Not sure what was up but they were able to process it over the phone just now.yes, purchased it for my m550i at 9.43am this morning, worked fine
For anyone wondering, it was £440 for a year of Comprehensive Warranty for my X3 M40i with £100 excess
BMW and M Power Owners
- Thread starter panthro
- Start date
For anyone wondering, it was £440 for a year of Comprehensive Warranty for my X3 M40i with £100 excess
Soldato
Nice.
Mine was £683 for a year of comp warranty with breakdown with £250 excess, which isn't terrible given the engine itself is quite complex! I still find it odd that BMW group purely on the car "level", ie all 3 series/x3 etc together. Your x3 m40i will have been ~300 cheaper than someone renewing on a 520i with far less complexity.
BMW don't actually produce oil, some oil brands don't make their own oil either, they've other compnies (which also sell oil under their own branding) to make it and package it for them. Same with car parts, car manufactures don't actually make their own replacement parts... Once again, its hard to keep track of what brands the car manufactures use, as it keeps changing...
I only use Opie Oils, been using them for years, ain't worth the risk for the sake of saving a few quid. Thanks
Only reason for using this Millers oil was my mate who has a mapped 335D, does his oil changes around 4-5k and said he never had any issues over the 20k he has done using this particular oil.
Last edited:
I spent hours looking at lab results comparing different oils on different engines, there's no golden recipie for all and even after all that reading I'm still confused. There's too much choice, I'm a simple man, I want 3 options: cheap, mid and expensive.
Soldato
Managed to get a 320d to test drive yesterday.
I'll start with the elephant in the room. The gearbox exhibits the same challenges I've experienced in every ZF gearbox (and torque converter) I've used/owned, namely:
That being said, I was surprised by:
As a car, it's really really nice. The 20d engine in the G20 is peak 4 cylinder diesel.
The challenge I have is that as good as the gearbox is, and as well calibrated as it has become, it still irritated me when caught out.
It is clearly the better overall option for most people but I'm still leaning towards a 330e (where I didn't experience the same issues).
I did really like the power delivery for day to day driving of the 20d though. It felt very similar to the 30e. Gutted that the 30d is so rare and well out of budget.
Lots of potential issues with the 30e and the hybrid system and not sure if it's worth the risk. Though I would run a BMW warranty on it - not sure to what extent it covers the battery and degradation.
I'll start with the elephant in the room. The gearbox exhibits the same challenges I've experienced in every ZF gearbox (and torque converter) I've used/owned, namely:
- Jerkiness at junctions/roundabouts when accelerating away while still moving (i.e. the car isn't stopped)
- Lifeless response when accelerating from a lower speed while the gearbox is still in 8th, requiring a further stab at the accelerator to get the car to change down a gear or two before moving off.
That being said, I was surprised by:
- How smooth the gearbox was when changing down gear, compared to how I remember it.
- How frequently it'll use neutral when coasting
- How much better calibrated it is to throttle input. In my 320d and S5, in normal/comfort, the throttle pedal was very soggy and almost made the driving mode unusable (for me)
As a car, it's really really nice. The 20d engine in the G20 is peak 4 cylinder diesel.
- The acoustic glass REALLY helps keep the diesel from being obtrusive.
- The lack of battery weight is VERY noticeable. Much more eager to go round a bend.
- I agree with Fox that the effortlessness of the diesel power delivery pairs really well with the ZF.
- The interior is such a huge step up from the F30.
- Adaptive dampers are shockingly (lol) good - car floats about on 19 inch wheels in a very uncanny way.
- So economical and it warmed up very quickly. Managed >60 when on cruise control
The challenge I have is that as good as the gearbox is, and as well calibrated as it has become, it still irritated me when caught out.
It is clearly the better overall option for most people but I'm still leaning towards a 330e (where I didn't experience the same issues).
I did really like the power delivery for day to day driving of the 20d though. It felt very similar to the 30e. Gutted that the 30d is so rare and well out of budget.
Lots of potential issues with the 30e and the hybrid system and not sure if it's worth the risk. Though I would run a BMW warranty on it - not sure to what extent it covers the battery and degradation.
Last edited:
This is a legitimate question. I've done the digging and found the original 800 page thread where a chemical engineer disected the data sheets of various oils and reached that conclusion based on his interpretation and recommendations. (It's not in English but I'm happy to share via pm for those looking for some google translate enabled lecturing)
I don't have the same background to explain it in detail but my best attempt aat an exec summary is that it was mainly based on analysis of data such flash point temperature, pour point temperature and percentage of mineral refined) oil contained (even the fully synthetic stuff has plenty, eg Castrol Edge Titanium has ≥25 - ≤50 % as per the table in Section 3 of their spec sheet . All said spec sheets are public and published by the oil manufacturers themselves.
For Castrol Edge (Castrol seems to have replaced Shell in 2024 as BMW supplier in Europe from what I've gathered) we have a flash point of 197 degrees, typical of an oil with a high mineral refined oil content, whilst the Fuchs has a flash point of 234 degrees as mentioned in section 9. Both 5w30 oils, which is what you should use for diesels of that vintage. Sadly the more recent spec sheets of Miller seem to be very lazy and just say >200 degrees.
Plenty lecturing available here for thouse who want some further lecturing where users compare lab analysis of their samples. (Opie also do a sampling kit for £30ish if I remember correctly for those curious, there's handy interpretation that you get sent back as well.
