limepanda

It's worth pointing out that in later revisions BMW increased rod bearing clearances and retroactively approved lower weight oils like 0w40 and 5w30, so they know there was an issue there. As long as an engine can maintain adequate oil pressure (and flow) there is no real downside to running a lower viscosity oil (to a point). I would highly recommend against a 25 cold weight oil, most wear happens at startup and the quicker you can lubricate things the less damage will be done. Regardless of climate and ambient temp you should be aiming for the thinnest cold weight oil possible, because it will always be thicker when cold than when it's at operating temp (this also means less oil pressure variance). Every oil thins out as it heats up and thickens as it cools down, no matter if it is a straight weight or a multi-viscosity. For example: 0w30 is 5.6 times thicker when cold, 5w30 is 5.8 times thicker when cold, 10w30 is 6.2 times thicker when cold. Thinner oil flows more freely through all the restrictions inside an engine, oil flow is lubrication and more lubrication equals better wear protection. There is no reason to give that up, as long as you have enough oil pressure to maintain flow (65psi in this case). Oil flow and protection by a good quality engine oil are much more important than “steady oil pressure” at the highest possible numbers. Oil viscosity doesn't play a role in an oil’s wear protection capability, it's determined by its base oil and its additive package “as a whole”, with the primary emphasis on the additive package which contains the extreme pressure anti-wear components.

Figure I'll add my 2c, probably not a popular opinion around here but whatever. 10w60 is just too thick to flow properly and is likely why so many of these engines have rod bearing failures, the rod bearing and rod side clearances are tiny and not at all suited to a 60 weight, they're barely big enough for a 30 weight. 10w60 simply isn't needed, and most people will have better results with a 5w30. Benefits include more flow, less bearing issues, lower oil temps, faster air bubble release, quicker draining into the sump so less risk the pickup will suck air, HP increase due to less viscous drag and less pumping loss, among other benefits.

I know its been a while but I've started buying a ton of parts from RockAuto and actually found out that they have a lot of fluid options at good prices, and they will ship it! https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/bmw,2008,335i,3.0l+l6+turbocharged,1441663,transmission-automatic,transmission+fluid,11387 Don't forget you can always find a 5% off code somewhere.

Throttle felt too touchy, I think it's smoother without it. In saying that I just slid it all the way to minimum lag 🤷🏼‍♂️

I tried it last week, didn't like it and reverted back to having it off. Maybe need to play around with values more...

How did you get on?

Yeah that's the issue I had with most places overseas (and actually some locally as well), very expensive shipping which isn't that surprising given the size and weight. partscontainer (NewParts) on Ebay for the rotors. Rock Auto for pads + sensors.

Thought I'd pop back in to say the ATE rotors are great, and the price from the states just can't be beat by anything local. Cheap as chips. Zimmerman are available too, along with a few other brands. The Bosch pads are 100% ok to use with the rotors, and they are excellent for the price. Slightly less initial bite than what I was running previously, but 1/3rd the price. Total cost $380 for quality rotors, pads, wear sensor, and shipping from the states. Awesome. Most places locally (and I got in touch with quite a few) wanted close to that per side for just the rotor lol.

They have a much wider variety of temps for sure, but NZ's climate is somewhere in the middle of the US's range. If something is good for the US I don't see why it wouldn't be good here unless it's specialist cold weather equipment. But I take your point.

I'm not questioning your credentials, I'm asking what you're basing that statement on. Well it's not widely available here so it doesn't surprise me that you haven't heard of it. The rotors are ATE and ECE R90 so they should be very close to OE, the pads from what I understand use an OE supplier compound, and Bosch is very strict about supplier arrangements. Putting those together should be pretty darn safe, in fact it might even be identical to genuine parts at 1/4 the price. A few of the well regarded e90 techs in the states like these pads and use them with all OEM rotors. Again I ask why you believe NZ road conditions are so vastly different to the US that parts will not be suitable for both countries?

Do you have any evidence whatsoever to back that up? If not what are you basing that statement on? It's a very well selling highly rated pad that has been well reviewed. Much safer bet than most brands in NZ imo.

I imagine that's pretty rare? I have never heard of this happening, and 90% of people just buy the cheapest crap they can get from SCA or Repco and mix and match which you'd think would lead to this occurring fairly often. Bosch Quietcast, they seem to tick all the boxes for performance, feel, and price and it looks like lots of people use them with OEM style rotors with zero issues. I agree lol. Everyone I know mixes and matches pads/rotors with no regard for compatibility and I've never heard of it going wrong. Maybe I'm wrong though.

Could you elaborate on this? Is there a difference between pads from the states and the rest of the world?

Thanks for the thoughts and the offer but I've got it more than covered.

They sound like a good option then. Got them priced from BM Workshop for $250 per side before shipping! They are $295 per pair from overseas with a good chunk of that being shipping. Thanks for the help. Quality control and spec are the concerns I have regarding manufacturing. I've done a fair bit of business in China and I know that unless you're breathing down their neck there will be deviations and corners cut so it's important to get a trusted brand that has good processes in place. That's a hard thing to quantify with unknown or local brands and products. I think for now I'm going to get a set of ATE's from overseas, seems to be much cheaper than locally. Yeah they're tempting, but the ATE's are essentially the same price so I think I'll go with them. It looks like Zimmermann can be had for about $330, but it sounds like the ATE's are just as good so might as well save the money.