[ashmostro]

First I want to say that i'm fully aware of BMW's longlife oil standard and how the company may resist honoring a warranty claim on the engine if you are running "non-approved" oil. I know that.

My current predicament is that my car seems to swallow a quart of factory oil every 1k miles, maybe less. That seems like a lot. Engine runs good otherwise and the mileage right now is 5500.

I plan on upgrading the oil cooling to a Setrab 34 row deal, and will be running a 180-degree thermostat instead of the factory 240 job. And yet again, yes I know this is not how BMW "designed" the car. let's not get into that please.

What I want to know is, for this configuration and 5000 mile OCIs, what oil would you recommend to reduce consumption, sludge, shearing, and fuel dilution that is most likely happening? I'm considering Redline 5w30 or RLI 5w40. Or should I continue to run factory oil? I intend to keep this car for a long time so I am more interested in engine longevity than just keeping the damn lawyers happy. If my engine blows and BMW wants to fight me over oil then I'll just lawyer up.

What is best for my *engine*?

Thanks

[MDORPHN]

Hate to say it, but your high oil consumption will be affected little by changing the type/weight of oil that you're using.

Something else is going on and you should have it diagnosed.

If you're high mileage (and there's not an oil leak), I'd suspect rings and/or valves.

I'd suggest an oil analysis (like Blackstone) plus a compression and leakdown tests

Neil

P.S. Just noticed that you have a 2013. Don't know how you broke in the engine, but it's entirely possible that the rings are not seated. FWIW, I subscribe to the school of engine break-in that requires you to put an increasingly heavy load on the engine early on, specifically to seat the rings properly.

[ashmostro]

Yeah i have been worried about that. Unfortunately i don't know how she was broken in as i bought her with 4800 on the clock- sales manager demo.

Think i will get it checked out but my local dealers are morons.

[TommyLights]

Maybe the turbo seals are defective. Fairly common on our cars.

[ashmostro]

Sounds like i should get it looked at before ant under hood mods- i will do that.

Butt in the spirit of the thread, is there a concession on whether factory oil is appropriate for long engine life expectancy, low sludge, under 5000 mile OCIs- or does it make sense to consider quality ester oils with proven low shear under high loads like the two listed?

[ZBMW]

It really doesn't look like you have a problem yet. Since you've driven it less than 1000 miles the dealer would have added only a quart, right. I mean it's under full warranty and that includes oil replacement. If you are going to the dealer every week for more oil then they will want to look at the car. If you are adding it yourself and complaining to them about oil usage they have only your word for it.
Since it's your new toy maybe you have been driving it a little harder than you might after owning it a few months. Was the oil topped off when you took possession? Maybe the engine needs a little longer to seat the internals nice and tight. In the long run an engine that breaks in slowly may be a good thing.
Lots of variables here that need to be addressed before you start yelling lemon.
I would think you would be safe with any high quality oil in it as long as the weight is similar to BMW's but for now let the dealer add oil.

[ashmostro]

Good questions. Actually the dealer, and then i have added a total of 1.8 quarts since i got it, but yes you are right that the first quart was added in my first week of ownership so i don't know how long that interval was.

I've actually not been driving hard yet- lots of inclement weather and traffic in DC. The stop and go could be a contributing factor too, yes?

[MDORPHN]

I'm also in DC (live in NW, work downtown) and would be happy to be a local resource.

PM me and I'll give you my email addy/cell.

Neil

[Jeff@TopGearSolutions]

That does seem a little excessive. You could try a thicker weight but it is usually a band aid for something actually wrong. (turbo seals come to mind). I never liked demo cars, they are usually driven hard and not warmed up properly, and im speaking from 4 years of dealer experience.

Most popular oil alternative we push it Motul 300V.

[ashmostro]

Before I try anything non-standard I'm going to take her in for a checkup, given what you gents are saying. I too have concerns that it's high- glad I posted up here and got a consensus.

I will look into the 300V, thanks for the rec.

