Highway Milage Maintenance

[Yeineken]

My 135i is my daily. I have a long commute a couple days of the week. Average about 300-400 miles a week (all highway). So far I have put 15k miles on my car since October when I bought the car.

Any thing I should be checking and changing regularly besides the oil?

Currently I'm changing the oil every 5-6K. Next investment will be an OCC.

Sitting at 27,500 miles.

[Yeineken]

Guess i can answer my own question: but ill share.

Bavauto has a nice check list: http://www.bavauto.com/Assets/inst_pages/e82mc.pdf

But if anyone else has any other recommendations please post.

[SayHack]

No, you are good, just air filter every 15-20k.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by SayHack

No, you are good, just air filter every 15-20k.

Should I invest in an aftermarket or just clean the oem?

[SayHack]

i personally have 106k on my 08 128i, i use Mahle air and oil filter (it's about $25 for a set or air and $10 for the oil). also i do oil change every 6 months (so about 7-8k miles). spark plugs/differential fluid/manual trany fluid/ and coolant flush every 50k. Cabin filter every 30k.

(to answer your question, what i usually do is clean it every 4-6 months and at around 15k interval i go with aftermarket Mahle fresh set of filter. to be honest with you, just simply cleaning it with a brush does a good job and you can arguably run the same filter for 30k but i just simply don't.

[Yeineken]

Originally Posted by SayHack

i personally have 106k on my 08 128i, i use Mahle air and oil filter (it's about $25 for a set or air and $10 for the oil). also i do oil change every 6 months (so about 7-8k miles). spark plugs/differential fluid/manual trany fluid/ and coolant flush every 50k. Cabin filter every 30k.

(to answer your question, what i usually do is clean it every 4-6 months and at around 15k interval i go with aftermarket Mahle fresh set of filter. to be honest with you, just simply cleaning it with a brush does a good job and you can arguably run the same filter for 30k but i just simply don't.

Thanks for the information. Appreciate the help.

[Pkaia524]

This is up my alley. I drive 750 miles/week, 90% highway. I have a 08 128i 6MT with 127k miles. Bought the car with 35K miles. Here's my maintenance schedule:

oil/filter every 7500 miles - Valvoline SynTech 5W-30/Mann filter
air filter every 30K miles - Mann
Gear box fluid every 30K miles -- Redline MTL
Diff fluid every 30K miles -- Redline 75W-90
Coolant every 2 years -- BMW OEM
Brake fluid every 2 years -- ATE Typ 200
Spark plugs every 60K miles - Bosch
Water pump/tsat every 120K miles - Piersburg

I have had two repairs: replaced MAF sensor at 100K and a frozen RF brake caliper at 122K.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

This is up my alley. I drive 750 miles/week, 90% highway. I have a 08 128i 6MT with 127k miles. Bought the car with 35K miles. Here's my maintenance schedule:

oil/filter every 7500 miles - Valvoline SynTech 5W-30.
air filter every 30K miles.
Gear box fluid every 30K miles -- Redline MTL
Diff fluid every 30K miles -- Redline 75W-90
Coolant every 2 years -- BMW
Brake fluid every 2 years -- ATE Typ 200
Spark plugs every 60K miles - Bosch
Water pump/tsat every 120K miles - Piersburg

I have had two repairs: replaced MAF sensor at 100K and a frozen RF brake caliper at 122K.

I think you are using the wrong oil for your car. I believe Valvoline 5w-30 is not LL-01 approved. They do make a 5w-40 that is though. Then again on your schedule, it may not make a difference. Ever have a UOA done?

[SayHack]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

This is up my alley. I drive 750 miles/week, 90% highway. I have a 08 128i 6MT with 127k miles. Bought the car with 35K miles. Here's my maintenance schedule:

oil/filter every 7500 miles - Valvoline SynTech 5W-30.
air filter every 30K miles.
Gear box fluid every 30K miles -- Redline MTL
Diff fluid every 30K miles -- Redline 75W-90
Coolant every 2 years -- BMW
Brake fluid every 2 years -- ATE Typ 200
Spark plugs every 60K miles - Bosch
Water pump/tsat every 120K miles - Piersburg

I have had two repairs: replaced MAF sensor at 100K and a frozen RF brake caliper at 122K.

wow mate, you're the only other member that i know who is running RedLine 75w-90 in the diff...i do the same, and have been doing it for my e36 m3 as well and i love it....i don't know much about the oil you are running but maybe once try mobil 0w-40, its seriously good stuff. I use to run Castrol Edge 5w-30 but i like the mobil better.

