Can I push oil chage intervals if I use synthetic?

[Meghan54]

Got something to back that up?
The only ones I see with problems are not using syn oil and/or going well past the maintaince numbers.


I do 5k on Reg and 10k-ish on Syn, or 1 year which ever comes first.

All you have to do is search the larger BMW forums for discussions about extended oil change intervals.....the discussions go on for pages upon pages with the general feeling BMW is essentially in cost reduction mode during the "free" maintenance time frame......and some of the pitfalls the long intervals have produced. Not huge amounts of engine failures but sludge buildup, sensor failures from clogging/dirt, etc.


And youdo have to use the BMW cert'd oil to get the extended intervals and not drive in what is defined as the "severe service" type driving.....both of which negates BMW's hyper-extended change interval.

bunch of nancys in here

"regular" oil these days is good for 5,000 miles

synthetic should do 7,500-10,000 with little to no issues

While oil has gotten much better, engines are running leaner and hotter, tolerances within are much tighter making any sludge production cause problems much faster than in years past, and a lot has to do with how and where you drive.

And it's not that the oils "wear" out.....oil will be oil no matter how long you use it...it'll still be slippery and will provide lubrication. It's the wearing out of the additives in the oil, how much filth the oil is suspending as time passes, and how efficient and good the filter is.

If you fall into what the manufacturer defines as severe service duty, the oil change intervals are always much shortened from the "typical use" intervals. And personally, our vehicles are treated like they always fall into the severe service area.....we tow all the time and it's hot'r-n-hell where we live most of the year.

True, if you drive like an 82 year old grandmother with no extended stop-and-go traffic use, or it's not overly hot where you live, or such, go for it.


And then there's the problem not with the oil but the filters. You'd be surprised, or maybe not, the numbers of people who still buy the cheapest Fram filter out there....and depend upon them to work for 10K miles. You can use the "best" synthetic out there but its use will be somewhat negated by using a POS oil filter that touts 98% filtering efficiency but takes that away by mentioning in the small print that efficiency is at a 25 micron level.....while better filters have that efficiency at a 10 micron level.

So a simple blanket statement like you made, while it sounds great, just cannot be applied across everyone and every vehicle. Too many variables out there.

 

[Vette73]

All you have to do is search the larger BMW forums for discussions about extended oil change intervals.....the discussions go on for pages upon pages with the general feeling BMW is essentially in cost reduction mode during the "free" maintenance time frame......and some of the pitfalls the long intervals have produced. Not huge amounts of engine failures but sludge buildup, sensor failures from clogging/dirt, etc.


And youdo have to use the BMW cert'd oil to get the extended intervals and not drive in what is defined as the "severe service" type driving.....both of which negates BMW's hyper-extended change interval.


.

Thats my point. You said it is common but then point out these people are probable not following BMWs guidelines.

I am far from a BMW fanboy but this does not seem to be a BMW issue, but that of the owner.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Hell my mustang says 7500 miles on Synth Blend.

 

[Gillbot]

What a ninja edit! lol

If you buy a good filter, it can last 10k miles 1 year. But no more. Dont run it 25k lol

No, the quality of the filter has no bearing on the operating conditions it will see. If it becomes too restrictive, the filter will bypass more than it will filter so what's the point then?

bunch of nancys in here

"regular" oil these days is good for 5,000 miles

synthetic should do 7,500-10,000 with little to no issues

^ Should is the big word, just get it tested

Exactly, SHOULD..... Get it tested.

 

[exar333]

Thats my point. You said it is common but then point out these people are probable not following BMWs guidelines.

I am far from a BMW fanboy but this does not seem to be a BMW issue, but that of the owner.

But if BMW is giving a suggest interval of 20k miles, then it IS their problem. That is somewhat irresponsible, if you ask me. They are just trying to control costs with their 'free maintenance'. Would you buy a car with 55k miles, for example, that only had 2 oil changes? I wouldn't.

When I used synthetic in my Mazda (after the warrenty was up) I used 7-10k intervals for both oil and the filter. Sure you could probably alternate replacing oil every other filter replacement, but I would only feel comfortable myself with replacing oil at a interval >10k miles if they were all highway miles, for example.

Seriously, if you cannot afford to spend the $$$ to replace synthetic at decent intervals, just save your $$$ and use conventional with shorter intervals.

 

[Throckmorton]

Wow... buying a used late model BMW seems like a bad idea. 20k, seriously?

