<![CDATA[M52/S52 oil recommendation]]>I dont have an owners manual to list a recommended brand, viscosity, or rating of oil. I searched around and even dared to enter a bobistheoilguy thread where you can have a bounty placed on your head if you admit to using an inferior oil in your car.

The best info I have found so far is from a BMW TSB but it is hardly specific enough for me

b58d7ce526ba91335479d2d90d00e693.png

I know Castrol is commonly the recommended brand of BMW. Does anyone have any suggestions or info from a relevant owners manual?

]]>https://wibimmers.com/topic/5079/m52-s52-oil-recommendationRSS for NodeWed, 16 Sep 2026 04:09:27 GMTMon, 13 Nov 2017 01:33:35 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Wed, 31 Jan 2018 21:04:00 GMT]]>

Jeff said:

+1 Great advice

I would like to add a picture of oil changes done regularly at 10k miles like recommended by the dealer. No matter the brand it all breaks down in the end. Oil still collects dirt and no engine filter will ever filter it all out.

074c497f0c9eaf8bd1ef9ba8be187beb.jpg

10K oil changes are BS. Been working on machinery and vehicles for along time and my dad/mentor/teacher has been ASE certified master tech for longer than I have been alive; German cars= 5K max OCI.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/87748https://wibimmers.com/post/87748Wed, 31 Jan 2018 21:04:00 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Wed, 31 Jan 2018 02:39:39 GMT]]>

patsbimmer1 said:

Stop it.  Just stop it.  Put oil in and change it regularly.  What this doesn't show is how any of this effects engine life and a rate of failure based on a certain brand.  This doesn't tell you if any of it matters.

+1 Great advice

I would like to add a picture of oil changes done regularly at 10k miles like recommended by the dealer. No matter the brand it all breaks down in the end. Oil still collects dirt and no engine filter will ever filter it all out.

074c497f0c9eaf8bd1ef9ba8be187beb.jpg

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/87721https://wibimmers.com/post/87721Wed, 31 Jan 2018 02:39:39 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Wed, 31 Jan 2018 02:21:34 GMT]]>I beat the daylights out of my M30 and blew it up, spun a rod bearing on cyl.5. always ran Valvoline 20-50 with ZDDP additive.

Rebuild with all new components, still running 20-50, BUT I use Liqui-Moly MoS2 (Molybdenum Disulfide) additive and if it is ever below 40 degrees I have a 100W oil pan heater to help cold starts. This was 140,000 miles ago and she has a strong 150-160 PSI across all six with minimal leak down.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/87720https://wibimmers.com/post/87720Wed, 31 Jan 2018 02:21:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 20 Nov 2017 18:18:41 GMT]]>

patsbimmer1 said:

Stop it.  Just stop it.  Put oil in and change it regularly.  What this doesn't show is how any of this effects engine life and a rate of failure based on a certain brand.  This doesn't tell you if any of it matters.

Brian lives for analysis paralysis though, so it's right on track!

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85418https://wibimmers.com/post/85418Mon, 20 Nov 2017 18:18:41 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:29:10 GMT]]>Cheap!  I will try that next time.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85416https://wibimmers.com/post/85416Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:29:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:28:35 GMT]]>a4824769fe98085be879b04bbdda7398.jpg.

Royal Purple is on sale

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85414https://wibimmers.com/post/85414Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:28:35 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:04:02 GMT]]>I use Royal Purple HPS, it's not even API approved, boom!  And I even use 5w30 in my m50.  Another factor into the equation of oil recommendations is that these engines are 20 plus years old, engine oils have changed in that time.  There was no 0w40 and great synthetics then.  I'm not concerned to use a lighter oil (of a high quality) as long as the oil pressure is still in spec.  More pressure means lower flow rate.  The oil pressure is not what prevents metal contact.