I am making an effort here but oh my you have a constructive discussion style.
A fair point, hence after I did my original digging I go with "Fuchs as great value for money". There's some fancy Mobil 1 stuff, the usual Redline from what I remember but Castrol (which is what BMW use nowadays) is generally... mediocre (IIRC there was some 0w40w Castrol that was decent).I spent hours looking at lab results comparing different oils on different engines, there's no golden recipie for all and even after all that reading I'm still confused. There's too much choice, I'm a simple man, I want 3 options: cheap, mid and expensive.
Last edited:
Associate
Hi,
I have just started looking at BMW SUV's as an alternative to an Audi SQ5 so wondered if any of the knowledgeable folks on this forum could please clear up a few points?
It looks like the SQ5 equivalent is probably one of the BMW X3 range, options seem to be the X3 M40d, X3 M40i and X3 M Competition?
From a quick read online I get the impression that the X3 M40 (d and i) are M badged but not quite M engined? They are above the standard X3 model but not "full on M" model, is this correct?
The X3 M Competition model costs quite a bit more and seems to be higher spec than the X3 M40 (d and i) but reportedly takes a bit more of a hit on depreciation.
Lastly, would anyone please be able to let me know of any significant face lift years where the model ranges where changed recently, in the past 4 years if any?
Thx
Bintos
I have just started looking at BMW SUV's as an alternative to an Audi SQ5 so wondered if any of the knowledgeable folks on this forum could please clear up a few points?
It looks like the SQ5 equivalent is probably one of the BMW X3 range, options seem to be the X3 M40d, X3 M40i and X3 M Competition?
From a quick read online I get the impression that the X3 M40 (d and i) are M badged but not quite M engined? They are above the standard X3 model but not "full on M" model, is this correct?
The X3 M Competition model costs quite a bit more and seems to be higher spec than the X3 M40 (d and i) but reportedly takes a bit more of a hit on depreciation.
Lastly, would anyone please be able to let me know of any significant face lift years where the model ranges where changed recently, in the past 4 years if any?
Thx
Bintos
Soldato
X3 M40x = X3 with nice engine and some driving enhancements (LSD I think on some cars)
This is the same as an Sx from Audi. It's a quicker normal car.
SQ5/S5 has a V6 turbo (or did before diesel), the proper RS5 has suspension upgrades, LSD and a twin turbo V6. Similar on paper, very different to drive.
For most people, X3 M40x is enough. It'll be rapid and fun without the associated costs of an S series engine.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
Even better, if you get a mild hybrid it shuts the engine off completely.
For me this was the biggest thing I liked about it. After having 5 Series since 2006 the current 3 Series was the first one I was finally happy with in terms of the interior. I really like it.
The BMW X3 M40d and M40i are the direct competitors to the Audi SQ5. The X3M Competition is a level above this to which there was no equivalent Audi. It is considerably more expensive to buy and run, but offers significantly greater performance. Personally, my view is that the X3 M40d or M40i offer more than enough performance and reasonable ownership costs. If you could benefit from the extra the X3M Competition offers then you'd probably already know and wouldn't be asking.
The SQ5 is a diesel so the X3 M40d is the obvious alternative.
The facelift for the X3 was 2021 which offered a redesigned interior to make the dashboard look a bit more like the 3 Series - previous versions had a slightly older design of dashboard. Another important (or not, depending on what matters to you) change was late 2019 when the X3 gained iDrive 7 with the much better fully digital dashboard.
The SQ5 is a diesel so the X3 M40d is the obvious alternative.
The facelift for the X3 was 2021 which offered a redesigned interior to make the dashboard look a bit more like the 3 Series - previous versions had a slightly older design of dashboard. Another important (or not, depending on what matters to you) change was late 2019 when the X3 gained iDrive 7 with the much better fully digital dashboard.
Not anymore, they now use Shell oil, but you're correct, the use to partner with Castrol.
+1 for that fuchs had used it for 8 odd years opio/pipercross - if you top it yourself you can monitor exactly how much it has used
last change did valvoline maxlife 10-40 m52 which, seems to have remediated some drops escaping.
.. big wheels/small-profile still more suspectible to pot-hole damage
I know it used to be Castrol back in the day (as written on my E46 cap) and then switched to Shell for a good few years but the brief googling I've done said that at least for Europe it's recently back to Castrol as of 2024?
Soldato
I don't think they'll be in budget for the spec I want unfortunately, as I've also heard they significantly improve the gearbox feel as well, much like the 330e.
The range on these is pretty poor too IIRC, and the boot space really compromised. It is like the worst of all worlds - "bad" EV, "bad" petrol car.
Soldato
Yeah that's what a lot of people said, but it drives really really nicely.
Averaged 77 mpg on the test drive too.
My local journeys are no more than 10 miles each way, and with a 37 mile quoted range, from memory, it should be enough to cover them.
But as mentioned, range reduction is more of an issue on hybrids, and definitely more risk of things going wrong.
Yeah a colleague had one and I remember it being a nice place to be. There should be a bunch on the market given they were all sold as BIK fiddles. Iirc it is just a 320 with electric so don't let the '30' charm you.
Soldato
Because they were BIK cars, they’re often rubbish spec
Ah yeah I forgot that angle when I posted
