Switching Oil to 10-40 to reduce oil consumption

[mjposner]

After consulting with Mike Miller, Redline and Blackstone, I am going to switch to 10-40 today as part of my next oil change.

After BMW recommendation to add two quarts when the car asks for one, I have been getting about 1275-1350 miles before the warning returns.

I believe that the thicker oil may be consumed at a slower rate so I will test and report.

I also plan on getting the old oil tested. However, given that I have added over 10 quarts in the last 6500 miles or so, the oil in the engine should be pretty fresh.

[Mnite_S63]

A buddy of mine mentioned to use 10-60. He was speaking to on of his SA's and mentioned BMW is considering going back to that weight for the M cars due to burning rate.

Trying to find if there is any article that supports his statement.

Interested in your findings also please keep us posted.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by Mnite_S63

A buddy of mine mentioned to use 10-60. He was speaking to on of his SA's and mentioned BMW is considering going back to that weight for the M cars due to burning rate.

Trying to find if there is any article that supports his statement.

Interested in your findings also please keep us posted.

keep us updated on this one. 10-60, while great on oil consumption is not so kind on bearings. You really would need to monitor oil temperatures properly when cold (something you should do anyways with any car) if you use this oil.

In the mean time, I'm actually using the OEM 0-30 today and I haven't had any measurable consumption for a 4 months now.

[schnell1982]

Do not use 10-60, that is the wrong weight for this engine
I also would recommend a GOOD oil brand and switch to a 10-40 if you have performance mods and pushing more then factory spec.

[mjposner]

Mike Miller suggested 10-60 as well. Redline said that was too thick and suggested 5-50 or 10-40. Ended up using 5w-40. Since I live in South Florida, the cold factor is a non-issue. Well monitor a few cycles with this oil and see what happens.

[brad850csi]

The S85 V10 was designed to run on 10w60 but as we all know that was a special engine.

My manual says 0w30, 5w30, 0w40 and 5w40 are all ok.

Note that the warm temperature is the 30 or 40 part and is how it flows when the oil is up to temperature. The engine will have been designed to run on 30 or 40 when hot and 60 probably won’t be all that great for t.

The 0w or 5w part is how it flows when cold - the lower the number is better as it will flow better when cold which is of course better for the engine.

[mjposner]

Just got my oil test analysis, only high reading was silicone at 20 ppm. I suspect that some gasket seal;ant from last January's valve cover gasket install was the cause. Will retest in 5k miles and see what comes up. Everything else was normal.

[mjposner]

So after putting in 9.5 quarts of 5w-40 LiquiMoly, car went 1,106 miles before asking for a quart. BMW originally specced 9 quarts, then said it had underestimated capacity and when car ask for 1 quart, add 2 quarts (to 10?). New changes call for 9.5 quarts, so extrapolating that I was 1.5 quarts over warning, I went 757 miles per quart.

Will add 2 quarts today and then continue to measure.

[somer]

If people knew how to break engines in properly this would be a non-issue. Never had to add any oil in 60k miles. Stays right at max fill line which I check every time I get gas.

[Flying Ace]

Where are you reading that BMW advised to add 2 when it asks for 1? On the M3, I was taught to be very careful about an overfill. I actually add 0.5 when it asks for 1

[spikespiegel]

12k miles so far, lots of spirited driving; no oil ever needed topping off. Granted I did change oil twice in that interval at around 5k mark. I refuse to go over 5-6k without an oil change on a high performance motor.

[BMWM5NYC]

Originally Posted by mjposner

So after putting in 9.5 quarts of 5w-40 LiquiMoly, car went 1,106 miles before asking for a quart. BMW originally specced 9 quarts, then said it had underestimated capacity and when car ask for 1 quart, add 2 quarts (to 10?). New changes call for 9.5 quarts, so extrapolating that I was 1.5 quarts over warning, I went 757 miles per quart.

Will add 2 quarts today and then continue to measure.

Wow you are still doing the "oil dance" with this car?

[kong24680]

I only started to get oil consumption once I started commuting in the m6. I did 2000 miles when I picked up my car and didn't lose a drop of oil. Now that I'm doing a lot of city driving I'm probably filling up every 700-900 miles. Planning on switching from OEM bmw 5w-30 to 5w-40 as well. Hopefully that helps...

[mjposner]

"Where are you reading that BMW advised to add 2 when it asks for 1?"

From the Bmw Horse's Mouth:

"Procedure: Engine oil - Topping up - When one of the above vehicles displays a message to add 1 quart of engine oil, BMW recommends adding 2 quarts of engine oil instead. The engine's oil sump design allows the additional quart; the result is a total capacity of 9.5 quarts (9.0 liters) of engine oil."

[mjposner]

Also, read page 8:

http://www.classactionsreporter.com/..._complaint.pdf

[spikespiegel]

wow, this lawsuit is scarrry! Are there really that many s63 motors out there??

[Siciliano611]

Hey dummies, our engine is the S63 not the N63....as stated in lawsuit

[Jesse E93]

Knock on wood 40k miles and not once have I needed to refill. I do stomp on it daily but never excessuvl . I just switched to Torco last night. I will report results later.

[Kkgy79]

Normally i added up every 700-800miles. Using 0-30. But it reduced a lot after driving so hard on highway and change setting to d3. Now drove around 950miles it reduced 1/5 from max to min. So happy result with it. I hope this help u too.

[Jesse E93]

The people the drive more aggressive have less oil consumption I think haha

[pr0xy]

Flying Ace ... I also use OEM 0W-30 and after 2500 miles and I have yet to add any oil... which is excellent. I had to add oil when I ran the Motul 5w40, like every 400-500 miles.

[Flying Ace]

Originally Posted by kong24680

I only started to get oil consumption once I started commuting in the m6. I did 2000 miles when I picked up my car and didn't lose a drop of oil. Now that I'm doing a lot of city driving I'm probably filling up every 700-900 miles. Planning on switching from OEM bmw 5w-30 to 5w-40 as well. Hopefully that helps...

The driving behavior is the primary variable why one owner burns oil and another doesn't.

Same thing happened to me. When I owned my M3 in Virginia, most of my driving was highway/non-traffic type. I rarely burned any oil. In my 3 years of ownership in VA, I probably add no more than 2 bottles of oil over the course of 3 years. Same car, same driver, but when I moved to CA, my driving is the shorter bumper-to-bumper commute. In my 5 years in CA, I added at least 2 bottle EACH year.

Originally Posted by pr0xy

Flying Ace ... I also use OEM 0W-30 and after 2500 miles and I have yet to add any oil... which is excellent. I had to add oil when I ran the Motul 5w40, like every 400-500 miles.

A thinner oil such as 0-30 will burn faster. Frankly, I don't mind the oil burn. I subscribe to the BMW's notion that high performance engines will burn oil. Just look at your oil temps, if it's above the 2nd tick (240 degrees) all the time, it's likely burning oil. I use 0-30 only for bearing health. That's my #1 priority. Adding oil...and I can afford and is not any indication of a poorly functioning engine.