"I feel like its just common sense for a turbocharged model. They are expensive parts and there isn't a ton of preventative maintenance that can be done... frequent oil changes with quality synthetic is one easy one. (And to be honest, after only 3K my oil doesn't look GREAT on a white paper towel.) "




Looks mean NOTHING!

 

Thats what I have seen and heard from other MINIacs, but some just don't believe it.

 

I know the All4 models have been calling for them sooner. Mine didn't call for one until almost 15k. My girlfriend's will be hitting 18k if the computer is right. It's all based on driving style and miles. I also know the JCW models call for them sooner usually

 

I mean... this is a site full of tuners. Some of these dudes citing 15K oil changes have modded cars, with totally different ECU tunes than stock, running on a stock $2K turbocharger. Maybe they are either loaded or used to driving dodge neons, but whether you want to change your oil at 5k or 15k, it is absurd to make it seem superfluous to change the oil early (look at that tiny oil feed line for the turbo... of COURSE you'd want the best, cleanest oil to ensure its not coking and getting all up in that thing!).

 

Well, of course tuned cars would need that. They are expecting stock parts to cope with the added stress of more power.

I also track my car, so I know the ins and outs of such things. I am more so talking to normal folks who freak out about the 15k oil change interval, and do changes every 5k. I change mine after every track day. Normal folks with normal day to day lives, who do not stress their cars daily shouldn't do such things. It's wasteful and expensive for a little bit of piece of mind.

Also, I've had many more powerful cars in my life from Vettes to high powered trucks, and I always followed the OBC or owners manual. No issues...

 

Let me start off by saying I am no means an expert or "Guru". Maybe changing your oil so frequently is not necessary. I do it for piece of mind. My mini dealer mechanic also gave me the advice to do it every 5 and they would do the 15k changes. Although I don't do it religously at 5k I try to keep it under 8k. The reason I do is because although the oil has probably come a long way, you still have to change the filter which filters debris (i.e. fine metal shavings) that accumulates in the motor. If you don't abuse the car, yea you might be able to get the 15k (remember its stated a certain amount of miles or months, w/e comes first) out of it. But if your on sport mode daily with modded this and that and constantly " abusing the car", just do it for piece of mind. Outmotoring sells factory filters in sets of 6 that aren't pricey at all as well as factory oil, and you can also use other mini recommended oil as well. Changing the oil doesn't take that long and in my eyes is worth the time and money just to be on the safe side. Just my 2 cents.

 

The best thing about this is that people can do what they want, and that includes engine oil changes. You can get factory oil and filters for less than $50. Everyone has past experiences that form judgement (past cars, past training, etc). If people are comfortable watiting for the car to tell you when to change the oil, great.

I bought my 08 MCS used with 49k on it. It had 3 oil changes over that time. Plus a new turbo, replacement timing chain/tensioner, and the engine had a pretty decent coating of varnish under the oil fill cap. I still took a chance on it. It uses about 1 qt. every 2000 miles, and I change it every 5k.

Have fun,
Mike

 

My 2 cents. I use Mobile One 0-40 full synthetic.

It is expensive, but I watch for it to go on sale and then stock up. I use it in my 2007 Cooper S (just turned 60K miles) and my 2004 X5 3.0i 6cyl (90K miles). Both driven in CA.

I follow the service interval lights which can be 15K miles and I add oil as needed. I recently replace the valve cover on the X5 after finding a tiny leak (I hate leaks). I also replaced the seals in the VANOS (that is oil-driven with lots of places for oil to burn in hell). SPOTLESS - Perfect - Amazing were my thoughts while looking at the top end of the X5 engine and the disassembled VANOS. 90K miles and NO burned or baked oil to be found.

 

Another good Oil change interval debate.

Myself the cleaner the better, I have read it is better to change more often with the Turbo car, hense that's why Mini Dropped their oil change for 15,000 to 10,000 miles, (for some reason I thought I saw 2012 JCW saying 12000 Miles on the sticker last year so they dropped it even more?) BMW knows it may just save them from a few more timing chain/tensioner failures.

There is no doubt in my mind that Synthetic oil can go 15K , I believe some big rigs have special oil systems and they get 75k-100k.. So 15k is quite believable. If you read the oil catch can threads they talk about the amount of water that magically gets into your oil.. And guess what that's the bigger problem.. So I will change either every six months or 5ooo miles either way... I want to get rid of the moisture, so I don't start having traces of corrosion on the inside of my block which then gets cleaned and starts floating around and ends up clogging that tiny little oil vacuum pump hole causing the vacuum pump to fail than catastrophic engine damage. And this isn't talking about what happens if you drive around with your oil a little low....

And that is the real reason why my car is for sale
If you lease the car or get rid of them at 50k by all means change at BMW's recommended intervals, But if you love your engine internals and want them to last as long as possible you want to make that as easy as possible. Its $2000 to change a timing chain and guides? (whatever its not cheap) Changing oil more often is just good solid preventive maintenance. If this wasn't true why did BMW lower the oil change interval? Its not because they are making so much profit that they want to reward loyal customers with free coffee's when they are getting their oil changed.

 

Gen 1 engine, but have followed the OBC since day one and at over 296,000 miles it is doing fine. Changes run from 15k to 25k. See two oil sample results below.

No water in either sample below, and hardly ever any in either of my catch cans.