 

[Vette73]

But if BMW is giving a suggest interval of 20k miles, then it IS their problem. That is somewhat irresponsible, if you ask me. They are just trying to control costs with their 'free maintenance'. Would you buy a car with 55k miles, for example, that only had 2 oil changes? I wouldn't.

When I used synthetic in my Mazda (after the warrenty was up) I used 7-10k intervals for both oil and the filter. Sure you could probably alternate replacing oil every other filter replacement, but I would only feel comfortable myself with replacing oil at a interval >10k miles if they were all highway miles, for example.

Seriously, if you cannot afford to spend the $$$ to replace synthetic at decent intervals, just save your $$$ and use conventional with shorter intervals.

All car companies have the regular and severe schedules. If there were that many problems then BMW would shorten the drain schedule. Toyota had to shorten their after they paid out a lot from their cars sludgeing.
I thought BMW had 15k drains?, not 20k. Is 20k for new cars? And yes 15k is very easy using good name brand syn oil for many drivers in cars that have large sumps like most European cars. My SiLs V6 Audi holds more oil than my V8 Chevy, yet Chevy says 10k on syn is fine and many go to 15k.

I agree most will try and push the drain schedule as long as they can, but not if it hurts their image badly.

 

[thescreensavers]

No, the quality of the filter has no bearing on the operating conditions it will see. If it becomes too restrictive, the filter will bypass more than it will filter so what's the point then?

Well Yea sure, but cheaper filters can use paper media which holds less and can become brittle after 6months.

 

[Gillbot]

Well Yea sure, but cheaper filters can use paper media which holds less and can become brittle after 6months.

Then change it before 6 months? I use cheapie filters all the time because they are less restrictive. A study on BITOG showed that "high end" filters actually did worse than "low end" filters because the high end ones were too restrictive and would bypass more often than the low end ones. Thus, the low end "filtered better" over the longer term.

 

[Sunrise089]

So why can these BMWs goes 20k miles?

Is the engine or oil filter designed differently?

They can go 20k miles because a BMW actuary has run the numbers on additional engines needing replaced during the warranty period versus the cost of twice as many Free Scheduled Maintanance sessions, and it came down in favor of longer intervals.

That should be illistrative in your own decision making OP - it has everything to do with what level of risk you're willing to accept. Using crazy-rough numbers say the BMW system would result in needing a new engine 10% of the time during the first 100k miles. Lets say changing your oil with full synthetic every 3k miles reduces that by an order of magnitude to 1%, and you'll sell the car at 100k. That's 5 oil changes vs 33, and at a cost of $40 each (I think fair for synthetic, but replace whatever dollar figure you want when you replace the probabilities to your own guesses) that's $200 vs $1,320. If a replacement engine costs $7,000 installed that means the total cost of the 20k interval is $900 and the 3k interval is $1,390. With my made up numbers it's better to go longer between changes, barring the natural human tendency to be risk averse. Factor in the cost of time and the comparison probably becomes even more one-sided.

Anyways, fill in your own numbers and run the calculation yourself.

 

[thescreensavers]

Then change it before 6 months? I use cheapie filters all the time because they are less restrictive. A study on BITOG showed that "high end" filters actually did worse than "low end" filters because the high end ones were too restrictive and would bypass more often than the low end ones. Thus, the low end "filtered better" over the longer term.

Do you have a link to the thread? I never heard that, but I have been reading ~year over there. But a good purolator 6 bucks I believe would do the job

I have never used a filter less then 12 bucks, well thats because I always get the one bundled at AAP, Usually a K&N or a Bosch Distance +, on the bosch there is a thread over at BITOG and it showed impressive filtering in a particle count test.

So I am not worried about the K&N or the Bosch not flowing well, the K&N has been tested and it showed a 2 psi drop I believe, I might be wrong.

 

[kevman]

Oil changes are cheaper then filling up gas folks...lets not skimp on them.

 

[Gillbot]

Do you have a link to the thread? I never heard that, but I have been reading ~year over there. But a good purolator 6 bucks I believe would do the job

I have never used a filter less then 12 bucks, well thats because I always get the one bundled at AAP, Usually a K&N or a Bosch Distance +, on the bosch there is a thread over at BITOG and it showed impressive filtering in a particle count test.

So I am not worried about the K&N or the Bosch not flowing well, the K&N has been tested and it showed a 2 psi drop I believe, I might be wrong.

I do not, and it's more than a year old. It had to do with a comparison primarily between generic filters such as the supertech and the Mobil1 which many found to be too restrictive.