[NGT2]

Before I bought my 2018 540, I looked at buying a low mileage '16 535. Well, the low mileage car actually turned out to have a new engine in it. They had me talk to one of the dealer mechanics to see if I could get comfortable with it. Obviously, I passed on the car and happily ended up with the g30.

I say all that so say that the mechanic told me the 10,000 mile oil change is fine. But he said if you plan to keep it a long time and want to go the extra mile to prevent issues, every 5,000 miles was his recommendation. He also said he changes his own oil at 5,000.

Granted, he's in the business of changing oil. But he's not getting paid any different and he seemed like a solid guy and gave me honest answers, good and bad.

Make of that what you will. I don't know how long I'll have mine but I'll probably change the oil around 5,000-6,000 miles just in case it's around a while.

[Boosted_8]

The cars that are ultra babied for the first 1000 miles tend to be down on power and up on oil consumption. They miss the chance to get a good ring to cylinder seal. The cars that are ruthlessly punished from day one rapidly accelerate wear as the microscopic surfaces on all the moving parts haven't become bedded into each other. This generates a ton of heat. That car will have looser clearances everywhere at tear down as if it's down more miles than it has.

[Boosted_8]

Originally Posted by ezaircon4jc

I had the pleasure of going to the factory in MI to watch our last car model be made. After the car was built, it was driven off the line, gassed and driven onto a dyno. The driver then proceeded to mash the loud pedal for about a minute!

I don't know if all manufacturers do this but I'm pretty sure BMW pick one in every X motors that has been built and attaches it to the engine Dyno to make sure the out put is consistent

Was the US car using running in oil that they dropped out after? If so that's how they give you a ring seal and start the bearings off for you. A few minutes on the Dyno doesn't generate the same kind of heat as blasting the car on the road.

[Joe-BMW33]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

Discussing Oil Change Intervals is like discussing politics

I do 10K mile changes, but I will likely sell my car before 130K miles. So I have been told that's not long enough to matter

If I'm being honest with myself, I actually have no idea how long and for how many miles I will keep the car as I can be impulsive when I see a potential deal to upgrade. But I might be on an island by myself, but I think about the next guy getting my car and I've always appreciated a prior owner that treated the car like it was his or hers for life. I'm not saying that a 10k change is beating on it, but while I own the car, knowing there is always fresher than fresh lubricant in there makes me feel better about the car. I've bought or leased many new, used and CPO BMW's over the years and fully appreciated strong documentation that leads me to believe the prior owner was OCD like me. So the extra $150 off cycle change is worth it to me and for the next guy.

[eliphil]

When I sold my RS7 to carmax I could not help but think the person that gets this car is going to be happy based on how I took care of it and that does give me some satisfaction like Joe

[ezaircon4jc]

Originally Posted by Boosted_8

I don't know if all manufacturers do this but I'm pretty sure BMW pick one in every X motors that has been built and attaches it to the engine Dyno to make sure the out put is consistent

Was the US car using running in oil that they dropped out after? If so that's how they give you a ring seal and start the bearings off for you. A few minutes on the Dyno doesn't generate the same kind of heat as blasting the car on the road.

When queried, the "suit" told us that they have a break-in procedure at the engine plant. Didn't think to ask about the oil. It was the Lincoln/Ford plant in Wixom.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Joe-BMW33

If I'm being honest with myself, I actually have no idea how long and for how many miles I will keep the car as I can be impulsive when I see a potential deal to upgrade. But I might be on an island by myself, but I think about the next guy getting my car and I've always appreciated a prior owner that treated the car like it was his or hers for life. I'm not saying that a 10k change is beating on it, but while I own the car, knowing there is always fresher than fresh lubricant in there makes me feel better about the car. I've bought or leased many new, used and CPO BMW's over the years and fully appreciated strong documentation that leads me to believe the prior owner was OCD like me. So the extra $150 off cycle change is worth it to me and for the next guy.

That’s the politics side of it for sure.

I definitely maintain my cars 100% to the rules the OEM sets as my OCD won’t allow me to do anything less. But I don’t go higher than that unless I have valid proof it is valuable to do. Otherwise, where would I draw the line? There is a point where you’re just flushing money down the drain…

But, of course, we do what we prefer personally. But I wouldn’t exceed what BMW mandates…

I just know every time I mention never having problems sticking to the manual. It is always pointed out to me that I don’t own my cars long enough for it to matter…

Especially when a 5K OCI would easily add an extra $2K over my estimated ownership period. I’d much rather spend that $2K on a new iPad or a new server for my home lab But I’m also a Software Engineer and generally a technology geek. FWIW.

[eliphil]

wondering what u think of the tech in your car? I have a 2022 and just got it.

[Boosted_8]

There is a diminishing return. For what it's worth I tend to change oil every 8-10k. I have owned second hand cars that were changed on long life schedules (20k miles) that were smokey under throttle and used a lot of oil over short trips. Modern synthetic oils don't break down like mineral oils of the past but 20k is definitely too optimistic. I think in these times there is also an environmental angle to not throwing out 8 liters of oil every 6 months so striking a balance is key.

[ezaircon4jc]

Controversial subjects...

Religion, politics, best wax, oil change intervals and best oil.

I've been successfully using yearly or ~10K miles for over 35 years. I've kept most of these cars (the 2012 535i has started the exception as I have since retired) have well over 100K miles and never burned oil. Of course I used pure synthetic oil and not that reformulated, not true synthetic Castrol stuff.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

I'm sure people who did ED, for instance, would be hammering their cars pretty hard on the autobahn without issues long term...

