Bmw F85/F86 Engine Oil

[Ghostx5m]

Hi everyone,

Can't seem to find a thread on what engine oil F85/F86 owners are using. Anybody like to help out? I believe it's 5W30, but should I go for Mobil1 or Liqui Moly?

Thanks

[KCTiger]

Originally Posted by Ghostx5m

Hi everyone,

Can't seem to find a thread on what engine oil F85/F86 owners are using. Anybody like to help out? I believe it's 5W30, but should I go for Mobil1 or Liqui Moly?

Thanks

LiquiMoly Liechtlauf here. I called them and asked what would be best for our platform and that's what they said. Of course other night not prefer LiquiMoly but that's what I am going to put in my ride.

[Bobby_Drake]

Recently switched to Liqui Moly 5W-40. I've had my oil changes at the dealer prior, so OEM oil. So far, I've seen minor improvement in fuel economy ~1 MPG. I usually need a top off around 4-5K mi. But it's been 4K mi and no top offs yet.
I get oil change every 6K miles.

[F85MTuNED]

I'm thinking about switching over to Leichtlauf High Tech Engine Oil (5w-40) as well I've heard good things about it but I just want to make sure that performance wise it's everything I want.

[Bobby_Drake]

FWIW, my X5M has 38k mi. I switched to Liqui Moly at 34K mi. Can't really feel improvement in "engine smoothness". I'll take the extra 1MPG, but I'm more interested in burning less oil or no oil at all in between oil changes every 6K mi.
This has been discussed extensively at the F10 M5 forum; should be applicable to our F85 since they both have S63 engines.

[Yuille36]

Originally Posted by Bobby_Drake

FWIW, my X5M has 38k mi. I switched to Liqui Moly at 34K mi. Can't really feel improvement in "engine smoothness". I'll take the extra 1MPG, but I'm more interested in burning less oil or no oil at all in between oil changes every 6K mi.
This has been discussed extensively at the F10 M5 forum; should be applicable to our F85 since they both have S63 engines.

How often would you have to add oil in between oil changes? I've had my oil changed back in April, and have added 2 qts of oil since then. And I'm not getting on it. Do these vehicles really burn that much oil. My E63 consumes about 1 qt of oil between oil changes. So I now keep 2 qts of oil inn the trunk, and only 1 qt in the AMG. I assume because this engine is boosted, I have more blow by, compared to the NA engine in the Mercedes.

[Bobby_Drake]

I've only had to add 1 qt of oil in between oil changes, usually after 4-5K from the last oil change. Not a big deal since my local BMW dealer does it for free, and I live about 15 min from them.

[Bobby_Drake]

Here's a good thread for your perusal with respect to oil consumption in the S63 engine.
https://f10.m5post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=975951

[Yuille36]

Thank you for this

[NikNala]

I use Castrol A3/B4 0w-40 since I picked up the vehicle used at 25k miles. I did the first oil change right after I picked it up because I didn't know what was in there then changed again at 30k miles. It now has 33k miles and hasn't burned a drop of oil. I've measured it every 1k miles after reading a lot of threads on the S63tu burning oil. Happy to report it's always read at the max every time. It's probably one of the best true synthetics for the price. Head over to bobistheoilguy to read more. Most bottles say made in Belgium. YRMV

Castrol 03101 EDGE 0W-40 A3/B4 Advanced Full Synthetic Motor Oil, 5 quart, 1 pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JGQLZSU..._qETtFbVGTYKAG

[Lighting.Grey]

Does anyone know what's the engine oil capability in our X5M or X6M? Is it 8.5litters(9quarts)?

[ekological]

Originally Posted by Lighting.Grey

Does anyone know what's the engine oil capability in our X5M or X6M? Is it 8.5litters(9quarts)?

I just bought two 5 liter jugs of 5W30 Special Tec LL Engine Oil (5 Liter) - Liqui Moly LM2249 from FCP Euro. It's funny how their oil change kits include one 5 liter jug and four 1 liter bottles where the four 1 liter bottles cost more than the 5 liter jug. Yeah...I'll keep the extra quart handy.

[bmwx5er]

Originally Posted by Lighting.Grey

Does anyone know what's the engine oil capability in our X5M or X6M? Is it 8.5litters(9quarts)?

9.5L or 10 Qts

[Lighting.Grey]

Originally Posted by bmwx5er

9.5L or 10 Qts

Thank you.

