Alpina Oil usage

ALPINA Costs - Insurance, Depreciation, Oil Usage

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Alpina Oil usage

<500 miles / ltr
5
10%
< 1000 miles / ltr
9
18%
c. 1000 miles /ltr
5
10%
< 2000 miles /ltr
6
12%
> 2000 miles /ltr
24
49%
 
Total votes: 49

nealpina
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Post by nealpina » Wed Apr 25, 2007 1:48 am

blacky wrote:iv just checked my B10 3.2 & it needs a top up after reading this im not to sure what grade oil to be useing ???
Hi Blacky

You have the same engine as me and I have a similar dilemma because of the mileage of the car. Only another 1500 miles before 100,000 therefore I am unsure as to whether to use 0/30 or 10/60. I have always said to myself: “When a car reaches 100,000 miles then change the grade of oil to a higher one,” but my car is running fine. I therefore believe next weekend when I do an oil change it will be 0/30 and then at the next oil change, I will then consider again which oil to use.

I aware that this may be no help to you but these are my thoughts at the moment.
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blacky
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Post by blacky » Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:27 am

i will probably go with 0/30 but we have 5/30 fully synth at work it would obviosly be a lot cheaper for me to use that but not sure :?

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Charles
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Post by Charles » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:48 am

nealpina wrote:I have always said to myself: “When a car reaches 100,000 miles then change the grade of oil to a higher one,” but my car is running fine. I therefore believe next weekend when I do an oil change it will be 0/30 and then at the next oil change, I will then consider again which oil to use.
To be honest, Neal, if the car is running fine on the original specification of oil, then I wouldn't even start worrying about it.

100,000 miles is a purely arbitrary figure - it all depends on how the car was run-in and cared for - particularly when the engine is still cold.

If you are happy with the oil consumption using the 0W-30 then stick with it. If you start to see this deteriorating, then don't immediately change the oil grade because there may be an underlying problem that thicker oil would mask.

I speak as an owner of a car with 111,500 miles on the clock :!: :!: :!:
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Post by Alpina Jim » Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:26 pm

Blacky,

I recently had an inspection 1 carried out on my b10 3.2 and in went the usual Castrol SLX 0/30. I also bought a top up litre of the same stuff from from my main dealer yeaterday, from memory it was nearly £13 for the litre though.

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blacky
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Post by blacky » Wed Apr 25, 2007 7:41 pm

there is a bit of price difference i can get 5w30 fully synth for 90p a liter so i really need to no if that would cause problems

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Post by Alpina Jim » Wed Apr 25, 2007 8:03 pm

Wow, that is a bit of a price difference. Is your oil a good brand and how will you get on with service history?

I have been considering doing my own servicing which i have done to all of my cars in the past but I am trying to keep a good history on my B10 even though I have no intention of parting with it. Crazy really that I am spending a lot of money for a stamp in the service book and would feel happier if I did it myself as I am not convinced anyone else spends the time and care on my car that I would myself.
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Post by Charles » Wed Apr 25, 2007 11:43 pm

blacky wrote:there is a bit of price difference i can get 5w30 fully synth for 90p a liter so i really need to no if that would cause problems
On the surface, this seems like a masive difference. However, if you look at the bigger picture then you might wonder whether it is worth it in the long run.

For example, my car takes 6.5 litres at a service and needs an extra litre at about 10k miles. Thus the oil price (@ £11.50 per litre) between services is under £90

The equivalent price using Blacky's oil would be under a tenner - saving me about £80.

This is equivalent to approximately a halfpenny a mile, or assuming you do 10,000 miles in a year then it works out at about £1 per week saving.

OK, some people might be more careful with their money than I might appear to be, but for peace of mind, I feel the £80 saving "because I can get this oil at this price" is actually a false economy.

Sorry to appear somewhat brusque Blacky, but on balance, I feel that this is a saving not worth making given the possible consequences of using a grade of oil that might damage your engine and cost you substantially more than the £80 saved between services....
Charles
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blacky
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Post by blacky » Thu Apr 26, 2007 12:42 am

that is why im asking i have no idea of the difrences between 0w30 & 5w30
the oil we have at work is shell & is used in Toyota & Lexus

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Post by nealpina » Thu Apr 26, 2007 1:25 am

blacky wrote:that is why im asking i have no idea of the difrences between 0w30 & 5w30
the oil we have at work is shell & is used in Toyota & Lexus
Blacky, I looked at Shell oil when I filled the car once. I could not find any that met with BMW specifications.

These two threads should be more helpful

http://thealpinaregister.com/forums/vie ... php?t=1367

http://www.fastsaloons.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=673

btw: Halfords do now stock BMW oil.
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Post by thomas v8 » Thu Apr 26, 2007 7:59 pm

just yesturdsay i had a oil service on my B10 v8 the oil they used for the oil change was 10w 60 tws catrol would this be the correct oil for my car .
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Post by B10BRW » Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:25 pm

thomas v8 wrote:just yesturdsay i had a oil service on my B10 v8 the oil they used for the oil change was 10w 60 tws catrol would this be the correct oil for my car .
The correct Oil for the B10 V8 is Castrol SLX 0w-30w, now replaced with Castrol Edge 0w-30w.

This is the Oil that Alpina use and recommend.

It is expensive, but it is worth it to protect the engine and have peace of mind.

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Post by ALPB1033 » Sun Sep 23, 2007 12:53 am

Recently I did an oil service and changed the oil to 10-60W instead of the usual 0-30W.
During the past 6k miles( that includes the summer tour and recent run to Frankfurt and Berlin) since the beginning of July 07, I found that the 10-60W oil is better than the 0-30W during the normal driving routine. However I was in the Nurburgring twice and the Gaydon track during the Bimmer fest, I found that 10-60W burned more quickly than the 0-30W. So far I had put 1.5l in each occasion(roughly about 3k) after I finished the track run.
So I conclude that if you don't take your car for the track day, use 10-60W and if you intend to use your car for the track day or any high speed run use the 0-30W instead.

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Post by olli » Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:27 pm

Have been looking at this, too.
On the German Alpina Forum, many people said the 10w-60 was burning way too fast.
Mine runs on a rather fresh load of Mobil 1 ESP 5w-30 (LL04 approved), but I still think it likes to drink a fair tipple, although too early to say, as I have only driven it about 500 miles, yet.
One recommendation was Motul 300V Power 5w-40, which is the one I am going to change to.
I know it does not have LL approval, but being a fully esther based oil, beats about each and every oil on the LL list. The only reason it's not on the list is that it doesn't fulfill the 15k intervals. But as I plan on (and usually do) half way oil changes, anyway, it doesn't bother me.
Have read many stories, where people swapping to this have gone from a good litre/1k miles consumption to no consumption at all.
Super fast flow for protection and extremely high sheer stability.
That'll do me.

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Post by Tinker » Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:45 am

The B8 doesn't use any oil in between services (but then I do a service every 10k kms)

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Post by Burt » Fri Feb 22, 2008 7:58 pm

I have always checked the oil on a bi weekly basis ( every 500 miles ) and it seems to be using in the region of 1 litre per 500 miles. I have spoken with Alpina and they reckon anything below 630 miles per litre may be a problem.

I know this is a long thread about oil consumption on Alpinas but anyone any experience with this engine?

The car runs like a dream with no lack of power or misfiring
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