1968 bmw 1600 stock original engine,,,, recommended oil

[Hano]

     i am wondering proper oil weight for stock original 1968 BMW 1600 engine??? and while were at it any recommendations for best oil to use??? the car lives in a tropical climate.... thanks to faq crew!!!!

[Conserv]

Didn’t like the answers you received in January? 😯😋

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[visionaut]

BMW recommended Castrol GTX 20W50 for all 02s… (Now called Castrol GTX Classic). The key oil characteristics are the high ZDDP content (zinc anti-wear additive) and the 50 weight…

 

 

 

['76mintgrün'02]

That thread only had fourteen replies.  The one before that had twenty seven.

 

 

"fool us twice"

 

Tom

[jimk]

1 hour ago, visionaut said:

BMW recommended Castrol GTX 20W50 for all 02s… (Now called Castrol GTX Classic).

A European thing.  I pat you on the back and you do the same.  Mfrs can't do that in the U.S. unless they give it to you free, it's the law (free enterprise, ya know).

Govm'nt sued BMW in recent years over that sort of thing in a Mini manual.

[Mike Self]

20W-50 unless you're gonna drive in temps below about 15 degrees F.  I used conventional oil for many years, but switched to synthetic when I rebuilt my '73's engine at 204k.  Switched to synthetic (20W-50) and upped my change period from 4 to 8 k miles.  No problems since; after 74k miles, uses very little oil between changes (a pint or so). 

 

I did notice, however that oil pressure is a little lower with the synthetic--nowhere near "that's way too low" low, just lower.  And that was with a new oil pump installed at rebuild.

 

mike

[jp5Touring]

I just tried Liqui Moly Classic 20w50 and I'm very happy with it. These old ears thinks its quieter than before.

In past I used Valvoline 20w50 with zero issues.  

All other cars/truck I have used Castrol for decades with good luck.

[02Les]

2 hours ago, jimk said:

A European thing.  I pat you on the back and you do the same.  Mfrs can't do that in the U.S. unless they give it to you free, it's the law (free enterprise, ya know).

Govm'nt sued BMW in recent years over that sort of thing in a Mini manual.

My ex employer (Davy International - later part of Siemens) would go to an oil supplier to get their recomendations for our Rolling Mill and Process Line equipment, and that would go into our Operating Manual. It was not necessarily a 'scratch mine & I'll scratch yours' thing; to be honest, like BMW, we designed, engineered and manufactured our stuff BUT sold it to someone else to run, therefore our Buyers had the 'long run-time' experience, not us (although we did get feedback by hook or by crook!!!).

 

So, any road up, I have always used Castrol in my 40 yrs of Touring ownership (plus others) for no good reason other than I have had no known problem using it.

Edited July 7 by 02Les

[jimk]

1 hour ago, 02Les said:

My ex employer (Davy International - later part of Siemens) would go to an oil supplier to get their recomendations for our Rolling Mill and Process Line equipment, and that would go into our Operating Manual. It was not necessarily a 'scratch mine & I'll scratch yours' thing; to be honest, like BMW, we designed, engineered and manufactured our stuff BUT sold it to someone else to run, therefore our Buyers had the 'long run-time' experience, not us (although we did get feedback by hook or by crook!!!).

 

So, any road up, I have always used Castrol in my 40 yrs of Touring ownership (plus others) for no good reason other than I have had no known problem using it.

Les, that's the commercial products world for products that are owned and operated by professionals.  In the automotive world, owners are not professionals operating very expensive equipment, it's a different world.

I worked in the commercial world of electric power plant engineering design and construction so I am familiar with the recommended lubricants list.  But any lubricant company that chose to produce a lubricant meeting the specification could be used without jeopardizing the equipment warranty.

In the US one can buy a new car and have it serviced/repaired elsewhere so long as those products meet the car mfrs specifications (irregardles of brand) and not be denied warranty coverage (The Magnusson-Moss act of 1975)

[gracer]

•  I have used Amsoil 10W-40 in my BMWS since 1975.  I have never had a lubrication issue.
• G

[02Les]

5 hours ago, jimk said:

Les, that's the commercial products world for products that are owned and operated by professionals.  In the automotive world, owners are not professionals operating very expensive equipment, it's a different world.

I worked in the commercial world of electric power plant engineering design and construction so I am familiar with the recommended lubricants list.  But any lubricant company that chose to produce a lubricant meeting the specification could be used without jeopardizing the equipment warranty.

In the US one can buy a new car and have it serviced/repaired elsewhere so long as those products meet the car mfrs specifications (irregardles of brand) and not be denied warranty coverage (The Magnusson-Moss act of 1975)

Agreed.