Quote:
Originally Posted by 111R
I changed my oil at around 1200 miles after break-in, then at 5k, next at 10k. I only drive it around 10k per year, lots of traffic, so I'll probably stay at 5k. Also did the trans and diff at 5k, but will probably go change those every 30k.
I kept my last daily driver for 15 years, so to me the extra oil changes are no big deal. Someone who leases their car and trades every 3-5 years will have a different take on things.
The guy with 200k at 15k oil change intervals did lots of highway miles with a normally aspirated car (325i). Easy miles on an easy motor.
On the other hand, one of my wife's friends works with a woman who drove her 2001 Civic to 250k before the engine died. When our friend asked her how often she changed the oil, the woman replied, "Twice". That's about every 100k! Most modern engines can probably take it, but if it makes you feel better, change it.
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Ah, that'd be me. I don't do "a lot of highway miles" and I'm not easy on the motor. Actually, in the morning, 1 mile from my house, I climb up over a small mountain on a 13-turn corkscrew road that goes up 500 feet in elevation in just under a mile. The engine is cold, and g-forces can make it difficult for the oil pump to get oil flowing well. At night I hammer down those same two-lane backcountry roads where when I park my car, it's usually burning hot and smells like it is about to catch fire. I also sit in stop and go traffic for about 20 minutes as part of my 80-mile one-way commute. Granted my engine does run without interruption for about an hour and 45 minutes each way, but I don't baby the car in any form or fashion - I drive it like a BMW. It routinely sees 5,000 RPM shifts and a redline shifts several times a week. On the roads back to my house I usually leave it in 4th gear and let engine run though the N52 RPM range sweet spot of 3,800 to 5,500 RPM.
To answer the OP's question, I had a '89 E30 325i that went 256K on 10,000 mile OCIs - 140K of that on conventional oil. I have a Z3 that has 160,000 miles on 10,000 OCI's and it gets driven maybe 150 miles a week at best and sits a lot in the winter time, and my E90 at 205,000 now. I've not experienced one engine malfunction related to the oil change intervals BMW recommends.