Oil Weight for M54 doing lots of HPDEs
 

I want to try out some Redline Engine Oil this summer since my car is going to be seeing a lot of track time (20+ hours of HPDE track time), but I'm trying to decide between their 5w-30 or 5w-40...

Any recommendations/thoughts?

Thank you.

Dunno. I saw this before though (Post #9):
http://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/sho....php?p=8095458

Here's the thing I don't get though (in response to jvr's post)... My local motorsport shop that I go to uses Redline Engine Oil, Bimmerworld uses Redline Engine Oil on the cars they service, and Turner Motorsport uses Redline on the cars they service as well. I would think that all of these shops are using Redline due to good experiences with it.

True, and jvr's source only talked about E36's - but I think Redline's whole schtick is less resistance = more speed, no? Does that mean it's lower viscocity? And, if so, is that good long term?

bimmerworld says 5w40 for hot climates and HPDE use for the m54

It actually only lists the M54TU... what is an M54TU?

Also, it does say for hot climates AND HPDE... the operative word their being AND and not OR. Does that mean that only hot climates where you do HPDEs should get 5w40 and that milder climates where you do HPDEs get 5w30, or does it mean that HPDE regulars should always use 5w40?

TU is for technical update, I dont think an M54TU actually exists, just the M52TU that was in 99-00 e46's before the M54 came out. I think it is just a typo.I'm sure if you call and ask bimmerworld they can tell you but the way I interpret it is that 5w40 is the way to go for track use, even in milder climates.

My thoughts as well, but I'd still like to confirm since my local shop says that they normally just use 5w30 (but think 5w40 could be a good choice) and the guy at Redline (who didn't seem to know what he was talking about) told me not to use 5w40. :confused:

http://store.bimmerworld.com/red-lin...-oil-p298.aspx

SpeedDemon asked me to chime in. First, Red Line being focused on being thin and producing power is a little off. Viscosity is measured and what you are buying is exactly on the label. We (BimmerWorld) often choose to go with a lower viscosity on our racecars with Red Line and we can get away with it because it does have better lubricating properties than many of the other oils in the market. Additionally, the ZDDP package prevents wear, and it has excellent anti-foam and compressibility characteristics that work well with the dual vanos engines.

For most cars, we recommend a slightly higher weight for track use. In that environment, the temps are higher and especially on a hydraulic lifter engine, you usually need the extra viscosity to keep the lifters pumped up. For the M54 on our chart, it is a 5W40. In our racecars, we have been using mostly a straight 40WT in both the M54 and N52 which is similar but requires that we warm the engine up.

I discovered this oiling sensitivity in the M54 during our last lapping day in September 2009.
I pushed my 330ci very hard and ended up having valve thicking.
I was running 5W30 oil. I did a couple of search and now I have a much better idea what I have to do to extend the life of my engine. I will run a 5W40 oil + 0.5l over regular line.

Just another interesting information regarding oil viscosity. On Dodge Viper's V10 engine the red line is around 5500rpm. If we use a too thick oil we end up with valve floating and burned valves ...

The problem is to find 5W40 in the local store ... Basically they only have 5w30 and 5w50 on the shelf.

Any opinion about Amsoil's 5W40 oil ?

5w40 :thumbsup:

It's what I use, my only data point is my motor hasn't gone kablewy yet.

this is a good thread to have around

P.S. - any recs for Lubro Moly? Total?

Why not run the BMW recommended oil and just change your oil more frequently? That's what I do with my E36 M3 Track car.

-Geoff@Eurodyne

Total Quartz Energy 9000 (5W-40) meets BMW specs and is a fully synthetic oil. You can pick it up at Performance oil Store.

http://www.performanceoilstore.com/p...sp?cat=19&pg=3

Feff

TU stands for Technical Update. Engines were installed in vehicles headed for the Northeast. Change is in emissions package revised to reduce emissions and qualify as ULEV.

Anybody have an opinion on using Lucas oil additive for track days with Mobil 1 0w40? Chas.

:bump:

general consensus is that pretty much all the oil additives are garbage and provide no benefit but may actually cause damage

I've only had nothing but positive experiences using lucas oil additive. When I ran non-synthetic oil in my old japanese cars I'd use the regular lucas (that was in the blistering miami heat on DDs that I tore up, never had engine issue) Now with the e46, I go for the synthetic additive since I run the Mobil, but only in summer months though. If I tracked the car, it would definitely be in the crankcase with the Mobil 1 0-40W. And fresh change before any track time and fresh change after track time. I don't know why anyone wouldn't put fresh oil in and after a track day. So screw general consensus.