e92 M3 burring oil

[VikAry]

While driving my car home last week, a biker who was following me, flagged me to tell me that he could smell oil burning from my exhaust. I have owned this car for 2 1/2 years and this is the first time I have heard of this issue. I'm hoping that someone on this forum can provide some insights into what might be happening. I bought my car in January 2016 with 14,800 miles. This is not my daily driver and I have tracked it regularly, ~25 track days in the last 2 1/2 years. Today, the car has 33,000 miles. I change the DCT fluid (BMW genuine fluid) and engine oil every March, before the start of track season with Liqui Moly 2024 Synthoil Race Tech GT1 10W-60 Motor Oil.

I have made the following modifications to the car. After changing the coolers, DCT Pan, VAC Oil Pan with Baffle and Rod Bearings, this past May I noticed the low engine oil warning. There are no visible oil leaks underneath the car or on my garage floor and I have never noticed the smell of burning oil on the street or track. I thought maybe the oil sensor didn't get along with the VAC Oil Pan with baffle but VAC told me that none of their e92 customers had reported any issue. Then I thought that maybe the oil sensor has gone bad but now this new issue of burning oil has me wondering whether the oil sensor is correctly reporting low oil level and that there is a larger issue brewing. I also noticed that even with the upgraded coolers, my engine temps ran very hot this past summer; although I am relying on the OEM Oil temp gauge and have no way to confirm how accurate it is.

I have read where other e92 owners have reported having to add oil (1 quart or so) in between oil changes but none of those posts were for a car that is primarily tracked and occasionally driven on the street. So, I wasn't able to determine whether this is an issue in cars that are tracked a lot and possible resolution.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.


Engine/Chasis
* Tune
* BE Bearings with upgraded bolts
* Active Autowerke Under Pulley
* DO.88 Oil Cooler
* DO.88 Power Steering Cooler
* VAC Oil Pan with Baffle
* Bimmerworld X Pipes - primary and secondary cat delete with resonators
* Agency Power Exhaust

Transmission
* DO.88 DCT Cooler
* Gintani Aluminum DCT Pan

[pseto]

I have the same issue, but I haven't tracked my car as much as you. No leaks that I can see and I've had to add 1.5 liters over the past 6 months. Been chalking it up as 'normal' since many others report the same thing occassionally, but i've been meaning to take a look at the valve cover/gaskets soon

[VikAry]

Thanks Paul,

I'll probably do the same and add some oil when the warning light comes on. The challenge with my car is how frequently to add oil given that I track the car so much. Now if I had a dip stick...oh wait.

[wolfgang20878]

First of all, changing the oil once a year if you’re tracking your car is way too little. Should be every track weekend or two or three. If you are running hot, there’s a problem (thermostat?), or maybe you just need to change the oil for each event so you know you have the right level. During a race weekend, I will add up to a quart of oil to my race car. You can get a reading from an oil analysis company like Blackstone that tells you if you’ve over-heated the oil, how much performance is left, etc. Second, you may want a better oil, like Joe Gibbs or Redline. You can’t run a full race oil because it will kill your catalytic converter, but there are alternatives for running performance street cars. Maybe also a better oil filter, one that has no bypass valve. Third, get dedicated oil temp and pressure gauges, the stock ones aren’t accurate enough. You might call someplace like BimmerWorld, which races BMWs, for their advice. Don’t bother with the BMW dealer unless they race and you can talk with the guy that maintains the race cars.

[VikAry]

First of all, changing the oil once a year if you’re tracking your car is way too little. Should be every track weekend or two or three. If you are running hot, there’s a problem (thermostat?), or maybe you just need to change the oil for each event so you know you have the right level. During a race weekend, I will add up to a quart of oil to my race car. You can get a reading from an oil analysis company like Blackstone that tells you if you’ve over-heated the oil, how much performance is left, etc. Second, you may want a better oil, like Joe Gibbs or Redline. You can’t run a full race oil because it will kill your catalytic converter, but there are alternatives for running performance street cars. Maybe also a better oil filter, one that has no bypass valve. Third, get dedicated oil temp and pressure gauges, the stock ones aren’t accurate enough. You might call someplace like BimmerWorld, which races BMWs, for their advice. Don’t bother with the BMW dealer unless they race and you can talk with the guy that maintains the race cars.

Hi John,

Thanks for getting back to me. The frequency of oil changes seems to be one of the most widely varying suggestions I've received; similar to your suggestion of changing oil after every track weekend to once, right before the season starts. I tend to err on the cautious side and next year, may change the oil more frequently, maybe after every 3rd track event. I don't know if this is an issue with my oil sensor but after installing the bigger oil cooler and oil pan with baffle, I immediately got a warning light that the oil level is too low. I know for sure that the oil level was not too low because we had just put in 9 quarts (more than factory spec) to account for the bigger oil cooler. After adding another 1/2 quart of oil, the computer then said there was too much oil which is what I suspected was going to happen. Since then, I have done 10 track days without adding any extra oil but the low oil warning light comes on intermittently; interestingly it comes on when I turn off the engine, after driving. A good old dip stick would have been helpful but our friends at BMW thought differently. So, I'm left with wondering how much oil there really is in the engine or adding a little at a time in the hopes that I won't add too much.

I have been using Liquid-Moly for the past 2 years because I thought it was the best for my car. I wasn't even aware of the brands you mentioned but will certainly look into them. I've deleted both cats so I guess I could run a full race oil? I'll do some research on oil filters as I'm not knowledgeable about the pros/cons of having a bypass valve. I agree that it is time for dedicated temp gauges. I picked out a few this past Spring but with all of the other expenses, decided that I would hold off until this offseason. But yes, they are now a priority.