I've always changed my oil at the service intervals in the owners manual and never had any problems. Changing your oil more often than reccommended might give you peace of mind, but I think it is really a waste of money.

 

There are some forum threads on used oil analysis at independent laboratories that show significant degradation of oil quality in MINI engines long before the recommended service interval. I think it's asking a lot of four quarts of oil to survive 15k-18k miles without a change, no matter what the formulation. I do my own oil changes for less than $30, including the filter. It's cheap insurance against problems associated with oil breakdown over an overly-long change interval.

 

FTW

 

As I've said many times before - I'll let you know when my engine goes, and if its oil related

Nik

 

I'm a big believer in extended intervals with top shelf synthetics. Wife's Prius: Mobil 1 XL-10K. In that engine, it's probably good for more. In my (departed) Passat TDI: ELF or Motul 505.01 spec oil, 10K factory spec interval. More A-R owners than me have done oil analysis showing that the oil's fine at that interval and beyond.

I'm going with a non-S Clubman, and suspect that with Group IV synthetics, the factory interval is more than okay. If I had an S model with the turbo or a previous-gen supercharged S, with the heat they generate, I'd be inclined to go more frequently, or invest in UOA to see how the oil was holding up.

BUT, as the original topic of the thread asked, I'll change it early the first time. (Did I already post that? )

 

1999 E46 328i- 167k
1988 E30M3- 265k
1972 2002tii- 278k (ok, we rebuilt at 230k or so when we got it 6 years ago)

3000 miles for the '02. Valvoline racing 20/50. Usually ends up being 4-5k when I finally remember it. The M3 gets about the same, but I tend to remember it sooner as I know what a rebuild can cost. The E46 gets synthetic Castrol 5/30. I have less qualms about pushing the intervals out to what the cars computer says for the changes. (synthetic, less demanding duty).

One thought is that BMW says the auto trans fluid in the E46 is a "lifetime fluid". No service or changing is needed. "Lifetime" is right. The fluid lasted the life of the tranny which had to be replaced at just over 100k. The tranny on the M3 (ok, manual trans and different than auto) is still going strong, and that includes several years of daily driving, autocrossing, and a few track days. I believe Redline MTL every 50-75k miles ~may~ have helped a bit.

Lifetime fluids? Sure. Only if you keep your car for 10 years or 100k as it seems many people do.

 

I'm new to this oil change business but I do check my oil level frequently and I have noticed how quickly it gets dirty. I braved my first ever oil change two days ago at 1,360 miles and saw how black the oil was. I think it would be wise to change the oil as well as the filter for they operate as one system.

I've read that synthetic oils don't need to be changed as often but I hate to imagine what is circulating in my car's engine.

 

Did you take off your valve cover just to show us how nice your engine is? That's very energetic of you. Thanks!

 

i've run synthetics (amsoil) for years. Sold a truck recently with 107k miles & never changed the oil. Sent a sample in yearly to be analyzed & swapped filters. Synthetics don't break down & if you filter them good enough they can go a million miles. If you are worried about metal shavings in your oil you can relax. That's what the oil filter is for. If you really want to do something good for your engine & the cleanliness of your oil, DO NOT run a K&N air filter. They let alot of dirt into the engine.

 

K&N is bad? Wow, I never realized that.

 

No! I had a bad valve cover gaasket, long story. Figured since I had it off I had better take a picture.

Nik

 

I have no idea what that means.

 

According to wikipedia, it's Internet slang for something that I can't say here.

 

the biggest mistake in what you just said was "according to wikipedia".....i dont know what you looked up and found, but it means "for the win"....

 

Ahh... well you ought to go to wikipedia and edit the entry then. I really didn't know where else to search.

 

Next time maybe typing the 9 letters will eliminate any confusion.

 

K&N's are a really good product. They are not the be all end all air filtration solution for every single vehicle on the planet, but in the right instance they are very good.

Over on the E30M3 group a few years ago, there was A LOT of talk about filters- K&N, ITG, stock paper, etc... Lots of talk and studies about flows, longevity, HP gains & losses, etc...etc...

In summary, a good, OEM filter will work and flow just fine. You just have to remember to change it out when it needs it. I stopped using K&N's on my E30M3 not because it flows bad or something else was better. I switched to stock filters becuase I was getting too lazy to keep washing, drying, and oiling the K&N everytime. Something about having a family and a job and too many hobbies that robs you of free tme.

 

Mine is due for it's 4th oil change at 15k, the first three I did myself, the first at 1200, then 5k and 10k. The next one is my freebie. Based on used oil analysis done by Terry Dyson (as others have posted) it seems clear that the mini brand oil is pretty much ready for change at about 5k, maybe even as soon as 3k. One major issue being that the Turbo motor is direct injected, form what I uderstand the oil in the DI motor is subject to greater amounts of fuel dilution, thus lowering the flash point of the oil and that is not a good thing.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...d.php?t=132532
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...&highlight=oil

 

okay, that would be an option, except abbreviations like ftw are too common a thing not to know...the other option would be to look at all the entries when you look a word up and not take the first one without checking the context...seriously, does it make sense that i would i say "***k the world" ? lol

 

No, it didn't but that's what I always thought "FTW" meant.

 

Maybe common to you, maybe not so common to others. As for suggesting the post was in some way negative or obscene, it was someone else who suggested that. I just asked what the abbreviation stood for. I have never heard of the expression "for the win" before your post.

 

i would think spending time on nam would automatically expose you to the FTW and the WTB and the FS etc etc etc....its okay, now you know....

 

TYTOS (Thank You To Our Sponsors)...and now back to Oil Changes ...

 

What oil does a R55 Turbo S need? 5W30 Castrol full-synthetic?

 

[quote=SteveJ;2313419]K&N's are a really good product. They are not the be all end all air filtration solution for every single vehicle on the planet, but in the right instance they are very good.

K&N is a high flow filter. In order to get the flow they do, something has to be sacrificed. In this case it is filtration.

Your intake is where all the dirt in your engine comes from. The factory filter is very good at removing dirt from the air. There are a few 2 stage oiled foam filters on the market that filter well, & then there is the K&N at the back of the pack.