Does it matter in engineering terms - you are asking in the wrong place. Only someone from BMW tech dept or maybe an oil company can answer that. Does it matter in resale price terms? I guess it cant help. Some potential customers will fuss about such things so it will reduce the number of possibvle customers or at least give them a negotiating lever.
Are time related oil changes necessary?
- Thread starter brut33
- Start date
Does it matter in engineering terms - you are asking in the wrong place. Only someone from BMW tech dept or maybe an oil company can answer that. Does it matter in resale price terms? I guess it cant help. Some potential customers will fuss about such things so it will reduce the number of possibvle customers or at least give them a negotiating lever.
AberdeenAngus
Registered user
Change it every month and feel even more reassured.
AberdeenAngus
Registered user
Speak for yourself. There's far more knowledge on here than you'll find in a roomful of BMW techs.
I used to write maintenance manuals for a living and have done my share of Tribology in my time.
And I consider myself one the the lesser spanner wranglers on this site.
I agree with Angus, that’s why I came here to ask my question (OP). On this site I was always going to get an independent view backed up with masses of experience.
BMW are undoubtedly very knowledgeable, but may have an opinion weighted towards their commercial interest.
I once again take the opportunity to thank everyone who has made a contribution to my query.
BMW are undoubtedly very knowledgeable, but may have an opinion weighted towards their commercial interest.
I once again take the opportunity to thank everyone who has made a contribution to my query.
The Grey One
Registered user
Two things, firstly your use hardly sounds like the short journey scenario I was talking about and secondly a sample of one proves nothing.
I did a quick count up and I probably have carried out in excess of 15,000 oil changes whilst running my garage business. Of that number a small proportion had seriously contaminated oil, usually thin and watery. Such oil cannot be good for engine life and in these cases changing the oil was what kept that engine from self destructing. Over the years I had several cases where customers stopped regular servicing because the car had,for instance, done 150,000 miles. Six months later when the engine suffered a failure they would justify their no servicing decision by saying the failure proved it would not have been worth spending the 100 pounds on a service. In fact had the service been carried out the car would in all probability still have been running.
Personally were I in the market for a second hand vehicle I would walk away from any that had not had regular oil changes.
John
bikemad
Registered user
Motorcycle same as car engines have got better same as oils,then again we drive massive Ferguson BMW 
BUT if you've got a turbo god forbid if you neglect changes they can & do blow up,my van gets used loads of stop start I do some motorway runs too & change oil at 6000 miles rec 12000 oil looks pretty fecked at 6K to me !
Iv googled plenty of vehicles it seems some are like a rash all over the forums problems rife,Id say pretty much down to servicing,my mate is a mechanic he's seen low mile mobility cars with thick treacle oil lack of use or service !
My bikes if not done the miles I leave them,you can view the oils colour though sight glass or on dipstick,if it looks golden Id say it's ok dark or black then a change is due.
BUT if you've got a turbo god forbid if you neglect changes they can & do blow up,my van gets used loads of stop start I do some motorway runs too & change oil at 6000 miles rec 12000 oil looks pretty fecked at 6K to me ! Iv googled plenty of vehicles it seems some are like a rash all over the forums problems rife,Id say pretty much down to servicing,my mate is a mechanic he's seen low mile mobility cars with thick treacle oil lack of use or service !
My bikes if not done the miles I leave them,you can view the oils colour though sight glass or on dipstick,if it looks golden Id say it's ok dark or black then a change is due.
All this doesn't answer this. How come some manufacturers revise their schedules making them longer making it retrospective without changing anything else like oil spec? It's all about getting bikes into dealers. When enough people give out intervills change. JJH
bikemad
Registered user
BMW has got to be one of the easiest bikes Iv had to service no probs to access it all,why people spend £££ s at dealers once warranty is up that's crazy 
Motorcycle same as car engines have got better same as oils,then again we drive massive Ferguson BMW
Iv googled plenty of vehicles it seems some are like a rash all over the forums problems rife,Id say pretty much down to servicing,my mate is a mechanic he's seen low mile mobility cars with thick treacle oil lack of use or service !
My bikes if not done the miles I leave them,you can view the oils colour though sight glass or on dipstick,if it looks golden Id say it's ok dark or black then a change is due.
I am really struggling with this. Maybe you could write it in English.
AberdeenAngus
Registered user
So translate. Thank you
trainman
Registered user
the schedule maybe driven by the desire to make money but I think its as much about protection of warranty claims and BMW's assessment of a worst case scenario where a bike is used little and possibly for short trips which don't get the oil fully hot (as described elsewhere on this thread)
does anyone know if other models have this requirement (i.e. the K models?)
does anyone know if other models have this requirement (i.e. the K models?)
