Alpina Oil usage
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2016 7:01 pm
+1Number5 wrote:Interesting read, thanks Ewazix
+1Number5 wrote:Interesting read, thanks Ewazix
I'm resurrecting this thread because I'm about to have an Oil Service done on the Alpina and that bulletin has got me confused as to which oil to buy.markeg wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2016 11:59 am Mine switched to 10w60 when it reached 80k miles - the Alpina bulletin basically recommends the standard 00w30 or 10w60, but I was informed that 10w60 is better at the higher mileage.
The downside is that you lose some power due to the thicker oil (again, its not something I've noticed as I don't "rag" #108), but the upside is my oil consumption is very low - I've done around 5000 miles since the last service and only topped up with around 0.5 ltr.
Oh, and the Alpina bulletin:
PerryGunn wrote: ↑Mon Dec 07, 2015 8:09 amWell I found time to send Axel an email before I went on holiday and got home to find that I'd received the reply quoted below - in short it looks like ALPINA are happy for either grade of oil to be used and leave the customer to decide which is the most appropriate for their engine.PerryGunn wrote:Annoying when two people ask the same question and get different answers although it's possible that the person I spoke to was quoting the old line on oil. I think it's the 'We recommend also...' line that causes the confusion as it implies that 10w60 is an alternative oil for the cars in the list, if it read 'For the following cars we recommend...' then there'd be no confusion - I know you speak German so is it less ambiguous in the German text?markeg wrote:Hmm. Appears they've changed their tune - when I asked, I was told that whilst it had always been Sytner's policy to recommend 10w60 for high mileage roadsters, when the document came out they said that they were now recommending it for all roadster engines in line with Alpina's recommendations and not just high mileage/excessive consumption ones. I had questioned which oil was best after a discussion with Ade, then with the Sytner's service lead, after I had already switched to 10w60 on their recommendation.
Having said that, I don't think I would switch back. I've had no issues with excessive consumption, engine performs as well as it always has, and have not seen any difference in mpg.
I had a similar discussion with Ade and his opinion was that 10w60 was a bit thick for the oil pathways in the B3s engine hence why, because of his high oil consumption issues, he had discussions with people who really 'know their oil' and settled on something around 5w40 (IIRC it was a mix of a couple of grades) as a good compromise.
#320's tucked away for the winter now but once I'm back from holiday I think I'll send an email to Axel Rimpler to see if he can clarify Alpina's recommendation.
So, to me at least, it looks like Sytner were pretty accurate when they saidIn a reply to my email Axel Rimpler wrote: Dear Mr. Gunn,
thank you very much for your e-mail.
We recommend Longlife 04 specification for the BMW ALPINA B3 S and BMW ALPINA Roadster S or the special 10W-60 oil:
Castrol Edge Professional1) SAE 10W-60 Castrol Limited
Castrol EDGE SAE 10W-60 Castrol Limited
For the longlife 04, we recommend:
Castrol Edge Professional LL04 SAE 0W-30 Castrol Limited
Best regards
Axel Rimpler
Leiter Produktion / Head of Production
Leiter Kundendienst / Head of Customer Service
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG
Alpenstraße 35-37
D - 86807 BuchloeIn an earlier post I wrote: that Alpina support the use of either grade of oil with the thicker oil being particularly suitable for higher-mileage engines or engines that exhibit excessive oil consumption. They added that if the owner didn't express a preference they would now use 10w60 at a service as the majority of B3S engines consume more oil as they get older/higher mileage
When manufactured, Alpina recommended LL04 Castrol 0w30 for the 3.4S engine. As the engines have got older and started to burn a bit more oil, they've said that 10w60 is also a supported grade - in practice this means that anything between 0w30 and 10w60 will be fine as long as it meets the BMW LL04 spec.MefiEcosse wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:16 pm Does this sound right then guys? this is what local Indy have sent me.
Oil wise I would run this on the Castrol FST 10w60 same as we use in the E46 M3 S54 engines. The capacity is 6.5 litres. Gearbox and differential oil 3l Castrol Syntrax.
I haven't done enough miles yet to notice oil consumption but I'll have a chat with him before it goes in end of next month. It was allegedly serviced by dealer I bought it from last year with 0w30 but I'm booked in for inspection 2.PerryGunn wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:30 pmWhen manufactured, Alpina recommended LL04 Castrol 0w30 for the 3.4S engine. As the engines have got older and started to burn a bit more oil, they've said that 10w60 is also a supported grade - in practice this means that anything between 0w30 and 10w60 will be fine as long as it meets the BMW LL04 spec.MefiEcosse wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:16 pm Does this sound right then guys? this is what local Indy have sent me.
Oil wise I would run this on the Castrol FST 10w60 same as we use in the E46 M3 S54 engines. The capacity is 6.5 litres. Gearbox and differential oil 3l Castrol Syntrax.
I still use 0w30 but if you're concerned about high oil consumption then you could go with the 10w60 but I'd probably try an intermediate grade LL04 oil first, e.g. Castrol Edge 5w40, to see if that lowers oil consumption to an acceptable level.
When I bought #320, Sytner had used 10w60 at the last oil service - they said that they now use this unless the customer expresses a preference. I'd chatted with Ade Flint about oil grades and, following his advice, swapped it out for 0w30 and the difference was noticeableMefiEcosse wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:43 pmI haven't done enough miles yet to notice oil consumption but I'll have a chat with him before it goes in end of next month. It was allegedly serviced by dealer I bought it from last year with 0w30 but I'm booked in for inspection 2.PerryGunn wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:30 pmWhen manufactured, Alpina recommended LL04 Castrol 0w30 for the 3.4S engine. As the engines have got older and started to burn a bit more oil, they've said that 10w60 is also a supported grade - in practice this means that anything between 0w30 and 10w60 will be fine as long as it meets the BMW LL04 spec.MefiEcosse wrote: ↑Tue Mar 26, 2019 5:16 pm Does this sound right then guys? this is what local Indy have sent me.
Oil wise I would run this on the Castrol FST 10w60 same as we use in the E46 M3 S54 engines. The capacity is 6.5 litres. Gearbox and differential oil 3l Castrol Syntrax.
I still use 0w30 but if you're concerned about high oil consumption then you could go with the 10w60 but I'd probably try an intermediate grade LL04 oil first, e.g. Castrol Edge 5w40, to see if that lowers oil consumption to an acceptable level.
Many thanks for that!MefiEcosse wrote: ↑Wed Jul 13, 2022 3:43 pm Old thread but if you want 10-60 it's a great price at Amazon today.
MefiEcosse wrote: ↑Wed Jul 13, 2022 3:43 pm Old thread but if you want 10-60 it's a great price at Amazon today.