BMW Synthetic vs Others (longish)

["Scott Christensen" <scottc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Anyone know who makes BMW's new synthetic 5 /40 motor oil? I see that it
retails for $3.50 qt. this information was culled from the October Roundel.
I have been using Mobil 1 for years, and have seen 3 BMW's and 2 Audi's see
150K or better. Needless to say I have been pleased with the oil. The only
real problem I have is the viscosity's that are offered. IMHO, Ideally that
would be a 10/40.From what I have read, 20/50 and 15/50 may be overkill for
those of us not living in the sunbelt. (too much internal drag = lost H.P)
and I have been somewhat uncomfortable with a 10/30. (At least in the
summer months.) So, after talking with several of Mobil's technical people
in Fairfax VA.. I started using 50 parts of both 10/30 and 15/50. I know
that Redline makes a 10/40, but availabilty has been an issue here. Both
Mobil & Redline have shown that a 5/50 motor oil is compromised by the fact
that a wide range multigrade oil can only be formulated by using alot of
"polymeric thickeners". If this is the party line of two of the most
respected makers of synthetic oils, who is making BMW's 5/40 ?and is it
superior to, or at least as good as, what else is out there? I am sure BMW
spent alot of resources determining what oil would be best suited for their
engines. (Especially since the typical oil change interval is 15K miles!)
Some time ago I remember reading about digester's who were able to find
Mobil 1 in the $3.00 range, I have never been so lucky, even at the
retailers named,( Walmart, & Target I believe) it was still selling for
$3.99. Since BMW's synthetic is cheaper (and better prices can be obtained
from CCA friendly dealerships) I would be happy to switch brands if I knew
a little bit more about their product.

Scott Christensen
CCA #94407

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