Thread: Oil for 328d
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      10-19-2013, 10:14 AM   #3
m6pwr
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Drives: '14 335i M sport
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Location: San Diego, CA

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First off, you do not need to do a "break-in" oil change at 1500 mi and, in my opinion, you should definitely not drain the factory fill so soon. Modern machining and mfring methods long ago relegated the need to do a 1500 mi drain of the factory fill to the dustbin of lube mythology - - along with the the need to do 3000 mi oil changes.

The factory fill on your 328d is most likely an oil made by the German lube mfr FUCHS. They do many of the special factory fill oils for German car mfrs, particularly the diesels, and in fact are known in Europe as "FUCHS, the factory fill specialist". The factory fill on the BMW 335d is a FUCHS oil so I'm guessing that the same holds true for your 328d. FUCHS is one of the oldest and most innovative lube mfrs in the world. They did most of the original research and development on synthetic oils back in the 1930's. Here is what a very experienced lubricants engineer (particularly with diesel oils) has written on the subject of factory fills:

"Many modern engines have unique lubricants as their Factory fill and in some cases a special specification lubricant many be needed. This is for specific “bedding in” reasons and often depends on the engine’s design and certainly on its “wear face” metallurgy! People that chose to ignore the Manufacturer’s advice concerning the first oil change period and the lubricant to be used then are IMO quite foolhardy – especially if they intend to keep their vehicle for many years."

So your factory fill may be liquid gold. Don't dump it.

I believe the service fill oil spec'd by BMW for their diesels is Castrol SLX Professional OE 5w30. I believe the BMW spec LL03 applies to diesels - - not sure. The LL04 spec is for low sulfur and ash oils good for euro BMW's. Your dealer should know what brand oil BMW requires for the 328d, and if they don't have it in stock they should be able to get in a matter of days. What's their problem? Hopefully when it comes time to do the 10k oil service, their techs will know how much oil to put in the car!
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'14 328d, '13 M3 ZCP, '12 535i, '11 335d, '09 Z4 DINAN Stage II, '05 330i ZHP, '05 M3 ZCP, '02 M3, '91 328i, '90 535i, '88 528e, '88 M5, '87 M6, '95 Z3, 95 M3, '93 M5, '87 325e, '89 535i, '86 635i, '73 Bavaria.

Last edited by m6pwr; 10-19-2013 at 10:40 AM..
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