what oil does my e36 323i m52 engine need.

Post Mon May 16, 2011 11:09 pm

hi, could any one tell me what oil does my e36 323i m52 engine need. thank u

Post Tue May 17, 2011 2:37 am

5w40 fully synth

Post Tue May 17, 2011 2:03 pm

10w40 semi working well in mine

Post Tue May 17, 2011 2:12 pm

the recommended grade in my M52 2.8 is 5W30 fully synth, which is what I have been using

Post Tue May 17, 2011 4:28 pm

There you go, 3 different answers. Confused?

Post Tue May 17, 2011 7:13 pm

Castol recommendation (from their website) is Castrol Edge (fully synth) 5W-40

Post Tue May 17, 2011 9:47 pm

Well BMW use 0W30 Fully synth but the above are fine.

10W40 is good for high milers.

Post Tue May 17, 2011 9:48 pm

not this stuff, look at pages 1 and 9

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub ... 959&page=1

Post Tue May 17, 2011 9:56 pm

bodger wrote:not this stuff, look at pages 1 and 9

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub ... 959&page=1

Thats what happens when you dont change the oil

Ive seen M52's tapping their nuts off after coming off track running on semi synthetic oil, you would think it was machine gun fire!
I use 5w/30 fully synth track and road and have never had any issues

Post Tue May 17, 2011 10:05 pm

If using solely on track then i would use 10W60 fully synth.

Post Tue May 17, 2011 10:07 pm

Its more than twice the price, so I use an evo oil cooler instead which works wonders

Post Tue May 17, 2011 10:11 pm

True. 35% discount FTW!

Oil cooler is a must for regular track work imo.

Post Tue May 17, 2011 10:13 pm

its all about protection at very high oil temps for engine life on track. A cheap/medium priced sythentic just doesn't deliver here. Oil cooler or not, they aren't a patch on 10/60 castrol - thats the shizzle that oil. BMW M know their stuff.

Cheap oils are a false economy like cheap tyres, except rather than less grip your engine wears out quicker which on track happens quicker than on the road.

Post Tue May 17, 2011 10:24 pm

bodger wrote:not this stuff, look at pages 1 and 9

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub ... 959&page=1

Post Wed May 18, 2011 11:14 pm

high mileage depends on what has been used in the past.

for the UK climate a 5w40 is perfect imo for daily road use and if you use good synthetic like the silkolene stuff then it will be fine with some aggressive driving

Post Wed May 18, 2011 11:44 pm

On high mileage M52's especially ones still on the nikasil block then with 10W40 you will have reduced oil consumption.

Post Thu May 19, 2011 9:04 am

bss325i wrote:On high mileage M52's especially ones still on the nikasil block then with 10W40 you will have reduced oil consumption.

Semi-synth I presume?

Post Thu May 19, 2011 9:07 am

Fully synthetic, its soooo much better!

Post Thu May 19, 2011 10:01 am

George wrote:
bss325i wrote:On high mileage M52's especially ones still on the nikasil block then with 10W40 you will have reduced oil consumption.
Semi-synth I presume?

Semi-synth has nothing to do with extra oil use.. It's down to the viscosity

Post Thu May 19, 2011 6:15 pm

bss325i wrote:On high mileage M52's especially ones still on the nikasil block then with 10W40 you will have reduced oil consumption.

i still use fully on my 328 nikasil, uses about half a litre between changes of 6000ish i do on it. 17,000 on it now

10/40 really is nasty cheap sh!t semi crap. No one in the game makes a quality 10/40 don't say castrol as its garbage

Post Thu May 19, 2011 6:45 pm

Simon13 wrote:
bss325i wrote:On high mileage M52's especially ones still on the nikasil block then with 10W40 you will have reduced oil consumption.
i still use fully on my 328 nikasil, uses about half a litre between changes of 6000ish i do on it. 17,000 on it now

10/40 really is nasty cheap sh!t semi crap. No one in the game makes a quality 10/40 don't say castrol as its garbage

Simon, you are wrong! 10W40 semi is fine for some engines (M20's included!)

The mrs 323i which is still on the original block has done 188000 miles, we have put 38k on it and switched from the original spec 0W30 to a 10W40 and the oil consumption has drasticly reduced.

The key is frequent changes but you know that.

Post Fri May 20, 2011 6:51 pm

Simon13 wrote:
bss325i wrote:On high mileage M52's especially ones still on the nikasil block then with 10W40 you will have reduced oil consumption.
i still use fully on my 328 nikasil, uses about half a litre between changes of 6000ish i do on it. 17,000 on it now

10/40 really is nasty cheap sh!t semi crap. No one in the game makes a quality 10/40 don't say castrol as its garbage

Fairly scathing words. Is the Castrol claim based on any evidence? Are you suggesting BMW recommend oil which is 'garbage'?

Used 10/40w semi synth (Castrol) on both my E30 and E36 (M50) and never had a problem.

Post Wed May 25, 2011 12:56 pm

If you have a post 2000 M-series car, then I'd recommend the Castrol Edge 10w-60 for it for road and track use. As this is E30zone, I don't really think that's applicable, so stay away from 10w-60 oils, they don't flow quickly enough in any BMWs apart from 2000 onwards M-Series.

Castrol make good oils, not the best but they are fine for road use. When it comes to track use, there are better options from Fuchs, Millers, Redline, Gulf and Motul. I'd go for a 5w-40 in an E30 in most cases. If you want a cheaper option go for a 10w-40 or if it drinks a lot of oil, go for a 10w-50.

Cheers

Tim