I've done Euro delivery 3 times. 2002 M3, 2003 330i zhp, 2011 M3 sedan. See signature picture for 2 of those cars. On the first two we stuck to the 1200 mile break in period, including running up and down the autobahn (<100mph which was the criteria back then for break in max speed) to get to the 1200 miles before we hit the race tracks.

'02 M3 did 4 tracks: Salzburgring, Red Bull Ring (was A-1 ring back then), Nurburgring old track and the Nurburgring GP track. 4k mile trip. Tires toast by the time we got home. We even had our group of 12 M3s serviced at the BMW dealership in Thune, Switzerland -- all coordinated with BMW so they'd have all the parts/supplies necessary when we showed up. The city of Thune had a tourist guide for us to take us around the city (it's beautiful) while the cars were being serviced. Wonderful day in a lovely city.

'03 330i zhp just did the Nurburgring old track.

Both the M3 and 330 were maxed out on the autobahn south of Munich. Good times.

'11 M3 may have seen the RPM limits broken going up and down the high alpine road near the Grosse Glockner. We were staying in Heiligenblut so we had unlimited access (free) to that toll road while we were there. BMW was testing the F10M5's up there at the time as well. Cool town and we had a lot of fun there as well.

Now, on the 2002 trip a friend broke his M3 in by immediately maxing it out on the autobahn. He literally drove it like he stole it. Never used a drop of oil and ran perfectly until he sold it. Clearly, not a large data set, but both following and not following the break in procedure resulted in the same end point as far as oil usage.

IF my friend (or me with the 2011 M3) had experienced an engine mechanical in the 1st 1200 miles, all warranty bets would have been off at that point. With the the data gathering prowess of the new cars, I imagine BMW has all the info on how the car has been treated and will respond accordingly.

[eliphil]

Thank you for the interesting take, I am not going to drive it like I stole it for the first 1200 but I am not going to baby it either

[Cabbage]

Originally Posted by 2022M550i

As stated in the owners manual, how many waited for the 1200 mile mark to hammer it? I would imagine anyone test driving these at the dealer do several WOT blasts...I know I did....well...not to mine when I took delivery.

1200 I believe is for full M cars. M performance and non-M cars I believe are 400 or 600 miles, but I could be wrong.

[LogicalApex]

Originally Posted by Cabbage

1200 I believe is for full M cars. M performance and non-M cars I believe are 400 or 600 miles, but I could be wrong.

1200 mile break in period is for all cars.
1200 mile break in service is only for true M cars.

[Cabbage]

Originally Posted by LogicalApex

1200 mile break in period is for all cars.
1200 mile break in service is only for true M cars.

Gotcha

[NGT2]

Originally Posted by eliphil

When I sold my RS7 to carmax I could not help but think the person that gets this car is going to be happy based on how I took care of it and that does give me some satisfaction like Joe

Yep. Same as you and Joe, I like to be a guy that someone wants to buy a car from. Keep it looking clean and running clean.

[eliphil]

I thinks its a karma thing and creates goodwill.

[Boosted_8]

Originally Posted by admranger

I've done Euro delivery 3 times. 2002 M3, 2003 330i zhp, 2011 M3 sedan. See signature picture for 2 of those cars. On the first two we stuck to the 1200 mile break in period, including running up and down the autobahn (<100mph which was the criteria back then for break in max speed) to get to the 1200 miles before we hit the race tracks.

'02 M3 did 4 tracks: Salzburgring, Red Bull Ring (was A-1 ring back then), Nurburgring old track and the Nurburgring GP track. 4k mile trip. Tires toast by the time we got home. We even had our group of 12 M3s serviced at the BMW dealership in Thune, Switzerland -- all coordinated with BMW so they'd have all the parts/supplies necessary when we showed up. The city of Thune had a tourist guide for us to take us around the city (it's beautiful) while the cars were being serviced. Wonderful day in a lovely city.

'03 330i zhp just did the Nurburgring old track.

Both the M3 and 330 were maxed out on the autobahn south of Munich. Good times.

'11 M3 may have seen the RPM limits broken going up and down the high alpine road near the Grosse Glockner. We were staying in Heiligenblut so we had unlimited access (free) to that toll road while we were there. BMW was testing the F10M5's up there at the time as well. Cool town and we had a lot of fun there as well.

Now, on the 2002 trip a friend broke his M3 in by immediately maxing it out on the autobahn. He literally drove it like he stole it. Never used a drop of oil and ran perfectly until he sold it. Clearly, not a large data set, but both following and not following the break in procedure resulted in the same end point as far as oil usage.

IF my friend (or me with the 2011 M3) had experienced an engine mechanical in the 1st 1200 miles, all warranty bets would have been off at that point. With the the data gathering prowess of the new cars, I imagine BMW has all the info on how the car has been treated and will respond accordingly.

This was a point I was trying to make further up the thread. A car brutalised from day 0 might make it to 153k miles before the cylinder walls are like glass and it uses more oil than petrol than oil VS 253k miles. A German car is likely to give you other really big bills way before the motor fails in either case.

[2022M550i]

Originally Posted by admranger

I imagine BMW has all the info on how the car has been treated and will respond accordingly.

This statement is the key.


With respect to the M cars, it's my understanding they are delivered with a high zinc break in oil, that's why it needs to be serviced at 1200 miles.

All other cars are 1200 mile break in. It's in our manual.

I would like to change the oil myself at 5000 miles and send a sample out to Blackstone Labs https://www.blackstone-labs.com/

I use Blackstone for all my oil changes on my Viper. Not only do you see exactly what's going on with your engine, it also documents your oil change history just in case they try to deny warranty claims for not changing the oil. Hard to dispute. They log mileage and the type of oil used. FCA's manual states to change the oil every 3000 miles or 6 months regardless of miles. I know people that had their warranties denied because they didn't adhere....great out clause

Here's a sample of the report: