What engine oil do most 50i owners use?

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by kanvas

50i owner here following dealer maintenance schedule. Would you guys recommend going beyond the regular maintenance schedule and doing oil changes more often ?

Covered a lot here. And as you can see yes. Most laugh at the 10k mile once a year oil service. 5k service is aggressive but safe. I personally do 7-7500 mile interval

[daytonaviolet]

These prices seem reasonable 😜

https://www.getbmwparts.com/p-n63-en...and-on-pkn63oc

https://www.getbmwparts.com/p-s63-en...and-on-pks63oc

[on3eighteen]

Originally Posted by DuSh

I assume you are under warranty still? Then just let BMW dealer replace it. I would highly recommend doing a oil change in between BMW dealer visits. That way you can cut down interval by half. I would never do this for any other engine, but 50i will benefit from it (and valve stem seals will thank you too). Our engines (n63tu) are a known oil killers and oil change interval is critical. Ideally 5k interval is best. I know people who change oil every 4k even - but they are in NYC in stop-n-Go traffic constantly including cold winter starts with car parked outside etc. For normal usage 5-6k interval should be fine.
I would go with LL-01 oil (there are several out there) that has either ester base or even better alkylated naphthalene:
1. Red Line 0w-40 (this is the best there is IMHO)
2. Castrol 0w-40 (good old tried and true)

This is all just my subjective opinion (but based on countless research regarding our n63tu engine issues)

So I just got a 2016 X5 50i 2 months ago & as part of the CPO program they did an oil change. And now, having only driven 1,500 miles, I just got a low oil light w/ a message to add 2 quarts of oil. So, either they lied & didn't do the oil change, all is well & this is normal (slim chance), or my engine is not happy. I did the BPC tune 2 weeks ago, but I am really, really hoping this has nothing to do with it. Thoughts?

[HydroStream6]

I'm probably going to run Rotella T6 and call it a day...

I'm assuming a lot of people will lose their minds about this haha

[Teufelshund]

Originally Posted by on3eighteen

So I just got a 2016 X5 50i 2 months ago & as part of the CPO program they did an oil change. And now, having only driven 1,500 miles, I just got a low oil light w/ a message to add 2 quarts of oil. So, either they lied & didn't do the oil change, all is well & this is normal (slim chance), or my engine is not happy. I did the BPC tune 2 weeks ago, but I am really, really hoping this has nothing to do with it. Thoughts?

Welcome to the oil-hungry world of the N63tu. The forum is heavy with owner experiences and opinions. Search "50i loves oil" if you're interested in reading up on the subject. Most recent bottom line is, BMW wants to hear NO bitchin' about oil unless:
1. You're getting less than 1,400 miles between a top-off and "add 2 qts" warning.
2. You're leaving oil on the garage floor.
3. You're belching smoke like an 1800's locomotive choo-chooing through Indian territory.
I got in 1,960 miles between topping off and my most recent warning. Two BMW SAs informed me that the manufacturer had set a 700 mile per quart tolerance.

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by on3eighteen

So I just got a 2016 X5 50i 2 months ago & as part of the CPO program they did an oil change. And now, having only driven 1,500 miles, I just got a low oil light w/ a message to add 2 quarts of oil. So, either they lied & didn't do the oil change, all is well & this is normal (slim chance), or my engine is not happy. I did the BPC tune 2 weeks ago, but I am really, really hoping this has nothing to do with it. Thoughts?

This is why I always go to the Max level when changing oil. But yes this is normal.

[on3eighteen]

Originally Posted by Maverik259

This is why I always go to the Max level when changing oil. But yes this is normal.

Good to know! I guess the N63TU is like the world's strongest man. That guy eats at least 10,000 calories a day to stay alive & get all that power. So, our sweet engine needs to burn some oil to stay in top shape. World's Strongest Engine.

[ferrarif1]

Attached are the BMW approved LL-01 / LL-01FE oil's straight from ISTA

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by ferrarif1

Attached are the BMW approved LL-01 / LL-01FE oil's straight from ISTA

Nothing's attached although yes a quick google can get you this as well.

[alphaod]

Originally Posted by ferrarif1

Attached are the BMW approved LL-01 / LL-01FE oil's straight from ISTA

I see the attachment, but it says X5M which has a different motor. But it does seems a lot of the oils on list are also approved for the N63 motor and some obviously are not for the X5M, so perhaps it's just a jumbo of everything that is BMW approved.

[ferrarif1]

Originally Posted by alphaod

I see the attachment, but it says X5M which has a different motor. But it does seems a lot of the oils on list are also approved for the N63 motor and some obviously are not for the X5M, so perhaps it's just a jumbo of everything that is BMW approved.

I have an X5M so I named the file this way when I saved. The list is relevant to any BMW engine that calls for LL-01 oil including both S63 and N63. These are LL-01 approved oils and there could be more.

[Duke I]

I don't think Mobil 1 is approved by BMW.

[Maverik259]

Originally Posted by Duke I

I don't think Mobil 1 is approved by BMW.

It's not anymore. But it also won't "harm" your engine. It's an additive that Mobil changed that bmw doesn't support.