How is the Total brand? I hear certain weights are BMW approved.

[GTstunna612]

I use German Castrol 0W30 from auto zone which is BMW LL01 approved and I like it better then Mobil 1 0W40....but I would have your car checked out to see what the real issue is if you have warranty or take it to a BMW shop

[romanonj]

Go check it for oil leaks before adding more expensive oil into your car. You shouldnt be burning 1 quart every 1000 miles. My 335is with almost 25k on the clock has not lost an oil since I did a change at 22k. Used CASTROL Fully Synthetic...

My X3 is a different story, with 102k on the clock is it loosing 1 quart every 1000 miles.. Found valve cover gasket leak and rear main seal..

[themyst]

If you're dropping a quart every 1k miles, you have a leak, you're not burning oil. Valve cover gasket, oil filter housing gasket, or a bad turbo seal / oil lines. Who knows, go dealer it.

[ashmostro]

Yep, dealer appt made. Thanks fellas! Will update here.

Ask them to do an oil consumption study. They'll more than likely change the oil, top it off until it's full, and ask you to come back in X number of miles to check and see how much you've used in that time...be thankful that you're facing this issue while still under warranty.

As for your "which oil" question, yes; there are oils out there that you can run for extended OCIs without compromising their ability to resist shear, fuel dilution, etc. Here's a sample I took of RLI 5w40:
http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...ue#Post2782766

The only way to be sure that an oil will meet your intended needs is to UOA it yourself though...

[ashmostro]

Update on this: last weekend my car was at VAC in Philly for a Quaife LSD and ETS FMIC install (yes!!) and Klev, their master tech, was kind enough to inspect the possible leakage points and concluded that neither my turbos nor other external seals are leaking oil. When we pulled off OEM the front downtube from the FMIC there was oil visibly pooled in the bottom of the tube. Not a lot, but it was there.

I'm going to be installing an RB PCV valve to help combat the blowby which I think will help a lot. I'm guessing my PCV is weaker than average which is contributing to my higher than average consumption rate.

Should I also get a BMS OCC, or is that unnecessary with an upgraded PCV?

[135Pats]

I certainly can’t imagine you’d do any harm adding an OCC in tandem with the RB PCV…the OE PCV system on N54s sucks and blows by a good amount of oil, that + my turbo seals possibly going bye-bye lead to my car smoking a bit at red lights. So VAC concluded that you’re losing a quart of oil just from burn/blow by? Like I said my car smokes a bit, but on 7K OCIs i've never had to add oil prematurely.

[ashmostro]

Yep, their master tech said he sees that much oil consumption on a lot of N54's.

He was pretty open and honest with me about a lot of things so I'm inclined to trust him. Let alone all the amazing race engines and cars they build (and had at the shop for me to ogle).

[135Pats]

For sure, I’d trust VAC 100% on issues like this…I was just curious. Well good to see you can address your symptoms more accurately now, my fear is that once these motors start to burn oil, it never stops.

[romanonj]

How was ETS install? Did the bumper cover need to be removed?

[Timore]

My 335is burned a quart every ~1500 when I first got her but after about 14000 miles she's been good haven't put any oil in and I'm over 20k now. But I drove her hard to break it in. Everything has been good since

[ashmostro]

Yeah I'm going to do the PCV and OCC and drive her like I stole her and I think it will get better.

This time around, the consumption was 1/2 qt in 1000 miles so it's getting better.

As for the ETS install, since it was the 5" it was pretty easy. Only needed to remove the lower splash tray and the additional short connecting tray between the stock FMIC and the support.

I think I'm going to unbolt or trim (not sure until I look closer) part of the lower support which I feel is covering up a portion of the FMIC and blocking flow. I don't think that part is necessary for the structural integrity of the bumper but will have to look closer this weekend to know for sure.

While it can be a one man job, I lent a hand a few times to peel back the bumper when we were wedging the new FMIC back in. Would have taken longer if it was just one set of hands but it's possible.