[213e90n51]

I ran 0w30 Oil for about 8000 miles and in the spring and summer of California. I also AutoX the car 5 times and did many runs in the canyons. Now I changed to 5w30 but was 0w30 good for all those events and driving it hard while it was hot? I kinda did the opposite and now use 5w30 since its cold LOL. Thanks

[Tunafish]

They both have the same perimeter when warmed up so no difference there. The 30 will be good for winter but in summer you might want to go to a 5w40 or 0w40.. The w has little effect in the summer..

[ryan stewart]

Im with Tuna, honestly the service manual even specifies a higher weight in summer. I live in the SE and Ive been running 0w40 with great effect for a long time. I could probably get away with 5-40 since its GA and my car is garaged for 99% of the time but spend the bit extra for those random mornings in Jan where Ive rented a mountain cabin.

[tlow98]

Another 0w-40 fan here. Lifter tick occurs when I use 5w-30.

I’ve never seen a difference in any other car I’ve owned. This one specifically likes 0w-40.

[Efthreeoh]

You guys understand that 5W means the oil meets the SAE pour test at -35 deg. F. right? In Georgia or Cali, it makes no difference if the oil is OW or 5W. The last time it was that cold in either of those areas was over 10,000 years ago. Lol.

[BSM n54iS]

Someone in LA complaining about it being cold

[Bimmer_Engineer]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

You guys understand that 5W means the oil meets the SAE pour test at -35 deg. F. right? In Georgia or Cali, it makes no difference if the oil is OW or 5W. The last time it was that cold in either of those areas was over 10,000 years ago. Lol.

And when it gets that cold again I’ll be ready!!!

[nuron]

Originally Posted by tlow98

Another 0w-40 fan here. Lifter tick occurs when I use 5w-30.

I’ve never seen a difference in any other car I’ve owned. This one specifically likes 0w-40.

Interesting--think I'll have to try 0W-40 on my next oil change. Are you using Castrol Edge?

[Tunafish]

I run 0w30 in winter because 0w40 is noisy on start up.. I know they both have 0w rating but that just what my car likes.. In summer I run 0w40 with no issues. But it gets in the teens F here. I don't try to run in the single digits, the car hate the cold and it tells me.

[mainbearing]

Have been using Castrol Edge 0W40 from Walmart around $23-26 for 5 qt lugs. Lately 0W40 disappeared but 5W40 Euro showed up. This one lists BMW, but I did not look if it was LL01.

Mobil 0W40 and I think the Castrol 0W40 both no longer list LL01 but I still use them. Same oil for our Audis too, therefore I do not need to stock different ones.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by nuron

Interesting--think I'll have to try 0W-40 on my next oil change. Are you using Castrol Edge?

Yep Castrol.

[tlow98]

Originally Posted by Tunafish

I run 0w30 in winter because 0w40 is noisy on start up.. I know they both have 0w rating but that just what my car likes.. In summer I run 0w40 with no issues. But it gets in the teens F here. I don't try to run in the single digits, the car hate the cold and it tells me.

Funny mine does the opposite. 0w-40 no noises.

I haven’t tried a 5w-40. Been changing oil for 20 years and never noticed a change between viscosities. Maybe it was a fluke? Normally I use whatever is high quality and reasonably priced. For the first time in this car’s ownership that was the 5w-30. Both brands were Castrol.

Had nothing to do with climate for me.

Anyway, 1 man’s story. I’ll change it back to 0w-40 and complete my unscientific experiment.

[Tunafish]

Maybe my was brand.. I used 0w40 that was Castrol and it was noisy/hard start ups when cold.. I went to mobile 0w30 and still have these issues but at lower temperatures. This is 0w40 had issues below 25f while 0w30 has same issue but at below 15f. So not much difference but its there.

Above 25f both performed the same as far as noise that I could tell.

[E92William]

I think instead of just shopping per brand one should look at the oil data sheets before picking an oil, specially for cold climate. While two oils of different brands say 0w they can have wildly different kinematic viscosity when getting cold.
For example:
Edge 0w40
100C - 13.5 cst
40C - 79
Mobil 1 0w30
100C - 12 cst
40C - 63

This gap in viscosity only widens as the oil goes colder than 40C which is about 104F. And interestingly one would think the 30 and 40 would mainly matter when the oil is up to temperature but it actually makes an even bigger difference when cold regardless of them both having a 0 rating

[Tunafish]

Mobile one 0w30 has a cst at 100c of 11.5
Castrol edge 0w40 has a cst at 100c of 13.1

If you take the minimum 20 weight cst to max 60 weight cst there is a 20 cat difference.. Using that as a base line every 1 cst difference is a 5% difference. The two examples above are close to the 30 weight maximum and 40 weight minimum but still has a 8% difference in weight at 100c... If you go from the extremes of the 30 and 40 weight range you can see 35% difference in weight.

[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

You guys understand that 5W means the oil meets the SAE pour test at -35 deg. F. right? In Georgia or Cali, it makes no difference if the oil is OW or 5W. The last time it was that cold in either of those areas was over 10,000 years ago. Lol.

Because all I care about is whether it pours or not?

Its not about -35, it's about making sure at start up at 35f that it's able to be pressed into all of the tight tolerances of these engines. Especially since oil is used a s hydraulic fluid now.

And since the seat for the seal for the cam is cast into the head I'm perfectly fine spending a bit more on oil and change it often to make sure that doesn't get scored and leak.

Also get a racing motorcycle and car oil doesn't matter anymore. Try shopping 10-60 or 10-50 300v.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

Because all I care about is whether it pours or not?

Its not about -35, it's about making sure at start up at 35f that it's able to be pressed into all of the tight tolerances of these engines. Especially since oil is used a s hydraulic fluid now.

And since the seat for the seal for the cam is cast into the head I'm perfectly fine spending a bit more on oil and change it often to make sure that doesn't get scored and leak.

Also get a racing motorcycle and car oil doesn't matter anymore. Try shopping 10-60 or 10-50 300v.

Making sure the oil able to press into all the tight tolerances of the engine is what the SAE pour spec is for...

I've never used car oil for any of my motorcycles since all have the transmission integrated into the engine crankcase and share the engine oil as trans lube. But this isn't a motorcycle forum...

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

The W number only matters when it's like -40c or something, then you'd be better off with a 0W.

I run 5W-40 year round even in -30c winter temps here.

[Tunafish]

If your car is garaged I don't think outside temperature matters.. Put it out there in -30 overnight and then come back.

[CTinline-six]

Either oil choice will be fine. I run Castrol 0w40 year round in my E90 and other BMWs I service. It's easy to find, cheap, and it has returned good used oil analysis reports on my car.

[213e90n51]

Thanks! I guess im just trippin. I do read the owners manual and it says i can use both.

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by Tunafish

If your car is garaged I don't think outside temperature matters.. Put it out there in -30 overnight and then come back.

I don't garage my car in the winter. It sits outside had no issues at -30c last year.