BMW: What Red Line Products Do I Need? |
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BMW: What Red Line Products Do I Need?BMW enthusiasts have had an affinity for Red Line products from our earliest days. Given that Red Line's home turf is Northern California, one of the highest concentrations of BMW vehicles outside of Germany, the popularity makes sense.
BMW enthusiasts have had an affinity for Red Line products from our earliest days. Given that Red Line's home turf is Northern California, one of the highest concentrations of BMW vehicles outside of Germany, the popularity makes sense. What has kept this going for almost 30 years is the ability of Red Line products to help new and old BMWs perform at their highest potential.
Recent years have brought much controversy to the topic of BMWs and motor oil; given BMWs unprecedented drain intervals and Castrol relationship at the dealership level. We have much respect for BMW and many at Red Line are BMW enthusiasts, but photos like you see in this article back up the consumer's concern. To start, Red Line recommends our 10W40 Motor Oil for engines up to 1998 and our 5W30 Motor Oil for engine from 1999 and up. As for the M-cars, track day activity, and specialty applications, many select Red Line motor oils for their stability at temperature, so moving up an oil weight is likely to cause a loss in power and fuel economy.
Most E36 and E46 cars run fine on the recommended 5W30-even with all but the most dramatic aftermarket mods. The need for 10W60 motor oil in the M-cars is questionable to many (including Red Line, as we've seen customers run as light as 5W30 in E46 M3s without issue), but we now offer this product for sale in North America (we have sold this product in Asia for many years). Folks like Bavarian Autosport smartly recommend that that their Red Line customers use the lightest weight that's appropriate for seasonal conditions. We don't argue that.
These photos are of a typical M54 engine, standard in E46 and E39 non-M cars from 1999 through 2005. Clay has found that the shear stability and detergency of Red Line's motor oils help in keeping sludge issues like this under control. Bavarian's expert Gordon Arnold adds that this nasty sludge can cause piston ring land carbon, oil feed clogging, drain back issues, deterioration and clogging of crankcase ventilation hoses and oil separators, and even VANOS issues. TRANSMISSIONS
As with the motor oil, the extended drain intervals (or lack of a recommendation to drain) on BMW automatics is a major issue for many experts and technicians in the field. Many of our customers have found improved wear characteristics and performance by swapping out BMW's longlife fluids for Red Line D4 ATF. Red Line is known for producing products that pinpoint an application, but D4 ATF meets the needs of a variety of late-model BMW needs, including many automatic and manual transmission. Independent shops often stock this product in 5-gallon pails to dispense as an upgrade for their customers.
While respected BMW tech expert Mike Miller (and Bavarian, as well) confidently recommends MTL for every BMW manual gearbox without complaints, Red Line follows a baseline closer to the factory recommendations. The early gearboxes (through 1985) take our MTL, a 70W80 GL-4 fluid. DIFFERENTIALS
Where it is more difficult making motor oil and transmission recommendations, it is relatively easy to match up Red Line GL-5+ gear oils with a BMW diff, in that many run on our 75W90. OTHER FLUIDS
For many years, our SI-1 Complete Fuel System Cleaner has been a favorite of BMW dealership and independent technicians for ongoing upkeep of the fuel injectors, combustion chambers, and other related areas effected by carbon buildup. A full bottle every few months does the trick and also helps troubled cars get through stingy emissions tests, our customers report. SUMMARY We hope this simple clinic gets you more up to speed on what Red Line products are recommended for your own BMW. As a parting shot, we?ve included a list to make easier cross-references to what we have spoken about here. Also, be sure to visit www.bavarianautosport.com and www.bimmerworld.com for more detailed tech info. RED LINE BMW FLUID RECOMMENDATIONS
For more information please see our range of Synthetic Oil Products Engine Oils Alternatively please see our: For more information regarding the full range of Red Line Oil products then dont hesitate to get in touch today. Contact Us on or fill in our Contact Form. For contact information regarding our UK and European Dealers then please see our Dealers page. |
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