When do you guys recommend a first oil change? If I remember right (and I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong) Mini recommends 10,000 miles? I currently have about 500 miles on the car. On past cars I would change my first oil at 1,000 miles, and then shoot for 3,000 from there after. This is the fist car I've owned using synthetic oil and I don't know the rules of the game. But it seems to me that waiting to 10,000 miles on a brand new engine seems a bit punishing, synthetic or not.

 

Two camps here. Those that adhere to the BMW recommended intervals. (Once per year, or when the OBC indicates the change). And the between intervals. Both sides feel their cause is just. Whatever gives you peace of mind. I'm in the between intervals crowd, but the BMW interval folks have had good luck (and they'll chime in).

I changed mine shortly after the 1,000 mark. Then have followed a 7,500 rule after. Using German Castrol, with the ACEA A3/B3 & BMW LL-01 spec. (GC Castrol 0W-30). Use oils with those specs! (Just look at the back of the bottle for it). The German made oil is much better then the US branded 5W-30 Castrol. GC 0W-30 and Mobil 1 0W-40 meet those two specs. The GC has a higher shear factor, and is better suited for the high mileage intervals. (of course, depending on your driving conditions. Highway vs. city, hot temp vs. mild climates, etc).

My recommendation, change it at around 1,500. Then 7,500. Get your free change at the 1 year or 15K mark. Then follow a 7,500 mile interval. Of course, using an oil that meets those two specs.....

 

I'm over at the BMW camp

Its all personal preference. Changing it more often is not going to hurt anything. I've always followed the manufactures recommended interval on every car I've owned. On my old honda civic it was every 7500 miles using conventional oil. I sold it at 200,000 miles 4 years ago, and I still see it around today with over 300,000 miles on it.

On my Mini I follow the OBC recommended interval. Which can run (for me) up to once every 20,000 or so . I think I've changed it maybe 7 times and I currently have just under 165,000 miles. How long will it last? Don't know, one of these days I'll poop off the valve cover and take some pics.

Its also still on its original supercharge and clutch......

Good luck, do what makes you comfortable.

Nik

 

You can change the oil after the break-in period and then every six months thereafter based on the "in service" date. That's what I do. I also buy Mini branded oil and filters from the dealer because the oil is cheaper than then an equivalent at the local parts store.

When the OBC calls for service I take it to the dealer and let them do what is required and that has worked out to be one of the two per year oil changes. I also use the Mini branded oil as well as factory filters when I do a service between dealer services.

If I let the car sit and don't drive much or a lot of short trips, has not happend yet, I'll stick to six month intervals no matter what the OBC says.

This is my second car, both Minis, that I used the factory synthetic oil and I have been pleased.

Hope this helps...

 

I am part of both camps. I track my 07 JCW MCS and enjoy driving it. My wife drives her 05 MCc to get from point A to point B. While she loves her MINI, she's not hard on the car.

For my car, I changed the oil at 1300 miles (after break in) and will probably change the oil every 6 months or so (depending upon the number of track days I end up doing.).

My wife's car follows the OBC recommendation.

 

I find myself in the modified old school arena. I am over 6K miles on my MINI. I'm thinking an out of cycle oil change at 7K, then the dealer provided changes with another out of cycle at the next 7K.

My oil was very light until the last road trip out to Missouri in early December, now it appears a change might be in order. I may pull some for testing, just to see how much metal made it into the oil during this extended cycle.

My dealer service guy said it does not hurt and they will do an out of cycle. I don't think they will reset the computer, but if they do, I will know when 12 months comes for the yearly freebe.

 

My Mini computer is telling me that I have 9,000 more miles to go on the current oil change. I sent in a sample to Blackstone and they told me maybe 3,000 more would be all I have left. With that info I've stopped relying on the Mini Computer.
Here were my results....

 

good data point. Was this the dealer supplied 5W-30? or Castrol Syntec 5W-30 (off the shelf)?

 

You may find that the OBC reading will drop rapidly near the end. Others have reported this to be the case.

Yes, it would be helpful to know what oil was used.

 

Dealer supplied oil. All maintenance and oil changes done at the dealer. Syntec name noted in report was a Blackstone assumption.

One data-point does not make a trend. I'll be performing this test annually on all of my vehicles in the future. Worth the small amount that it costs to know the real health of the motor.

 

Indeed. rather a baseline. a data point nonetheless. Haven't seen many blackstone reports posted by MINI owners. Thanks for sharing the info.

 

Another thing to consider is who's doing the interpretation of the analysis (Not the actual numbers themselves, but the writeup/comments on the report.)

Think of having oil reports done in the same manner as going to the hospital for tests. Any reasonably-competent technician can take an X-ray, a CAT scan, or a mammogram. But it's the doctors that actually *interpret* the films/labs and get meaning from the test results.

I talked to Terry Dyson about the Blackstone report referenced above, and his opinion is if that's MINI factory/dealer oil, and the TBN has gotten down to 2.7, that oil shouldn't be left in the crankcase for another *day*, much less 3,000 more miles.

 

ScottRiqui. I agree, its time to change the oil just based on the TBN numbers. The good news is that all other readings are on par, so there isn't excessive wear, and the oil has been doing its job. The original TBN for this oil is generally 11 or 12, so coming in at 2.7 it's roughly 75% spent. Any further use is just risk that isn't worth it.


I would recommend more people get oil analysis' done on an annual basis. It's very simple and will tell you a lot about the health of the motor. It's fine to rely on the OBC to tell you when to change the oil, but as this instance shows, it's not always perfect timing. The OBC is measuring many things, but the actual TBN is not one of them. Of course as pointed out earlier one data-point does not make a trend, so it will be important to see other reports before really jumping into one camp or the other.
For those that don't know...TBN (total base number) measures the amount of active additive left in the oil. It's the "lube in the lube".

 

Cool advice. One thing to chime in on: The "break in" oil should be in the engine long enough to truly "break in" the engine (about 2000k, or 1200miles minimum). Shorter than that and the engine isn't "breaking in" - and too much lube may mean "thing" never get seated to each other. Several camps on this, I'm being conservative.

Changing Mini oil is about the easiest oil change I've ever done (many, many cars) PROVIDED you use the "drain the oil, break the suction on the canister filter, wait 5 minutes for the filter to drain, then change the filter" technique. There's a great descriptive thread on this.