and we put it on a 5000M change schedule. I see people using 5-30 Mobil One, 15-50, and several graded of standard "dino" oils. Any thoughts on the 0-40? Would you use this in winter? Seems like it would be OK, but I do not see a lot of folks using this oil.

My son's 96 318i called for 15-40W oil (for all seasons), which is, one - hard to find, two- too heavy in my opinion. Last owner used 5-30W pennzoil. I switched to Mobil One Synthetic 0-40 European car formula, and we put it on a 5000M change schedule. I see people using 5-30 Mobil One, 15-50, and several graded of standard "dino" oils. Any thoughts on the 0-40? Would you use this in winter? Seems like it would be OK, but I do not see a lot of folks using this oil.
It is an excellent oil, but I am sorry not for 1996 318i model.First thing ,if I were you , i would not switch to synthetic oil for car which is around 10 years old-I know there are claims from oils companies , that no matter, but these are are missleading opinion ! you can simply develop multi point oil leaks ,if you do not have any so far , especially with Mobil synthetic , which is a PAO formulation motor oil.Stick better to Penziol 15w/40 "long life", it is a superior dino oil , and drain intervals for that is betwen 5K-7.5K miles or 1 year whichever comes first.
Never use 5w/30 oils (dino or synthetics) on any BMW E36 3 series.

I agree. The Mobil1 0W-40 Euro is an excellent oil. I use it in my own 318i, as it meets the ACEA A3 specification. Given the fact that the original owner used dino oil, I don't know that the extra expense is justified, in your case. If anything, I might run a synthetic blend. Probably not, though.

I ran pure dino oils in my '85 318i with excellent results for 19 years. It still runs very well to this day, although I no longer own the car. Regular oil changes and quality filters are the key, it would seem.

The reason I went with the synthetic is, 1- the conditon of the car, it was flawless, had 95K on it, and I understand with care they can go 300K. 2- I could not find any kind of 15-40W except for diesel vehicles, and 3 - it was rated for this car, but was unsure of how well it would do in cold weather. The folks we bought it off of only had it a year, so i had no idea what was used in it for the first 85K. As many BMW owners use Synthetics I saw no harm in it. So far, after 4K no leaks, but I have heard of leaks happening after switching. I run a synthetic blend in my Blazer for that reason. We plan to keep the car a long time, just want to do right by it. Appreciate the feedback.

The reason I went with the synthetic is, 1- the conditon of the car, it was flawless, had 95K on it, and I understand with care they can go 300K. 2- I could not find any kind of 15-40W except for diesel vehicles, and 3 - it was rated for this car, but was unsure of how well it would do in cold weather. The folks we bought it off of only had it a year, so i had no idea what was used in it for the first 85K. As many BMW owners use Synthetics I saw no harm in it. So far, after 4K no leaks, but I have heard of leaks happening after switching. I run a synthetic blend in my Blazer for that reason. We plan to keep the car a long time, just want to do right by it. Appreciate the feedback.
Well, if the car is in realy good shape and you want to use synthetic oil, I would recommend Castrol Syntec 5w/50(BMW North America advise to use castrol oils in BMW cars) and I personally use it in my 2000 Alpina B3.It is made from the same Castrol TSW MotorSports 10w-60 base, it is robust.It flows far below -40* and is real tough in high temp.
Do not even think to change this stuff before 8000 miles mark or one year.I did 12000 K , drained it and sent sample for analysis It still kept
70% of original properties and protective bariers as a fresh one!
BTW, my engine has 275 hp and I like to press often to "the floor"

I use Castrol in my wife's Intrepid, (5-30) and although I have been more than pleased I have been told numerous times that Castrol is not truly a full synthetic, but made in part from standard oil that has been "cracked". Was going to switch it to Mobil 1 but this oil has held up very well as you stated. (She only drives 4-5000 miles a year). Castrol is easy to buy locally too, as well as Mobil. Thanks for the advice. Have you heard anything in regards to not being a "full" synthetic? Have you used it any long length of time as far as mileage concerned?

