The most seasoned veterans with these vintage motors (M20 M30 S38) know what oil these engines like and you nailed it with your recommendation of conventional VR1 20/50. Most of the younger owners have no idea what ZDDP is and why it is important for the valvetrains in these motors. Motor oil is a highly debatable subject on the internet so you're going to dissenting opinions no matter what.
I used 5w 40 then I noticed I would burn through it quick. Switched to 20w50 but noticed slow starts when cold outside. I’m also in California. So now I’m trying what most of my friends use witch is 10w40. Also my engine was fully rebuilt and upgraded less than 2 years ago so it might not need 20w50.
I also live in Miami and been using the same weight and brand that you were for years but I changed it to Lucas same weight and it seems a lot quieter now
On e30s with the I6 you can get at the oil filter pretty easily by going in between the exhaust headers, gives you more then enough room to get a wrench or any tool you may have
I will not run Valvoline VR1 if I have a catalytic converter. For those who need to pass the smog test, the high phosphorous of ZDDP (about 1300 to 1200ppm) in VR1 will reduce your cat's efficiency. The high phosphorous in ZDDP is kind of more needed for flat tappet engine, according to the technical director at Valvoline. Please see the reference link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-258IkaSwnfs.html and another good reference about VR1 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mLp5fuCnfiU.html
This is the type of comments I like to see! Thanks for taking the time and providing links to good resources. I watched both videos. I had some points on the catalytic considerations that I decided to leave out in the final editing of the video, since I know this is a controversial subject and I just couldnt find enough data to back up the concerns, to be honest. I agree with you that if you live in a state with smog inspections and are worried about this then you may want to use something else. Although I have not heard any stories from E30 owners running VR1 and not passing inspections. The cats on my car have been removed so this doesnt apply in my case. With regards to the engine type, it is my understandig that our high mileage M20s can benefit from the added Zinc levels as well as flat tappet engines.
@@NoGaragE30 hope you respond, just got a 1990 325i soft top, was just sitting for 7 years needs everything flushed, do you think I should use 10w40 or 20w50 I’ve been looking and my e30 is at 158k
Hey im about to do an oil change and the valve adjustment, i have an 87 m20 as well. I realized that you got rid of your ticking sound from your valve adjustment video to this one. Could you tell me how you got rid of that? Some tips and trick would be appreciated, thanks.
In terms of engine work, I have done a timing belt, water pump, and camshaft seal since the valve adjustment video. A few oil changes as well, of course. I could not say if any of that made a difference but engine sounds through camera mic can vary greatly depending a many factors.
You can get away with a conventional 20w-50 as that would cover you in cold weather down to the 20s (even high teens). Synthetic 10w-40 seems to be a popular choice for people up north but I dont think NY gets that cold for this. There are so many different schools of thought when it comes to this topic that I stick to BMW recommendations. As long as you are not using an oil grade completely out of the recommended range you should be fine. In my experience, consistency with both the oil type and change schedule is far more important for the health of your engine than, say, conventional vs synthetic or 20W-50 vs 10W-40, etc. What have you been using so far?
@@NoGaragE30 I apologize for interfering. I live at the same latitude as New York but only in Europe, so our climate is similar. What oil would you recommend for my BMW E30 316i M40, if the car came to me from Spain, where it is hot and I don't know what kind of oil is in the engine. Thank you in advance.
@@BackToTheeighteens The only thing that changes between the 6 and 4 cylinder engines is the capacity. Oil spec recommendations remain the same. I would just say find something in the viscosity table that fits your local temp ranges and stick to it. A 15W-40 would probably cover the entire temp range for a NY type climate. If you drive enough to change the oil through seasons you could run a 20w-50 in the hot months and a 10w-40 in the cold. Liqui Moly offers both options for example.
