| MayanArch |
Posted
Monday, Oct 1st 6:07pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1401
Florida, USA
Baur E21 2.7 1982, Baur E30 318i 1985, 323i 1978 |
Can anyone recommend an oil type to use for M20 engines? I want to start this off right. |
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| chupchup |
Posted
Monday, Oct 1st 6:32pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 249
Singapore
320m20 |
I believe it highly depends on the condition of your engine. I have been using syn 5w-40(50) on my M20 since it was avaliable in the mid 80's till today. Mind you the specification from BMW in the manuals calls for mineral oils. |
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| g323 |
Posted
Tuesday, Oct 2nd 2:21am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 183
California
323i 1982 |
ditto, condition of the engine. If its new or rebuilt they usualy say first some miles drive "natural"-haha- and then switcth to syn |
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| ArnZ |
Posted
Tuesday, Oct 2nd 4:00am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 124
Qld, Australia
BMW 323i |
i run normal 20w-50 mineral oil
doesnt the oil weight you choose need to be specific in relation to climate temperature??? |
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| Madhatter |
Posted
Tuesday, Oct 2nd 12:10pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 244
Australia - QLD
E21, E24, E30 |
never found an m20 that really liked full synthetics. Even after rebuilding and running in, then switching to synth, ive tried mobil 1 and recently pennzoil platinum and i still havent had a good run of it. The mobil still returns the worst results, i ran it through a couple of services just to make sure it wasnt a one off, but the end result was it was still using a couple of litres between services. Ive had the same result on another (although 4 cylinder) engine that shared similar design (belt driven, ohc, rockers, hemi style chamber, etc), end result was it used oil too.
Pennzoil wasnt so bad, gone through a little over a litre between changes which is about what they specify is within normal operating range, but when running a good quality mineral oil, would be lucky to have to top it up a few hundred mls between changes.
As a contrast, late model twin cam 4 cylinder, it actually feels better running on synthetic. Actually quicker to pickup revs, is generally quieter plus it runs a little cooler too.
Im sure there are people out there that have had good runs with it, but i havent. I just stick to a good quality mineral oil and 5k changes. I generally run 10w/40 in my m20's given our climate. If it was colder id probably run a 10w/30 or even a 0w/30 if dealing with freezing temps. |
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| chupchup |
Posted
Tuesday, Oct 2nd 1:08pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 250
Singapore
320m20 |
Hmmmm I just remembered, back in the late 90's, when I also had a 2002ti, Mini Cooper, Escort and some Jap cars, I experimented with several brands, grades and types of oils for the engine.
I found that one of the best mineral oils was the Castrol GTX2 15w 40. |
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| TJ |
Posted
Thursday, Oct 4th 8:26am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 39
NY, USA
82 528e2i 84 320i/4 80 320i |
I would say use conventional for break-in, and maybe for old engines that have sludge, otherwise use synthetic or synthetic blend if you won't miss the extra $$
Aside from that, there has been some ruckus about oils conforming to the latest API (SM) standard having reduced levels of an additive "ZDDP" that would seem to be important for protecting the valve train in engines like these. The reason given for taking the ZDDP out is that it shortens the life of catalytic converters, and since modern cars generally have hydraulic lifters the stuff isn't missed. But some guys reported that their old British cars wore off the cam lobes in a ridiculously short time when using these oils.
Anyone else know more about this? Supposedly the issue was covered by some car mags late last year, but I never saw it... only some references on the web, and the solutions given were to use diesel engine oil or to use certain other additives or oils that generally have to be special ordered. |
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| KenDanielson |
Posted
Friday, Oct 5th 12:17am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Junior Member
Post nr. 192
Petaluma CA
'82 320is, '78 320i |
It's well known in the hot rod and air cooled VW worlds. The ZDDP is a zinc additive that does protect cams and lifters-ESPECIALLY on new parts. All the new oils have this removed, not just synthetics. Ford makes a break in additive that contains the required zinc and is popular.
ken |
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| chupchup |
Posted
Friday, Oct 5th 5:16am [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 253
Singapore
320m20 |
Can you give me more info on this Ford additive? I will go pester the local ford agent for it. |
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| imaradiostar |
Posted
Friday, Oct 5th 10:50pm [Edit] [Quote] [IMS] [View car] |
Member
Post nr. 1083
Nashville, TN
81 323i, 82 525i, 85 524td, 90 535i |
I can't help but think there is a lot of truth and reason to this whole ZDDP thing. I've always been frustrated by the BMW cam/rocker design. Anything that improves this relationship is a great thing- such as mikroniting, micropolishing, newer nitriding methods and low-friction coatings.
For the record I've been using various kinds of full synthetics in my various Bimmers for several years now. As Madhatter stated oil consumption has been pretty bad. On the other hand oil pressures and temps are healthy and I'm seeing increased mileage and engine cleanliness- less sludge and gunk, even with 6k to 8k service intervals.
I read a little about the comp cams zddp additive. They make it sound like you should always use it- I don't really want to hassle with a product like that.
I'm also of the opinion that BMW headgaskets have a limited lifespan and you should expect a cam and rocker set to last forever- I'd say every 100 to 150k miles a fresh headgasket and valvetrain will go a long way toward keeping your older bimmer running nicely.
jamie |
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