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Oil Change

2003 - 2009, roadster, coupe, facelift
Shipkiller
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Re: Oil Change

Post by Shipkiller » Thu May 08, 2008 12:23 pm

20ducks wrote:
Shipkiller wrote:Where is a good source for Royal Purple (brick and mortar preferred but not mandatory), please.
Not sure about brick/morter stores..

Of course RoyalPurple: http://www.rpmoil.com
RoyalPurple Dealer Locator: http://www.royalpurple.com/rp-dealer-locator.html

Jeggs has it: http://www.jegs.com

Even Amazon.com has it... will wonders ever stop.....
Drives 2008 Z4MC (His) & 2003 Z4 Roadster (Her's)

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WaZZZZman
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Re: Oil Change

Post by WaZZZZman » Thu May 08, 2008 4:06 pm

Thanks Ship, I can get it here local so when I change oil, I will use Royal Purple. I read the info on the Royal Purple web page and it sounds logical. :)

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azroadie
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Re: Oil Change

Post by azroadie » Thu May 08, 2008 5:09 pm

Here's another question on this...if our car is still under warranty and we're choosing to do oil changes inbetween the 15k oil changes, is it best to stick to the BMW oil or something similar? Or is only oil change with royal purple ok, then the next one bmw, then back?
Supercharged Metallic Grey 2003 2.5i Z4 roadster, Sport, Premium, convenience, DICE Ipod, tinted winows, xenon, heated seats, clear bra, Falken FK452s, Supersprint Race Exhaust, modified CDV, ESS TS2 Supercharger

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ZetaTre
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Re: Oil Change

Post by ZetaTre » Thu May 08, 2008 5:47 pm

Thanks Shipkiller for your explanation, it's very accurate. I didn't know Mobil 1 switched back to Group III. However the information available on this subject are all unofficial as of course ExxonMobil keeps them private.
My original comment wanted to be a lot more practical. For example, there is no evidence that a Group V is better than a Group IV which is better than a Group III. Also evidences about synthetic being better than mineral are not so clear. There was a road test some time ago done by Consumer Report that showed no strong evidences that 1) synthetic is better than mineral 2) expensive synthetic (i.e. Group IV or V) are better 3) extend oil change increase engine wear. Test was done on NYC cabs... There sure is a lot of “literature” and anecdotal story that say otherwise, but I'm just very skeptical of everything that shows no numbers or too many...
This said ,I personally stick to oil that are ACEA A3 and BMW LL-01 (so, fo me, it's either BMW High Performance Synthetic 5W-30 or Mobil 1 0W-40): this is what BMW engineers recommend so I don't honestly see why I should go with something else often advertised as "better" by marketing folks with little to no technical knowledge.
If you put in your car a oil that satisfy both ACEA A3 and BMW LL-01 standards and you get oil related problem the warranty will cover it regardless if it's BMW or Mobil 1. If the oil does not satisfy these requirements, they can give you trouble and say it's your fault cuz you didn't use the right oil. I don't know much about RoyalPurple or other “fancy oils”, so I can't really add to it: a thing I heard and I would be careful about is that “racing oils ” tend to be thinner than regular oil. They sacrifice engine protection for increase HP (most racing engines don’t need to last that long and they are tear down after each race and often rebuilt).
Btw, all of this does not apply to the ///M cars: they require Castrol TWS 10W-60. I believe BMW imports it from Germany and if they go through all that, I'm sure there is reason.
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ZeroGravity
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Re: Oil Change

Post by ZeroGravity » Thu May 08, 2008 6:08 pm

timscuba wrote:My Z is out of warranty. Although I was able to get new latches for top replaced because I took it in for the problem before warranty was up. I took the car in and ask service manager how much an oil change was. She told me $160.00 I like to flip out.
Is the normal or are they way out of site on this? I just couldn't believe it. :headbang:
oh wow... 160... ouch... Is yours an M?

