[Guest]

Just when I thought I had hear

Just when I thought I had heard it all, seen it all with the oil threads and discussions...another new oil is now in the marketplace.

I just bought a new BMW M3...and the only oil specified is Castrol(synthetic) TWS Motorsports 10-60! The owner's manual is pretty specific as this the only oil to be used in this engine, though Mobil 1 "can" be used to top-up if the TWS oil is not available. Interesting, eh?

A mere $9.00/litre from your local dealer...

Regards,
David

 

[Guest]

Hi David,

<The owner&#3

Hi David,

<The owner's manual is pretty specific as this the only oil to be used in this engine, <<

How else could they force/scare owners into buying outrageously priced oil?

Isn't fear of impending doom and catastrophe a good motivator?

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[Guest]

That is interesting. I bought

That is interesting. I bought a BMW 540i and the manual recommends the BMW 5w-30 synthetic which is made for them by Castrol. But here's the good part...only $4 per quart, and with my BMW club discount at the dealer, only $3.60 per quart! Cheaper than buying Castrol at the mass merchants, or auto parts store.

 

[Guest]

Dave,

BMW used to recommend

Dave,

BMW used to recommend the 5W-30 synthetic for the M-motors, as well...except a few of them tossed the rods and/or rod bearings. So, their solution was improved rod bearings, oil pump...and the 10-60 oil.

Oh well, the price to pay to play, I guess.

 

[Guest]

Castrol has consitently been r

Castrol has consitently been rated as one of the worse oil's on the market.

Mobil 1 followed by Redline and Valvoline Synthetics are all better.

 

[Guest]

There are some things here I j

There are some things here I just don't get. I'm sure they are right but they just don't make sense.

First, why is there a requirement for such a wide viscosity range? The wider the range the more VI (Viscosity Index) improver you have to add. The more VI you add the more it takes away/causes other problems. This stuff is made out of PIB (poly-iso-butylene). The more you add to the formulation the more of a chance you have for it to polimerize in the combustion chamber; at least the small amount that gets into it. You just don't run these cars from the tropics to the artic. And if you did you just change the oil. Maybe that's it, now you have one oil weight range that works everywhere on the planet and the customer doesn't have to worry about it. If so, that's a lot of money to pay for protection that will never be required by most people.

Second, it appeared to me that manufacturers were lowering the weights of lube oils required to run in their automobiles. Witness the requirements for 5W-30 oils in recent Japaneese and American applications. This is suposedly because of more precise machining and that lighter oils have better lubricating abilities in this environment; somebody please correct me if I am wrong. Why is BMW going the other way?

I'm sure there is a reason for the above but I'd love to know what I'm missing.

Drew

 

[Guest]

Drew,

I'm with you with

Drew,

I'm with you with these questions...and it sure does seem rather odd to me that a 10W-60 is the "only" approved and specified oil for the M-motors. I'll be on the phone tomorrow with BMW, and will post the results of their reasoning.

Regards,
David

 

[Guest]

David:

Agip sells a 10W-60

David:

Agip sells a 10W-60 synthetic oil, but call it "racing oil". I do not know the cost, but their 5W-50 synthetic is about $5 a liter. You may have to contact Agip directly for the oil. I go to their Hainesport, NJ site since it's only 10 minutes from my house. They will also ship UPS.

http://www.americanagip.com/

Ken

 

[Guest]

About them ranges.

You'

About them ranges.

You're probably right that the car won't go from the arctic to the tropics. But what if someone revs the heck out of the car in the arctic? Isn't this just for safe measure in case the car is driven hard in the arctic (read: Northeast

).

The weather can get pretty foul, so that explains the low number, and since they are high performance M engines that are marketed to go fast guys you probably need a viscous oil for those times one stomps on the go pedal. Curious to see what BMW has to say.

Cheers

 

[Guest]

Good evening all,

I spoke w

Good evening all,

I spoke with BMWNA this morning concerning the oil requirements specifically for the M-motors, and my interpretation of the owner's manual.

Their response, though not to be found in my owner's manual, was that other oils can be used without voiding the warranty, but only synthetics.

The three approved oils are:

5W-40
10w-40
10W-60

With Castrol, Valvoline and Mobil 1 being the only "approved" suppliers...

Seems that they are concerned with high ambient temperature, 8000+ rpm driving conditions, hence the 10W-60 spec for "warmer climates."

Makes a little more sense now, Yes?

BTW, this is one fun "daily driver"!!!

Regards,
David