synthetic oils
- Thread starter 535iracer
- Start date
Are you talking about your 535i? Because you should've been using synthetic from the start. Bmw uses it on the factory fill and all the maitenance changes ? maybe you started changing oil yourself and were using dino oi? dino as in dinosaur..
The problems that you are refering to is that on your older engines the piston rings and all other parts don't have that tight fit anymore . The engine is " loose " and synthetic oil is a better lubricant with tighter tolerances and smaller molecular build so it gets squeezed thru the rings into the combustion chamber . You might see some oil leeking from gaskets around the engine also . This is damage that has been thru wear and tear but the synthetic will bring it to light.
Synthetic is the best for your engine , imo, so give it a try and see if you got some leaks or smoke if not keep up with the man - made stuff and run another 100k..
I personally like Mobil 1 10w-30 . Check your owners m,anual if you have questions which viscosity to use..Aloha
The problems that you are refering to is that on your older engines the piston rings and all other parts don't have that tight fit anymore . The engine is " loose " and synthetic oil is a better lubricant with tighter tolerances and smaller molecular build so it gets squeezed thru the rings into the combustion chamber . You might see some oil leeking from gaskets around the engine also . This is damage that has been thru wear and tear but the synthetic will bring it to light.
Synthetic is the best for your engine , imo, so give it a try and see if you got some leaks or smoke if not keep up with the man - made stuff and run another 100k..
I personally like Mobil 1 10w-30 . Check your owners m,anual if you have questions which viscosity to use..Aloha
Hello...I'd like to help here, as many of the responses might have given you incorrect information. I am an engineer, car enthusiast and avid BMW driver/fan - and I have done a ton of research on synthetic oil.
-Synthetic oil will NOT "burn" more readily than non-synthetic oil (dino oil); in fact, synthetics generally burn less since they have significantly higher flash points and lower volatility. Oil burns when it catches fire or evaporates on the cylinder walls during combustion; synthetics have much higher ignition and evaporation points, even in the low viscosity numbers like 0W-30 and 5W-30.
-Synthetic oil will not leak more than dino oil of the same viscosity, it has equivalent seal swell rates compared to dino oil. If the leak was there before, synthetics will not make it better, nor make it worse
-The viscosity numbers (like 5W-30, etc) have the same meaning as in dino oil...so 5W-30 synthetic is just as thin/thick as 5W-30 dino oil, but synthetics will HOLD their viscosity better than dino oils. After use, the actual viscosity of 5W-30 dino oil may end up being "8W-28" where synthetic will likely remain 5W-30 for the entire drain interval
-No matter what condition your car's engine is in, synthetics will always be a better bet than dino oil. After doing my research, I'll never use dino oil again. Old, used synthetic oil is better for your car than brand new dino oil in virtually every important characteristic.
-If your engine is worn, you should generally select higher viscosities. So, you may want to use a 10W-30, or even a 20W-50 on an old engine. If you run 20W-50, be careful not to race the engine or drive agressively until the engine is warm, as high revs may tear the thicker oil film and result in engine damage. This is especially true with dino 20W-50 - I'd totally avoid anything but synthetic for this case
-All of the data that I have read points to these brands of synthetic as the best choices of brand and type. Amsoil=best; Redline=excellent; Mobil 1=very good. All synthetics are leaps and bounds above regular dino oil.
-EVERY BMW should be running synthetic! We are drivers of cars that love to be "driven" so we need the extra protection of the best oils available!
If anyone has questions or wants more detail on WHY these points are true, I'd be happy to provide the data, research contacts, etc.
Have a great day all!
-Synthetic oil will NOT "burn" more readily than non-synthetic oil (dino oil); in fact, synthetics generally burn less since they have significantly higher flash points and lower volatility. Oil burns when it catches fire or evaporates on the cylinder walls during combustion; synthetics have much higher ignition and evaporation points, even in the low viscosity numbers like 0W-30 and 5W-30.
-Synthetic oil will not leak more than dino oil of the same viscosity, it has equivalent seal swell rates compared to dino oil. If the leak was there before, synthetics will not make it better, nor make it worse
-The viscosity numbers (like 5W-30, etc) have the same meaning as in dino oil...so 5W-30 synthetic is just as thin/thick as 5W-30 dino oil, but synthetics will HOLD their viscosity better than dino oils. After use, the actual viscosity of 5W-30 dino oil may end up being "8W-28" where synthetic will likely remain 5W-30 for the entire drain interval
-No matter what condition your car's engine is in, synthetics will always be a better bet than dino oil. After doing my research, I'll never use dino oil again. Old, used synthetic oil is better for your car than brand new dino oil in virtually every important characteristic.
