Oil and the 6.2 motor
When I first got my E63 with 18 miles on it, I was using oil until around 7k. Then it slowed down rapidly. In between my last oil change (around 6k) I didn't add any oil at all (that got me nervous too, lol.)
fwiw, here's a history of my oil use and oil changes. The car now has 16.4k on it. I'm curious as to what other people's experiences are with the 6.2.
I first changed the break-in oil at 169 miles because the build date was 6/18/2008 and I bought it on 5/19/2009. So it had the same fill in it for a year. MBUSA convinced the dealer to change it on their dime. I didn't ask for a sample (stupid me.)
Next was 4.5k. I told the dealer to pull some oil for me for an analysis. They "forgot."

Next one was 10.5k. Once again, dealer "forget" to pull a sample for me.

Between the 169 miles and the 10k change I used about 2.5 quarts of oil. After that, no add oil whatsoever.
I finally went to a good MB Indy and had him do the oil at 16,371k. He pulled me a sample and I had an analysis done.
Although the analysis says there are no excessive metals, I would have really like to see what the 4.5k change might have revealed. And also the 169 mile one (just to see if oil sitting for a year can get excessive moisture and fuel contamination.) I'm not sure this current analysis means that much.
I'm averaging 5-6k between changes. I now think (after break-in) that these motors with syn oil can survive 10k changes just fine. I'll probably do 7.5k intervals although I'm guessing it's not really necessary. My Indy said he'd put my oil back into his car and run it, it was that clean.
All depends on your kind of driving and environmental conditions, but 10k on syn oil is not unreasonable, imho. Obviously tracking the car is a different story. fwiw, my motor is pretty quiet. No excessively noisy tappets like some people seem to get with the 6.2.
p.s, why I used 0-40w instead of 5-40W is another story. If anybody's interested, I'll tell you why.
P.S. - ever since the intake gaskets fiasco, my motor has been very quiet too. I used to think it was the tappets, now I'm not so sure what it could have been.
Last edited by citylightva; Jun 8, 2010 at 04:04 PM.

If you look at the specs of both oils, the important stuff like cSt is basically the same. The ash content is different (less now for the diesel motor particulate filters; that doesn't matter with gasoline) but the phosphorus is now different. With extended OCIs, the cats have to be a concern and so the ESP 5-40w has lower phosphorus for the latest emission control components.
On the other hand, phosphorus is one of M1's primary protective ingredients. There's more ppm of phosphorus in 0-40w. Phosphorus is M1's "zinc" equivalent (ZDDP) and is important for performance motors. Here's Mobil's take on it: "The ILSAC level for phosphorus has been reduced to protect the catalytic converter and other emission protection equipment. The engine manufacturers are confident that this level of phosphorus will protect both new and older engines. However, there are Mobil 1 products which have a higher level of phosphorus and can be used in engines in racing or high performance applications."
0-40w has more phosphorus. But manufacturers are concerned about cat longevity with phosphorus. So it's a fine line.....
The new ESP formula is about protecting emission control systems with the long OCIs (reduced phosphorus), less fly ash for diesel filters, and not much else.
I'm also concerned with cold starts since that's when engines gets the most wear issues. So the 0-40w adds a bit of help there with its "Extreme Cold Start Protection" (Mobil's words.) You know how noisy the 6.2 can be at start up until the oil gets properly circulated. I guess I'll give it all the help I can. Plus I live on the coast (it was cold this morning.)
In the long run, either oil is fine. I'll no doubt go back and forth once in a while depending on availability.
p.s., if you go to the Mobil 1 website and type in E63 as the car, they suggest 0-30w

Any good proper weight syn oil will be fine, but you might as well just use what's on the approved 229.5 and 229.51 list. And if you change oil less than an OCI of 7-10k, the oil probably won't have a chance to be of any real difference anyway, imho. Extended OCIs are the issue. That's why it's worth doing an analysis for peace of mind if you are planning any extended OCIs, imho.
I read lately that BMW is going to 15k intervals now. That means only 3 changes under their 'free' maintenance plan......
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Excellent info, thank you.
Indeed, my wife's BMW already has 10-12K service intervals and the most recent one was nearly 15K. They offered to extend the maintenance program for 2 years at nearly ~$2200 and I said no F'ing way. We would get maybe 2 additional oil changes at that point, and I have my excellent Indy shop do the other maintenance at nearly 1/2 the cost.
Again thanks for the info on the oil.

My engine uses oil and was built by M. Wollner
I just change it every 4,000 miles since it so easy to do and it use about about 1 qt every 3-4k miles.
I just change it every 4,000 miles since it so easy to do and it use about about 1 qt every 3-4k miles.



It will have been sitting for 10 days when I get back from Toronto, I'll take a look then too...


