Issues with my Alpina

Nictrix · Post by **Nictrix** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 1:11 pm

How can they recommend 2 completely different grades of oil?
Surely every grade inbetween those two would be suitable also?

mr wilks · Post by **mr wilks** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 1:20 pm

Nictrix wrote:How can they recommend 2 completely different grades of oil?
Surely every grade inbetween those two would be suitable also?

Sounds like they fitted a Transit engine in those Alpinas

you can stick any old oil in those as well

markeg · Post by **markeg** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:54 pm

yeah, sounds a bit gravelly on start up as well

PerryGunn · Post by **PerryGunn** » Fri Nov 20, 2015 2:59 pm

Be fair though, nothing's as fast as a Transit with a copy of The Sun on top of the dash and a proper WVM at the wheel...

PerryGunn · Post by **PerryGunn** » Mon Dec 07, 2015 8:09 am

PerryGunn wrote:
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.
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?

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.

Well 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.

In 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 Buchloe

So, to me at least, it looks like Sytner were pretty accurate when they said

In 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

Number5 · Post by **Number5** » Wed May 18, 2016 8:06 pm

PerryGunn wrote: #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.

Did you ever pursue this Perry ? If so what is the latest ?

Mine's going in to Forza for a Compression Test and valve check next week as it's on 83K. The money's there in the budget and I just want peace of mind that all is how it should be.

PerryGunn · Post by **PerryGunn** » Wed May 18, 2016 8:07 pm

Number5 wrote:
PerryGunn wrote: #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.
Did you ever pursue this Perry ? If so what is the latest ?

Mine's going in to Forza for a Compression Test and valve check next week as it's on 83K. The money's there in the budget and I just want peace of mind that all is how it should be.

Yes, see the post above for Axel Rimpler's reply

Number5 · Post by **Number5** » Wed May 18, 2016 8:18 pm

PerryGunn wrote: Yes, see the post above for Axel Rimpler's reply

Ah thanks - sorry - I missed that bit by moving off on the For Sale advert link for SamUk's Alpina

Rich-hill · Post by **Rich-hill** » Thu May 19, 2016 9:31 pm

Just purchased my Alpina and require a top up.

My last invoice says 10w60 was used, so will top up with this.

Could someone explain the differences between the 2, and why they would make a difference to the engine, as well as consumption?

PerryGunn · Post by **PerryGunn** » Thu May 19, 2016 9:53 pm

Rich-hill wrote:Just purchased my Alpina and require a top up.

My last invoice says 10w60 was used, so will top up with this.

Could someone explain the differences between the 2, and why they would make a difference to the engine, as well as consumption?

In a nutshell
- 10w60 is a higher viscosity ('thicker') oil than 0w30
- With 'thinner' oils more finds its way around piston rings/seals and gets burned away in the combustion chamber
- Higher viscosity means slower oil circulation, higher oil pressure, less heat transfer and, if the oil passages are thin, worse lubrication

This doesn't mean that a lower viscosity oil is better. It just means that you should stay within the range specified by the manufacturer and never use a thicker oil than recommended

markeg · Post by **markeg** » Thu May 19, 2016 10:11 pm

Just to add, I use 10W60, but have added Slick50 to the mix. I am currently on 107k mileage, and have no issues with compression, or excessive oil consumption.

What mileage is your Alpina on, Rich?

Rich-hill · Post by **Rich-hill** » Fri May 20, 2016 8:04 am

markeg wrote:Just to add, I use 10W60, but have added Slick50 to the mix. I am currently on 107k mileage, and have no issues with compression, or excessive oil consumption.

What mileage is your Alpina on, Rich?

I am just below 69,000

Number5 · Post by **Number5** » Fri May 20, 2016 8:20 am

Rich-hill wrote:Just purchased my Alpina and.......

Do share then Rich, or have I missed your Alpina Intro ?
Which car did you buy after and where are the pics ?

z4pilot · Post by **z4pilot** » Fri May 20, 2016 9:33 am

markeg wrote:Just to add, I use 10W60, but have added Slick50 to the mix. I am currently on 107k mileage, and have no issues with compression, or excessive oil consumption.

What mileage is your Alpina on, Rich?

Wow Slick 50 - not heard about that for ages! Thought it had been discredited as snake oil?

PerryGunn · Post by **PerryGunn** » Fri May 20, 2016 9:37 am

z4pilot wrote:
markeg wrote:Just to add, I use 10W60, but have added Slick50 to the mix. I am currently on 107k mileage, and have no issues with compression, or excessive oil consumption.

What mileage is your Alpina on, Rich?
Wow Slick 50 - not heard about that for ages! Thought it had been discredited as snake oil?

yep, as have all the other PTFE-based additives - see here for a summary

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com