[TwinTurboed]

Originally Posted by SayHack

wow mate, your the only other member that i know who is running RedLine 75w-90 in the diff...i do the same, and have been doing it for my e36 m3 as well and i love it....i don't know much about the oil you are running but maybe once try mobil 0w-40, its seriously good stuff. I use to run Castrol Edge 5w-30 but i like the mobil better.

Another member here running Redline 75w-90 in the Diff

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by TwinTurboed

Another member here running Redline 75w-90 in the Diff

I have Redline in my diff as well.

[Olgeezer1]

Same here. Redline 75/90 in the diff., Redline ATF D4 in the 6MT, and German Castrol 0/30 for the motor.

[Pkaia524]

Maybe you've confused dinosaur Valvoline with SynTech. SynTech is listed in the owner's manual as a BMW-approved oil for the N51.

Proof is in the pudding - now at 127K miles with no lubrication issues.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

Maybe you've confused dinosaur Valvoline with SynTech. SynTech is listed in the owner's manual as a BMW-approved oil for the N51.

Proof is in the pudding - now at 127K miles with no lubrication issues.

No, I'm not confused at all. Only Valvoline Synpower 5W-30 HST carries the formal LL-01 approval (Valvoline website shows 5W-30/5W-40, so I was remembering the 5W-40 grade). If you are buying the 5W-30 ILSAC grade, it does not have the LL-01 approval. I think it is hard to find the HST oil, so it would be nice to know where you get it.

Like I said, for your oil change interval, it probably doesn't make a difference. The only lube issues you would probably have at this point is some consumption anyway, but a lot of highway miles is not hard on oil.

[shah269]

wooh water pump...what is that $1k?
it's funny if you look at the BMW info....it's almost as if you don't have to do anything...other than change the oil every year. I think they just want these cars to die!?

[Pkaia524]

Originally Posted by Iron Man

No, I'm not confused at all. Only Valvoline Synpower 5W-30 HST carries the formal LL-01 approval (Valvoline website shows 5W-30/5W-40, so I was remembering the 5W-40 grade). If you are buying the 5W-30 ILSAC grade, it does not have the LL-01 approval. I think it is hard to find the HST oil, so it would be nice to know where you get it.

Like I said, for your oil change interval, it probably doesn't make a difference. The only lube issues you would probably have at this point is some consumption anyway, but a lot of highway miles is not hard on oil.

My apologies, you are absolutely right. I checked my garage supply and it is the ILSAC oil. And here I've been using the wrong oil for 90K miles!

Thanks for the info.

[Pkaia524]

Water pump/tstat/cylinder head to tstat hose/belt tensioner/coolant came to $940 total at an Indy BMW shop.

[TheSt|G]

Originally Posted by shah269

wooh water pump...what is that $1k?
it's funny if you look at the BMW info....it's almost as if you don't have to do anything...other than change the oil every year. I think they just want these cars to die!?

Frankly, yes. They want them to last for the initial warranty and the CPO warranty. That's it.

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

My apologies, you are absolutely right. I checked my garage supply and it is the ILSAC oil. And here I've been using the wrong oil for 90K miles!

Thanks for the info.

The good news is that you have been oil changing on a good interval, so it's not the end of the world.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by Pkaia524

My apologies, you are absolutely right. I checked my garage supply and it is the ILSAC oil. And here I've been using the wrong oil for 90K miles!

Thanks for the info.

Some main differences between the ILSAC and LL-01 appear to be the TBN and lower HT/HS ratings. Since you only go 7500 miles between changes, and they are highway miles, you probably never go below 1.0 on your TBN. Supposedly the lower HT/HS rating will cause your engine to experience greater wear levels over time, but as for how much greater, it is probably only noticeable over a very extended interval with your driving conditions. So all-in-all, you're good.

Now if your driving conditions change (short trips, a lot of city driving, etc.) and/or you were driving a 135i, I would make sure to use a LL-01 approved oil.

[Pkaia524]

I'm buying BMW oil at the dealer for my next oil change. What bothers me is the BMW notice I have stating acceptable oils includes "Valvoline SynTech 5W-30". No mention of the MST designation. Well, now I know.

[Pkaia524]

And btw, I have zero oil consumption between oil changes.

I'm going to miss the NA 6 cylinder engines.