I recently paid 100 CAD for the oil change on the 3.0i at the dealership. I guess Canadians don't always get the short end of the stick.
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Shipkiller
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Re: Oil Change

Post by Shipkiller » Thu May 08, 2008 6:52 pm

ZetaTre wrote:Thanks Shipkiller for your explanation, it's very accurate. I didn't know Mobil 1 switched back to Group III. However the information available on this subject are all unofficial as of course ExxonMobil keeps them private.
My original comment wanted to be a lot more practical. For example, there is no evidence that a Group V is better than a Group IV which is better than a Group III. Also evidences about synthetic being better than mineral are not so clear. There was a road test some time ago done by Consumer Report that showed no strong evidences that 1) synthetic is better than mineral 2) expensive synthetic (i.e. Group IV or V) are better 3) extend oil change increase engine wear. Test was done on NYC cabs... There sure is a lot of “literature” and anecdotal story that say otherwise, but I'm just very skeptical of everything that shows no numbers or too many...
This said ,I personally stick to oil that are ACEA A3 and BMW LL-01 (so, fo me, it's either BMW High Performance Synthetic 5W-30 or Mobil 1 0W-40): this is what BMW engineers recommend so I don't honestly see why I should go with something else often advertised as "better" by marketing folks with little to no technical knowledge.
If you put in your car a oil that satisfy both ACEA A3 and BMW LL-01 standards and you get oil related problem the warranty will cover it regardless if it's BMW or Mobil 1. If the oil does not satisfy these requirements, they can give you trouble and say it's your fault cuz you didn't use the right oil. I don't know much about RoyalPurple or other “fancy oils”, so I can't really add to it: a thing I heard and I would be careful about is that “racing oils ” tend to be thinner than regular oil. They sacrifice engine protection for increase HP (most racing engines don’t need to last that long and they are tear down after each race and often rebuilt).
Btw, all of this does not apply to the ///M cars: they require Castrol TWS 10W-60. I believe BMW imports it from Germany and if they go through all that, I'm sure there is reason.

Actually, it was not my part of my master plan to recommend any oils. Just throw some info out there.

I really think that if you use a good quality oil and change it at regularly accepted intervals, then you will be alright, provided that you do not run the engine really hard...

I have been an Amzoil user for 15 years and love the stuff... and still use it in my truck.. Before that, I was a Valoline user.
Drives 2008 Z4MC (His) & 2003 Z4 Roadster (Her's)

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Z4INHTOWN
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Re: Oil Change

Post by Z4INHTOWN » Sat May 10, 2008 12:16 am

ROYAL PURPLE OIL CAN BE BOUGHT LOCALLY AT O'REILLYS AUTO PARTS ,I BOUGHT IT THERE BEFORE, IT'S NOT CHEAP, SOMEWHERES AROUND $6.70 A QUART, BUT YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR , I USED IT BEFORE IN MY CARBURETED 1970 MUSTANG V8 ,AS AN ADDED BONUS YOU MIGHT EEK OUT AN EXTRA 2-3 HP JUST BY USING THIS OIL, YEP, IT'S GOOS STUFF, THEY ALSO CARRY TRANSMISSION FLUID BTU I HAVEN'T TRIED THAT YET SO I CAN'T COMMENT.





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20ducks
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Re: Oil Change

Post by 20ducks » Sat May 10, 2008 1:02 am

I will change over to Royal Purple my next change.

Kurts05Z4
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Re: Oil Change

Post by Kurts05Z4 » Sat May 10, 2008 1:57 pm

azroadie wrote:Here's another question on this...if our car is still under warranty and we're choosing to do oil changes inbetween the 15k oil changes, is it best to stick to the BMW oil or something similar? Or is only oil change with royal purple ok, then the next one bmw, then back?
When I quizzed them at N. Scottsdale BMW, they said as long as the oil meets the BMW spec. No problem with warranty. I use Valvoline SynPower 5-30. :thumbsup:

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Z4good
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Re: Oil Change

Post by Z4good » Sun May 11, 2008 2:19 am

You might also like this oil. This is the brand they use where I take my Z for service.

http://www.elfoils.us/lub/lubusa.nsf/VS ... endocument
2003 3.0I Sport package, few mods, and of course a stubby!

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