wait 1 year for oil change

[MotoWPK]

It's worthwhile to maintain perspective when discussing oil change intervals.

The OCI on my first car was about 2000 - 2500 miles, but engines and oils have developed significantly since the days of that '63 Triumph. And, engines and oils have continued to progress since 5000 or 7500 mile OCI's were standard.

10,000 mile OCI's are fairly common, the two different brands of cars I've owned prior to my Bimmers both having them. And these were fixed mileage intervals which are reasonably going to assume some average service condition. A condition based monitoring system replaces this 'one size fits all' OCI with one applicable to the service conditions of the specific vehicle and it's long been known that service conditions significantly affect the OCI needed. My 128i is almost never started where it isn't run for at least 45 minutes, and almost all of that is pretty gentle use. That the time to service indicated by the CBS is well beyond the nominal isn't surprising.

As another point of perspective, before my 128i I drove a VW TDI diesel for several years. The lubrication thread was one of the most active on the TDI forum and the argument commonly found regarding OCI was not that it should be less than the recommend 10K miles, but how it could and should be longer, and many of these opinions were based on oil sampling which was surprisingly common (at least among the forum members). A particularly intersting point supported by several oil sample reports was that concentrations of metals in the oil, a prime wear indicator, was greater in the first few thousand miles after an oil change, which indicated shorter interval OCI's would actually increase wear rates. And, these are diesels which contaiminate their oil at a significantly higher rate than modern gasoline engines.

[Iron Man]

Originally Posted by MotoWPK

It's worthwhile to maintain perspective when discussing oil change intervals.

The OCI on my first car was about 2000 - 2500 miles, but engines and oils have developed significantly since the days of that '63 Triumph. And, engines and oils have continued to progress since 5000 or 7500 mile OCI's were standard.

10,000 mile OCI's are fairly common, the two different brands of cars I've owned prior to my Bimmers both having them. And these were fixed mileage intervals which are reasonably going to assume some average service condition. A condition based monitoring system replaces this 'one size fits all' OCI with one applicable to the service conditions of the specific vehicle and it's long been known that service conditions significantly affect the OCI needed. My 128i is almost never started where it isn't run for at least 45 minutes, and almost all of that is pretty gentle use. That the time to service indicated by the CBS is well beyond the nominal isn't surprising.

As another point of perspective, before my 128i I drove a VW TDI diesel for several years. The lubrication thread was one of the most active on the TDI forum and the argument commonly found regarding OCI was not that it should be less than the recommend 10K miles, but how it could and should be longer, and many of these opinions were based on oil sampling which was surprisingly common (at least among the forum members). A particularly intersting point supported by several oil sample reports was that concentrations of metals in the oil, a prime wear indicator, was greater in the first few thousand miles after an oil change, which indicated shorter interval OCI's would actually increase wear rates. And, these are diesels which contaiminate their oil at a significantly higher rate than modern gasoline engines.

OCI's all vary by car, driving style and usage. One should really perform an oil analysis for their car and how it is driven to really establish when to change their oil (as I've said many times already).

I am pretty sure just about any synthetic oil could be run in an N52 engine for 3-5,000 miles and not have any problems (correct viscosity and weight at least) and 5,000 mile OCI's with a good oil will not increase wear on your engine.

[3002 tii]

My local dealers have oil change specials for $79.95. For me to source parts alone would cost that much so I take it to dealer and pay for oil changes in between so my intervals are effectively every 5000. I view the car as a keeper so $80 is cheap insurance.

[shah269]

Older oil tends to be contaminated by more aromatics, aka GAS.
This "stew" tends to heat up and vaporize and travel through your breather and cake on the intake valves.
Or so goes the theory.
Long story short, get a nice quality synthetic oil change every 5k miles. This gives you a greater chance to spot things that may have gone wrong.
Case in point, my mechanic and i think that the rear main seal on my car is going south. That was 1k miles ago, my next oil change is in 4k miles. That means in 4k miles I'll know and be able to take the car over to BMW and ask for it to be fixed under the CPO system. If i had waited the required 15K miles.....i would have been screwed.
Just do it, develop a relationship with your mechanic and buy the guys a case of beer for Xmass. And they will take care of you!
Shah

[jadnashuanh]

One item not shown in the oil analysis posted is the TBN value...this is maybe one of the most important items as it determines whether the neutralizing components are used up or not. You do not want acids running around there.

Today's oils are so much different than those of even 5-years ago. In my experience with my previous car where I had the oil analyzed on a regular basis, the synthetic I did use (not as good as those that meet BMW's specs) easily lasted 10-11K and it's oil capacity and filter were significantly smaller than the current vehicle. The analysis also caught a slow coolant leak before it was obvious from the overflow level.

At least my dealer will change the oil at either the indicator or one year, whichever comes first. I have never driven it far enough to get an oil change before I hit the one year anniversary.

Modern synthetics have much lower levels of volatile components, but lots of short trips are still bad on any vehicle, not only the oil, but the exhaust system, too.

If you drive your vehicle on the track, the excessive heat produced is a factor, but new oil won't always clean out the varnish created by overheating things in the first place. It's the viscosity and wear additives along with the stabilizers to keep the whole mix from being damaging to the engine. Using the specified oil certainly helps.

[KNTDRV]

Originally Posted by Andrewcoja

A magnet won't help if nonferrous metals are floating around.

True but at least some of the metal is removed. I just ordered a one from Gold Plug LLC...

[Mein_Auto_ist_1]

Love my car - changed the oil and filter today. At 3911 miles. 98 bucks. No regrets.