I use Castrol in my wife's Intrepid, (5-30) and although I have been more than pleased I have been told numerous times that Castrol is not truly a full synthetic, but made in part from standard oil that has been "cracked". Was going to switch it to Mobil 1 but this oil has held up very well as you stated. (She only drives 4-5000 miles a year). Castrol is easy to buy locally too, as well as Mobil. Thanks for the advice. Have you heard anything in regards to not being a "full" synthetic? Have you used it any long length of time as far as mileage concerned?
Lubricant base stocks are categorized into five groups by the API. Groups I and II are composed of fractionally distilled petroleum. Group III base stock is composed of hydrocracked and distilled petroleum. Group IV base stock is composed of polyalphaolefins (PAOs). Group V is a catch all group for synthetic base stocks. Examples of group V include polyol esters, polyalkylene glycols (PAG oils), and perfluoropolyalkylethers (PFPAEs). Groups I, II, and III are conventionally referred to as mineral oils and groups IV and V as synthetic oils, however certain aggressive marketers have recently labeled group III based oil as synthetic in the US. For instance Red Line group V(same base as for jet engines-the best!), Mobil 1 and Amsoil are group IV(Truly synthetics), Castrol Syntec, Valvoline Synpower, Penzoil, Quaker State -group III (hydrocracked).
I have seen internal engine parts of Audi 1997 A4. 10,000 mile changes, 110,000 total and the engine internals are shiny as new. The guy uses Castrol Syntec 5w/50 ! As I said , Mobil 1 is superior, but if used from day 1 in particular car.I would not use it or switch to it , after using no PAO oil for more , than 40 K miles.

I have been a Castrol guy for four decades. My wife's '98 318i owner's manual called for synthetic 5w-30 and I've used Syntec in that wieght since the free dealer service ran out. Computer asks for oil changes at about 9900 mile intervals, and at 76,000 it still runs like new.

I have other vehicles with over 300,000 miles on original engines using Castol conventional and synthetic. And Castrol, being the sponsor and supplier of oil for BMW's factory racing efforts, also makes the BMW-branded oil the dealers use and sell, if I'm not mistaken.

You might want to visit a site called bobistheoilguy, where a majority of people rave about a 5-40 or 15-40 oil available at Autozone called Castrol GC. I think this stands for "German Certified". It's supposed to be about $10 a quart!

I agree that Redline is great stuff. I use their D4 ATF in all my automatics.

Traktor oil!!!!!

Check the oil pressure because heavy oils tend to build up more oil pressure. but 5 w 30 is good for any engine

My bimmer has 375kms and 200k is on rebuild-all components original exept bearings, rings, and it was honed too, but not bored. It still has 180psi compression on each cylinder, but freaking looks ugly like shit

I am finding this post about oil very interesting.

And it is making me question what I thought that I knew about oil.

So perhaps I had better ask the question and see what everybody has to say.

I have a 1995 318is. I just bought it and it has 190k on the engine.

I am about to change the oil and I was planning on using Castrol 20w-50.
It is what I have been using in cars for years and it is what I thought would be best for a smaller engine like this.

I am fascinated by the fact that nobody is speaking the virtue of the the 20-50 line of oil and is looking at either synthetic or lower grade dino oil.

What am I missing here?

Castrol 0W-30 UPDATE! I found this stuff at Autozone in the black bottle with the translucent strip window in the side so you can see how much is left, SAME PRICE as other grades.

The bottle says Made in Germany. I think this stuff is for some new-spec applications like Porsche Turbos. Decided to stick with 5W-30 in my Suburban after all.

Dear Lottathought,

There are two circumstances where 20W-50 is called for:

1. A race motor, built "loose" with large bearing and other clearances.

2. A street car with six-figure mileage that is worn, beginning to make noise and burn oil.

If your car was well cared for, 190,000 is too soon for a BMW to need heavy oil that will cost precious power and mileage to pump througn the engine and put extra strain on seals and gaskets.

When an engine is truly tired (250,000 miles minimum) I stay with the 5W-30 or 10W-30 and substitute one quart of Lucas Oil Supplement at oil changes. Have gotten up to 100,000 additional miles with original oil pressure restored.