Quote:
Originally Posted by DOrtiz
Has nothing to do with "affordability" but convenience and the fact I intend to change my oil more frequently than "once-a-year." With Florida heat, and driving 15-18k/year, I'd like to change my oil 3 times a year (at minimum). I'm more of the old school, and can't fathom a 10-12k oil change (on any car).
Additionally, the dealer is quite a distance from me, and from what I can tell, oil changes on these cars "appear" relatively simple. Heck, the filter is right on top. :-)
Best,
David
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As mentioned, M1 no longer has LL01. One must ask: what magically changed here? Was there one test it doesn't pass now? There are additional LL specs for longer life ratings, extended drain. BMW often back dates things, you can read up at your leisure but again: if LL01 was fine when the car was new, and you use an LL01 oil, its perfectly within spec.
Now, M1 retains MB and Porsche certs to name a few, so its still a very good product. If you want to geek out, BITOG will have hours of reading, data points, and you can see some before/after virgin analysis to guestimate what changed in the forumulation. The extended drain additives may be a bit less since they do have their EP product line (I honestly forget, been a while since I read it). If so it could drop grade after say 13K and 'fail' the test.
Meaning, 13K in the 40 grade has dropped to a 30 grade. Oh the horrors!
What is more important to me is your OCI. Modern oils are very good and yes you can follow the CBS and your car will be fine. 10K is nothing: plenty of data to back that up.
Changing every 5K is over kill IMHO but your car, do what you want
. Changing more frequently does motivate one to DIY. I change every 7500-8K, even when I got annual free I did it at 6mo. That's what I wanted to do as my wife does more shorter trips. However the first two OCs were both over 10K before we got the car cause once a year CBS.
For the extra $10 it cost for the OC, I would buy Castrol or Pennzoil Euro (40w: the Euro L is LL04, I use it in our 335d: yes in spec but I prefer the LL01 add pack for a gas engine). Castrol is easier to find at Wally World typically and you can get that on sale for $22 or so too. I happened to have 8 Qt of M1 Euro left over from my previous Porsche stash and recently used it on the X1 and she's purring just fine. Next year I'll need to buy and buy an LL01.
- b