Nik

 

I will admit I am a little paranoid. but don't take what I said too seriously. people who live in more extreme climates where the weather changes rapidly maybe theyll drive for short periods of time, or maybe they don't drive as frequently are going to develop more moisture in the oil. every climate and every driver is going to be different.

 

About time someone put up something factual. Not sure I'd have chosen Royal Purple to go 20+ thousand miles, but it seems as though it worked well enough. Not expecting everyone to go 20k, but I think 10k makes the most sense even for people who like to be on the safe side. There is a point where changing it too early is just a waste of time, resources, and $.

 

I don't want to veer away from the topic, but I see a couple of you check the oil between changes. I too do this but the dip stick they use sucks! Is there a better dip stick option?

 

Go to the following link. It describes the problem reading the stock dipstick, ways to ge better readings with the stock dipstick, and optional purchased and modified dipsticks.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-dipstick.html

Morris, 2011 MC, PW/B

 

It boils down to simple math:

1. Assuming 15k miles/yr
2. Assuming oil changes are DIY

Oil changes at 12.5k miles equals to annual cost of $60
Oil changes at 5k miles equals to annual cost of $150

So $90/year is the difference. I didn't factor in labor cost to get oil changed elsewhere as that is money spent for the owner's convenience and not technically to change your oil. That's pretty damn cheap insurance and for peace of mind. Obviously if you factor in environmental costs, it'll be more. Heck, people spend more than that on coffee.

 

I'm not sure how you can treat a single oil analysis chart from a DIFFERENT engine as some kind of absolute conclusion about your own oil change intervals... a fair comparison, yes, but not conclusive. For data to supercede logic, common sense, and anecdotal evidence, it needs to be a sound, comprehensive set.

Still, it costs me $45 for an OEM filter and 5 quarts of synthetic (when Advanced auto parts has them on sale). I buy my cars generally at 70-80k miles and keep them until 130k or so. I end up spending something like $225 over the entire life of the vehicle changing more often. People do this on the NA bmw vehicles, and the only real fair comparison (apples-apples) is looking at other FI models, and, for example, it seems most of the folks in the GTI forums emphasize good synthetic oil first, and frequent changes second.

I also find it amusing that when it comes to environmental concerns, the concensus seems to be to treat the mini like a race car (delete cats, delete pcv, straight 3" pipe, etc.), but suddenly when its time for an oil change, it's back to being a DD and we can just change every 15K... convenient.

 

Haha I love that last paragraph! I am still in the process of modding my car so I stick to 5k-7k miles intervals with royal purple.

 

+1 on last paragraph

 

Like you, I change my oil more often that OBC tells me(something along the lines of 5-5.5k miles). However, I'm not sure if the two groups you're referring to (a:those who advocate changing oil per OBC/15k and b:those who mod their cars to be "race cars") is the same group of people.

 

From What I can tell that was an analysis from an MCS, Furthermore I never said that I would go that long on an oil change, my point is oil can last way longer than the 5000 miles that many are doing here.

 

It is still more data points than the "logic, common sense, and anecdotal evidence" used to justify not following the manufacturer's recommendation (which is likely backed by tons of data points).

 

The chart I included above shows the results of two samples. Yes, its from an MCS, but it is the first gen. But I think the point is still valid, synthetic oil last longer than 5k.

My 97 honda had 7,500 intervals on conventional oil
My Toyota FJ has 5,000 intervals on conventional oil
My F350 V10 has a 5,000 intervals on conventional oil

10-15k on synthetic seems totally reasonable. I decided to follow the OBC interval because I drive a lot and don't really like changing the oil every 6 weeks or so. I have had both the oil pan off and the valve cover off (to replace weepy gaskets) and found no build up of any kind. Everything looks like new.

Basically do what you are comfortable with.

Nik

 

A HUGE +1 for this!

If you're gonna run and drive the thing as the manufacturer intended, completely stock, never street racing or tracking the car, then by all means follow the manufacturer's interval.

If you're going to do as I (and many of you) have and drive vigorously and sometimes race/track the car, you don't fall into the manufacturer's intended market.

There is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all answer to this issue and there never will be. If you're going to run a custom setup, you need to have a custom maintenance plan. Simple as that.

 

Zero proof and fud.

My MINI is modded / tuned and I still run 15K. I have also had the oil checked in this process many years ago. Adding to that, I have probably pushed my MINI much harder for longer periods than you have as it grew up on the Autobahn in areas with unrestricted speeds. The oil was tested and came back within limits.

The bottom line is that if you want to change your oil then go for it. We really aren't the market driving the longer oil changes anyway, most of Europe is due to the cost of oil (oil change in Germany is 260 Euro). However, telling people that the oil won't last is pure fud.

If you are racing the car then you should be getting your oil checked regularly anyway. Oh, and MINI pushes the hard driving culture.

 

I took my car in for a dealer oil/filter change a couple of months ago (they were running a $60 special). My SA told me I had 8000 miles to go until I needed an oil change. I responded that 7500 was my limit. He then said, "If I was leasing a MINI S, I'd follow the factory guideline. If I owned one and intended to keep it, I'd change the about twice as often, like you."

Lots of variables, but a good rule of thumb for oil/filter changes: more often is better than less often.

The 15K recommendation accidentally encouraged too many MINI owners to forget to check their oil.