Not just other BMW models but just about every manufacturer states x miles or annually. There are so many variables. If you have thrashed your bike down to the south of France and then toured in temps of 40c plus, thrashed back and then poodled around in a damp climate, surely the cost of an oil change is peanuts. If you use your bike for a 40 mile round trip each day and then leave it outside under a tarp through winter would it need an oil change? BMW and just about all manufacturers cover their arses. Your engine, your experience and your investment. Steptoe of this parish has made the same point and he knows more about BMW's than I could learn in two life times.
Surely that's some mistake, you must be a far better engineer than Steptoe could ever be, you got to the top, shuffled paperwork and everything, told people what to do and can trace every bolt back to manufacturer,
That steptoe is no better than someone who fixes washing machines,
Don't sell yourself short!
Bendy toy
Registered user
The oil itself will last a very long time but the special additives to cope with water and fine particles will deplete. Heavy plant and HGV diesels use ultrafine bypass filters to remove the fine kak so the oil lasts virtually for ever with level top-ups being enough to keep it good.
Cars and bikes dont have fancy bypass filters so the oil has to be changed. Time is as bad as miles so even clean looking but old oil wont lubricate like new oil.
Cars and bikes dont have fancy bypass filters so the oil has to be changed. Time is as bad as miles so even clean looking but old oil wont lubricate like new oil.
Surely that's some mistake, you must be a far better engineer than Steptoe could ever be, you got to the top, shuffled paperwork and everything, told people what to do and can trace every bolt back to manufacturer,
That steptoe is no better than someone who fixes washing machines,
Don't sell yourself short!
Steptoe has forgotten more about BMW's than I could learn in two life times. I never shuffled paper. Keep up. Different disciplines. I respect peoples abilities.
Whilst that's true and fleet trucks running on full synthetic oil will go 80,000kms between changes, smaller fleets and owners operators will change the oil on a far more regular basis. Most good truck mechanics will tell you that clean oil means long engine life and the price of 8 gallons of oil and a filter is peanuts in the great scheme of things. Oil hoovers up all the shit in the engine so the more often it's changed, the cleaner the engine.
I use the same principle on my bike, use decent quality mineral or semi synthetic and change it before every trip regardless of mileage on the clock. Fully synthetic is hopelessly overpriced and a waste of time on a GS in my opinion as the manufacturers intervals are so close. Maybe a bit of overkill but it makes me feel better knowing the old girl has clean blood flowing through her veins.
bikemad
Registered user
The ballshit 30,000 mile oil changes havnt you got to have a 1st service around 500 miles ? cos engine full of metallic shit from running in wow betide the turbo bearings with metallic particles for lubrication
The ballshit 30,000 mile oil changes havnt you got to have a 1st service around 500 miles ? cos engine full of metallic shit from running in wow betide the turbo bearings with metallic particles for lubrication
You could also put a card in your back window stating "Please Pass, Running In"
Bendy toy
Registered user
Whilst that's true and fleet trucks running on full synthetic oil will go 80,000kms between changes, smaller fleets and owners operators will change the oil on a far more regular basis. Most good truck mechanics will tell you that clean oil means long engine life and the price of 8 gallons of oil and a filter is peanuts in the great scheme of things. Oil hoovers up all the shit in the engine so the more often it's changed, the cleaner the engine.
I use the same principle on my bike, use decent quality mineral or semi synthetic and change it before every trip regardless of mileage on the clock. Fully synthetic is hopelessly overpriced and a waste of time on a GS in my opinion as the manufacturers intervals are so close. Maybe a bit of overkill but it makes me feel better knowing the old girl has clean blood flowing through her veins.
At Ratcliffe Power Station we ran our coal moving mobile plant with bypass filters. Before installation we changed the oil every week. Two huge Cummins needed 45 gallons.
With bypass filters we topped up the oil used every week changed the filters and had the oil tested. . It remained as good as new. Like most mechanics we chickened out at 10 weeks and dumped 45 (ok 40 - we'd not topped up) gallons of perfectly good oil.
Big operators can afford to test their oils. Those who don't know better just change it, because that's how it's done. It's a rule after all.
Bypass micro filters work and regular oil testing gives early warning of engine problems as well as confining the oil is ok.
Normal filters have pores 15 to 20 microns. The bypass are 0,2 microns. Every 10 runs through the engine all of that oil will have been micro filtered.
There is no metallic or carbon pm10 crap running around. It's a in the filters. They won't stop liquid contamination (fuel coolant water etc) but that's what oil testing is for.