-If your engine is worn, you should generally select higher viscosities. So, you may want to use a 10W-30, or even a 20W-50 on an old engine. If you run 20W-50, be careful not to race the engine or drive agressively until the engine is warm, as high revs may tear the thicker oil film and result in engine damage. This is especially true with dino 20W-50 - I'd totally avoid anything but synthetic for this case
-All of the data that I have read points to these brands of synthetic as the best choices of brand and type. Amsoil=best; Redline=excellent; Mobil 1=very good. All synthetics are leaps and bounds above regular dino oil.
-EVERY BMW should be running synthetic! We are drivers of cars that love to be "driven" so we need the extra protection of the best oils available!
If anyone has questions or wants more detail on WHY these points are true, I'd be happy to provide the data, research contacts, etc.
Have a great day all!
Hey Elf,
Have not heard of this, but I am actually experimenting to see for myself. I have several older cars with original engines (never opened, with original cork gaskets). These are early 1960's GM products. I am in the process of switching all of them over to syn oil this spring. I am going to keep a close eye on what happens. So far, only effect is that I've had to turn the old-time carburetors idle screws down a bit since the syn lube has so much less friction! It actually raised the car's idles. The engines do feel a bit more powerful too, but I have no data to back that up (could be the same kinda feeling ya get after ya wash and wax a car - always seems to run better when you are done). I am experimenting with Amsoil, Redline, and Mobil 1 to see if I can tell any differences between the stuff.
Cheers!
Have not heard of this, but I am actually experimenting to see for myself. I have several older cars with original engines (never opened, with original cork gaskets). These are early 1960's GM products. I am in the process of switching all of them over to syn oil this spring. I am going to keep a close eye on what happens. So far, only effect is that I've had to turn the old-time carburetors idle screws down a bit since the syn lube has so much less friction! It actually raised the car's idles. The engines do feel a bit more powerful too, but I have no data to back that up (could be the same kinda feeling ya get after ya wash and wax a car - always seems to run better when you are done). I am experimenting with Amsoil, Redline, and Mobil 1 to see if I can tell any differences between the stuff.
Cheers!
I can vouch for that! The first time I put full synthetic in my '67 Camaro, I too had to adjust the idle down, and the car definitely had a noticeably more power. However, I'm sad to say that when I put Mobil 1 in my BMW after buying it (the guy I bought it from told me he had put dino oil in it), the car didn't feel any more powerful.
Ah okay, thanks guys. Can't wait till I can get synthetic in my Bimmer. Heck, I can't wait till I can drive my Bimmer, later this week its coming out of its winter garage hibernation for the first time since I bought it. Greatly looking forward too the increase in power, though after test driving an E46 M3 yesterday, it may not feel like too much ^_^
One reason why you might leak oil after changing to a synthetic is that synthetic is very high in detergent. It will dissolve a lot of crud and expose some areas to leakage where the crud was acting as a seal. If the engine has been well maintained there should be no problem. I would make the first oil change a little sooner than you ordinarily would to get any dissolved crud out if there is any.
I have a question.
I have an 87 325i conv. The engine still performs great, its fast......I've had some leaking from the pan of late and need to get her to the shop. Would you suggest since the seal will more than likely be replaced to start with synthetic oil at that point?
In other words, do you just drain your oil, change the filter and put in synthetic oil? (I know that's probably a dumb question) The car currently has just over 170K mi.
Let me know.......
I have an 87 325i conv. The engine still performs great, its fast......I've had some leaking from the pan of late and need to get her to the shop. Would you suggest since the seal will more than likely be replaced to start with synthetic oil at that point?
In other words, do you just drain your oil, change the filter and put in synthetic oil? (I know that's probably a dumb question) The car currently has just over 170K mi.
Let me know.......
Actually rjp325i, you have it backwards. Non synthetic oil is mainly detergent.Synthetic is mainly lubricant. That's one of the better reasons to run synthetic oil. Non-synthetic oil is as much as 80% detergent and only 20% lubricant.Synthetic is approximately 75% lubricant and 25% detergent.
Synthetic will NOT promote leaks in older engines.It will not harm an older engine.Synthetic oil is the best for ALL cars regardless of mileage.
Synthetic will NOT promote leaks in older engines.It will not harm an older engine.Synthetic oil is the best for ALL cars regardless of mileage.
