Oil Change for 2012 M3

[VikAry]

Does anyone have experience or preference for using Liqui Moly or the BMW oil for a 2012 M3? I'm planning to do my first oil change and would like to know what is the best oil to go with.

Thanks,

-Vikas

[John in VA]

The BMW "M oil" will be fine - be sure to request your BMW CCA discount!

83212365944 - Original BMW Engine Oil - BMW M TwinPower Turbo 10W-60
(replaces 07510009420 10w60)

07510009420 - Castrol Brand Edge Professional 10W-60 Motor Oil
This is identical to the Genuine BMW Castrol Edge Professional TWS 10W-60 Motor Oil except for a slight variation on the labeling.

[pseto]

I've used both Castrol and OEM 10w-60 and I haven't seen/felt any performance difference between them. However, OEM is a few bucks cheaper per bottle than the Castrol 'liquid gold'.

Personally, I would think something other than OEM/Castrol could be something BMW would say caused an issue, if one were to come up.

[John in VA]

BMW recently switched its affiliation with Castrol to Shell. Vikas's car was built during the Castrol period, but the Shell product will be fine, as Paul stated - whatever is easier to get/more affordable.
I got my son a 2014 Mazda3 ~2 years ago. While the dealer uses Pennzoil Platinum full synthetic, the Mazda-bottled/approved oil (full synthetic w/ Moly) was cheaper at the dealer vs. PP at Autozone/Advanced Auto, and I wanted to assure no problems during the warranty period.

[VikAry]

Thank you for the advice. I had my first track experience at Summit Point this past weekend. It was awesome but I'm worried that I'm going to like this very expensive habit a little too much.

[GoingFast]

I have been using Liqui Moly on my M3.

[John in VA]

Modern oils are all so good these days. Just run the proper weight & change it regularly. You could send a sample of your used oil out for analysis to see how well it's working - Blackstone Labs, Amsoil, for example.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/
https://www.amsoil.com/shop/by-produ...ysis-services/

[VikAry]

Thanks to everyone for your input and suggestions. I'm running Liqui Moly now and will report back if I can sense any difference from the BMW oil that I replaced.

On a somewhat related note, I am totally sold on the Sea Foam gas cleaner. I'm seeing significant improvements in everything from acceleration to gas mileage.

[JamesAustin]

I'm partial to Red Line myself, partly because that tends to be easier for me to find, partly because their selection is simpler and their web site better-designed when I need to find out what will work in my car, and partly because they DON'T make any synthetic/mineral blends to avoid. But I'm the sort who obsesses about this sort of thing, and based on everything I've absorbed from the internet over the years, I'd say the top three choices are Red Line, Liqui/Lubro Moly (synthetics), and Motul (synthetics).

BMW's OEM oils were made by Castrol for so long that many older BMW engines have oil fill caps with "Castrol" molded into them. BMW switched to Shell as their supplier last year. BMW's branded oils are good (and BMW certainly can't get out of a warranty claim if you use them) but they're probably not "the very best there is."

In the end, I suspect most experts would agree that a "good" oil changed frequently is better for your engine than a fabulous oil changed infrequently (i.e. only when BMW says to.) Buy the proper weight of something that meets the appropriate BMW spec (I assume your car needs LL-01... note that LL-04 is NOT "an improved LL-01" the way SM is an improved SG is an improved SF...), change it regularly, get it analyzed every so often, and you're probably doing as much as you can do.