First Oil Change -- Looking ahead to winter temps

[95RogueM3]

I purchased my '08 E90 M3 in July and am in need of my first oil change. I plan to drive the car year round to continue enjoying it, though worry that 10w60 is just too thick for morning cold starts where the overnight temps may dip into the 20s (or perhaps a touch lower). Whatever oil I use this month for the oil change will carry me through March and as such I am concerned about going with 10w60 (short commute) and the accelerated wear to the rod bearings.

Is it a common occurrence to run 0w40 in the Winter months and switch back to 10w60 for Summer months? Some people say consumption goes up with 0w40, others than it actually goes down when switching..would love to hear if others took this same route that I am debating....or if sticking to 10w60 is more common and the difference between the 0 weight and 10 weight is marginal.

[dparm]

There is more to cold start protection than the first number in an oil's viscosity rating. Take a look at the MRV, CCS, and viscosity index values.

Per my post in the other thread, there are literally thousands of M3s (and M5s/M6s) used year round with 10w60 that are still running just fine. Just keep engine load low until the oil temps have stabilized.

[Leonardo629]

Here's a good UOA to show that 0W40 does help your bearings during cold start, winter or not. But like dparm said, there are many S65/S85 still running 10W60 and they are running fine. I just like to present the facts and let people decide themselves.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showpos...&postcount=520

[Killerfish2012]

Do not run 10W60 in the winter. The minimum for winter compliance is 5W, with 0W being ideal. W stands for Winter. It's not just cold starts that are a big problem (as you will have metal on metal grinding audible during cold starts), drivability is next to impossible. The engine wouldn't even hold revs below 30F, and that was with 10W50! Can't imagine anything thicker. The vast majority of M3's are NOT driven year round, so ignore advice on 10W60 based on this.