I'm not a Diehard Royal Purple fanboy, There are other oils that are great as well.  I can get HPS from my local race shop for just over 8$/quart.  I have used it in all of my vehicles for several years and it seems to keep engine internals nice and clean.  If your engine is ancient like my LandCruiser though it can clean too much and expose seals that would leak other than years of grime slowing down the leakage.  That is where the myth that synthetics cause leaks comes from.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85413https://wibimmers.com/post/85413Mon, 20 Nov 2017 17:04:02 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:15:47 GMT]]>And the sample size is well below what is acceptable to develop any kind of parameters.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85343https://wibimmers.com/post/85343Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:15:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:11:37 GMT]]>

Snap said:

This is a pretty great comparison I found for my infiniti (VQ35) to show how not all high quality synthetic oils are created equal/how some oils should be used with a particular engine and others probably shouldnt

be2b063dba4ad8acc3d75f0acfbef063.jpg

Stop it.  Just stop it.  Put oil in and change it regularly.  What this doesn't show is how any of this effects engine life and a rate of failure based on a certain brand.  This doesn't tell you if any of it matters.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85342https://wibimmers.com/post/85342Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:11:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:50:43 GMT]]>This is a pretty great comparison I found for my infiniti (VQ35) to show how not all high quality synthetic oils are created equal/how some oils should be used with a particular engine and others probably shouldnt

be2b063dba4ad8acc3d75f0acfbef063.jpg

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85309https://wibimmers.com/post/85309Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:50:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:20:20 GMT]]>I have the owners manual for my e36 in the glove box, I'll get a pic of the recommended oil weight page after work. That being said, I run whatever name brand synthetic is on sale (usually either Mobil 1, Castrol, or LiquiMoly) in 15w50 in the summer and 5w40 in the winter and haven't had any issues.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85307https://wibimmers.com/post/85307Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:20:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:20:20 GMT]]>I was running it in my e90 335i as well and had no issues.  I switched to Liquimoly only because I got some for free from work.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85308https://wibimmers.com/post/85308Mon, 13 Nov 2017 15:20:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 14:47:48 GMT]]>

patsbimmer1 said:

I ran mobil 1 0w40 in both of my e36's and neither blew up.

I run this in my e36 M3 and my e91 328.  It used to be a BMW approved oil, but BMW has since pulled all the non-BMW oils from their approved list.  

Switching to this weight/manufacturer in my e91 cut my oil consumption from about a quart per 7000 miles (my change interval) to near zero.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85305https://wibimmers.com/post/85305Mon, 13 Nov 2017 14:47:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 13:57:42 GMT]]>To piggyback off of what @Boris3 said, When I've had customers ask me I tell them as long as they're using a name brand oil and changing at regular intervals then they'll be fine.  That's all it comes down to, don't ignore your oil changes and use quality products.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85301https://wibimmers.com/post/85301Mon, 13 Nov 2017 13:57:42 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 03:26:45 GMT]]>Between bobistheoilguy and assorted oil threads on bmw forums this is path down a deep deep rabbit hole. Take the recommendations here and if you have or just to ease concerns do periodic Blackstone Labs oil analyses to make sure all is well.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85296https://wibimmers.com/post/85296Mon, 13 Nov 2017 03:26:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 02:56:40 GMT]]>

KaiserRolls said:

I run mobil1 15w-50 because whatever

I run the same oil full synthetic 15w-50

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85294https://wibimmers.com/post/85294Mon, 13 Nov 2017 02:56:40 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 02:47:47 GMT]]>I run 5w-30

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85293https://wibimmers.com/post/85293Mon, 13 Nov 2017 02:47:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 02:05:12 GMT]]>I ran mobil 1 0w40 in both of my e36's and neither blew up.

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85292https://wibimmers.com/post/85292Mon, 13 Nov 2017 02:05:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to M52/S52 oil recommendation on Mon, 13 Nov 2017 01:47:33 GMT]]>I run mobil1 15w-50 because whatever

]]>https://wibimmers.com/post/85291https://wibimmers.com/post/85291Mon, 13 Nov 2017 01:47:33 GMT