Oil and your BMW – Which is the Best?
There really is no ‘best’ oil to pour in the engine of your BMW, after all, if there was one that shined completely above the rest you’d be buying it.  Engine Oil has always been a great debate for those that are a bit serious about their service. I sometimes feel that debating about oil brands is much like squabbling over which Brewery produces the best Lager.  I love beer, and I’ve had some really crap beers (especially in college) and I’ve had some really good beers. Same can be said for Oil. Crappy oil is the stuff that is really cheap, has generic packaging and there is usually almost all of it still on the shelf – the ‘Natrual Light’ of oils. Hopefully none of you are using that stuff, or worse yet, drinking that sort of beer.
I find that the most common oils in the great debate are Mobile-1, Castrol, Royal Purple, and Amsoil. I should say that I am not a fluids expert, I’ve done no crazy amount of testing on any of these oils, nor have I read 15 different case studies that have — this is all based on experience (and opinion).  Aside from all the great things that oil does for any engine, modern BMWs need oil to feed both the Vanos unit(s) as well as the hydraulic lifters (if your engine has them). Now for my super scientific test results. (more…)
