Recommended oil brand and weight

[mac-z4]

Finally decided to change oil myself. What is recommended oil brand and weight for the N52 engine 3.0i? Typically drive 3,000 - 4,000 miles annually. Is fully synthetic recommended?

[bigendbob]

I have used Mobil 1 for last 60k miles no problems. Car now on 90k miles.
What's more important is regular oil changes, i just change every 5-6k.

[KennyP]

i have used Castrol exclusively in n54 (on previous cars aswell except 1 where i experimented with Liqui Moly). N54 OEM oil cap even has Castrol logo on it and i think Castrol has BMW recommendations aswell... i have used both Edge 0W40 and Edge 5W30 in my car. No noticeable difference. Some say 0w40 oil gets burned off more easily... not sure of it but at the moment my car has 5W30 in it...

I drive 4000 miles or so in a year so i just do an oil change once a year. In 2020 i actually changed oil after only 1800miles because 1 year had passed from the previous oil change.

[Sports_Sport]

Oil is not important until you have an oil related failure. BMW's REQUIRE Synthetic Oil and BMW has been doing business with Castrol for over 14 years.
Castrol is fine, but, I have used Mobil1 but recently switched to the Amsoil European Formula with an LL-01 standard that meets the BMW Formulation Standard. 5W30 oil change kit LL-01 approved engine oil.
I personally use Signature Series 5W-30 Synthetic Motor Oil that meets the LL01 standard and enjoy a Dealer Discount.
I can offer anyone interested a discounted price if you sign up to be a preferred member. Membership renews every year.
I use AMSOIL in all my newer vehicles. My old Motorcycles cannot use synthetic oil with modifiers, so I use Castrol 10W-40 or 20w-50 Non Synthetic Oils.

A New Level of Motor Oil Technology

• 75% more engine protection against horsepower loss and wear.1
• 50% more cleaning power vs. AMSOIL OE Motor Oil
• Protects turbochargers 72% better than required by the GM dexos1 Gen 2 specification.
• Trusted by professional engine builders
• Guaranteed protection for up to 25,000 miles or 1 year

The Oil does not lose protection due to age (oxidation) like "other" oils. I use 15,000 mile change interval with a oil filter change every 7500 miles.