Hey guys, I want to change all of the fluids in my car instead of sending it to BMW so I'm looking for some recommendations on which fluids to use.
My 2015 M3 has about 45k miles on it and had the 40k mile service completed in July of this year. Plugs, filters and engine oil change. On Thanksgiving, I was driving and my engine oil level warning light came on saying I needed to add a quart of oil. I stopped and added some 0-30W. The warning didn't go away and told me to add another quart, so I did. Now the level is reading normal.
That has me feeling a little weird so I want to drain all of the oil out and do a fresh change. I'm also going to send some oil to Blackstone to have it analyzed to get a better idea of what the engine is doing.
1. Engine Oil
I know this has been covered a lot and I've read through most of the threads I can find about it. It seems that I'll just use the OEM BMW oil which is the 0-W30.
ECS shows two types of oil kits... Pre-09/14 and post 09/14 build dates. Does anyone know why these are different?
Is the BMW Twin Power Turbo oil the best to use? Is it worth spending the extra $ on a "better" oil?
Typically, in my other cars I would run Motul or Amsoil... but I know the S55 and BMW are very particular about what type to use.
2. DCT Fluid
I'm aware that BMW calls it "lifetime" fluid, but my car has about 45k miles on it and the trans does some weird stuff when it's cold. It has developed a sort of slip, almost like a traditional torque converter AT trans where it will shift into 2nd and then doesn't really want to go anywhere.
If I let the car sit and warm up for 10 mins, it shifts fine.
I'm thinking of having the fluid changed, or, at least attempting to change it myself. I know there are special tools required and that unless BMW does it, you can't get some of the old fluid out.
Has anyone changed their own DCT fluid? Any suggestions? Would you suggest this be a dealer only type of service?
3. Rear Differential Fluid
It seems that the rear diff fluid for the MT trans is different than for the car equipped with a DCT. Is that true?
ECS has a "differential service kit"
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-assemble...kit/f8xdiffkt/
It says: "2 Bottles of Genuine BMW Motorsport Rear Differential Fluid (SAF-XJ+FM)"
I'm assuming this is the best fluid to use in the rear diff, but I also see Reline and Castrol.
Sorry for the long-winded post but I'd really like to get my car serviced up with the best and, most importantly, correct type of fluids.
Thanks for reading.