[Lighting.Grey]

Originally Posted by ekological

I just bought two 5 liter jugs of 5W30 Special Tec LL Engine Oil (5 Liter) - Liqui Moly LM2249 from FCP Euro. It's funny how their oil change kits include one 5 liter jug and four 1 liter bottles where the four 1 liter bottles cost more than the 5 liter jug. Yeah...I'll keep the extra quart handy.

So their oil kit only includes 9 liters? But some members replied me that our V8 has 9.5 litters capability, how is that going to work?? How much oil do you put in when you do oil change?

[ekological]

Originally Posted by Lighting.Grey

So their oil kit only includes 9 liters? But some members replied me that our V8 has 9.5 liters capability, how is that going to work?? How much oil do you put in when you do oil change?

I would imagine it's one of those "you're not going to get all of the oil out of the car, so while it might be 9.5, you're only changing out 9."

[YvesD]

Originally Posted by ekological

I would imagine it's one of those "you're not going to get all of the oil out of the car, so while it might be 9.5, you're only changing out 9."

This is about right, I've done mine a few times now and the electronic dipstick can read full anywhere above 8.5 - 8.75 litres replacement.

I leave it level with the oil dripping out for at least an hour before refilling too.

[Lighting.Grey]

Originally Posted by YvesD

This is about right, I've done mine a few times now and the electronic dipstick can read full anywhere above 8.5 - 8.75 litres replacement.

I leave it level with the oil dripping out for at least an hour before refilling too.

So probably my dipstick computer is not working, because when the dealer did the engine diagnosis, they dropped all of the oil and it came out 8.5L, but I-drive is showing between max and min.

[Blue By You]

Originally Posted by Ghostx5m

Hi everyone,

Can't seem to find a thread on what engine oil F85/F86 owners are using. Anybody like to help out? I believe it's 5W30, but should I go for Mobil1 or Liqui Moly?

Thanks

Here is the thread that a lot of people were using to chime in with their opinions and experiences – https://f15.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...ght=definitive

I did a lot of research in a short period of time. From what I surmise, the dealers use the BMW 0W-30 to lubricate and protect the tight/small parts of the valvetronic system.

My 2017 X5M owners manual specifically states LL01-FE oil and nothing else. Has to be FE, which severely limits/almost eliminates my options. Because my rig is new to me and under CPO, I'm going with the dealer recommended oil to stay in their good graces. Some day when I'm out of warranty and/or tuned or bold enough, maybe I'll explore something different.

If I didn't care about my warranty or what BMW recommends, I would probably use Motul Sport 5W-40 (https://www.motul.com/us/en-US/products/sport-5w40) because of it's very low Noack rating and its super high flash point - both pretty much the best I have seen after reading through a lot of these threads and some other forums like Bob the oil guy. And I wouldn't touch Mobil1. (By the way, I found the Noack rating somewhere else, but that link has the flash point and some other data.)

The more you read, the more you might get confused. The Liqui Moly Leichtlauf High Tech 5W-40 seems great too. But the Motul Sport 5w-40 has even better stats than that. As far as I remember, the only oils with better performance stats were in the 10W-50 category.

Hope that helps narrow it down.

[J0hnnyB0yx5m]

This what I'm using

[Blue By You]

Originally Posted by J0hnnyB0yx5m

This what I'm using

My independent mechanic uses that one. But FYI the Motul Sport has much better stats.

[bmwx5er]

If you're changing oil every 5k miles, the oil characteristics don't matter much. If warranty isn't a concern, use any one of the following top rated oils that's on sale: castrol edge 0w40/5w40, Mobil 1 0w40 (you can get these at $12-15/5Qt jug during sale). Per the BITOG gurus, though these lost LL01 certification, they are MB229.5 certified (more stringent apparently), so fine to use. A couple of years ago, castrol edge 0w40 was the top dog in LL01 oils.

If you want to be safe and stick to LL01, pennzoil platinum euro 5w40 is a great oil. The new kid on the block Quaker state 5w40 appears to be the same as pennzoil 5w40 from 2 yrs ago, and is being sold at $18/5L jug (wow!!). Valvoline euro 5w40 is good too. The FE certification does not matter, as it only applies to fuel efficiency and not engine safety.

You can't go wrong with Liquimoly leichtalauf 5w40 or Motul (highly rated), but they're considerably more expensive. FYI - LM typically gets a bad rap in BITOG and is considered inferior to castrol edge 0w40. BMW OEM 0w30 is the safest, but a bit too expensive and thin for my taste.

TLDR; for 5k mile oil changes, pick whatever you're comfortable with, can't go wrong with any of them. For OCI greater than that, STOP! Change oil every 5k miles on these TT power monsters.