Oil filter brands E30 325i 87 ? thoughts ?

[bradi65 4]

I've just brought a 1987 E30 325i picked it up for $2000,

Has had the top re-built just replaced clutch slave cylinder and figured i might as well do a oil change,

I want to look after this car and was wondering peoples thoughts on oil filters,

Usually i just go Repco or SCA and get a standard RYCO filter,

What your thoughts on these vs a K&N oil filter or other performance brands,

I don't drive like a hooligan on police 10/7 or thrash it around the corners, just cruising to work and home each day.

Also what other thing would people suggest replacing after buying a new car, I've got spark plugs and a fuel filter to install at some stage

Thoughts??

[E30 325i Rag-Top 2959]

Putting a good oil in it and changing it regularly is probably more important than the brand of filter you are using. If you are changing the oil regularly then the RYCO filter will be fine.

I would suggest you check when the timing belt and tensioner were last changed, you say the top was rebuilt, check these were replaced at the same time.

Personally I would also pull all the brakes apart and check the condition of the pads, rotors, hoses and fluid.

[bradi65 4]

Putting a good oil in it and changing it regularly is probably more important than the brand of filter you are using. If you are changing the oil regularly then the RYCO filter will be fine.

I would suggest you check when the timing belt and tensioner were last changed, you say the top was rebuilt, check these were replaced at the same time.

Personally I would also pull all the brakes apart and check the condition of the pads, rotors, hoses and fluid.

Great advice ! I plan to change it every 3 months.There is a sticker stating timing belt was done at 200xxx km and has currently done 220xxx as for the tensioner im not too sure if it was done at the same time or not.

Good idea abut the breaks i might do this when i have a spear weekend (there like gold when you have a misses and kid hope she doesn't see this)

I know i need to bleed the breaks they are working okay currently but when i did the clutch slave before i started the fulid was lower than low and think it got a bit of air in the system so thats on the list, i might do it all at the same time.

Thank you very much for the advice !

[Auzeras 28]

Would agree on frequent oil changes. Some people swear by additives from different brands but for me any oil that meets the API standards will work fine and provide good lubrication. That is of course unless your engine is particularly fussy or has a requirement due to aftermarket parts/design or use eg, racing. That being said, if any of those extra requirements apply you'll probably know.

Oil is of great debate, you'll rarely hear a definitive answer.

Filters on the other hand are pretty testable so a lot of people will definitely vouch for certain brands and discuss pros/cons. I tend to stick OEM if I am unsure but if I hear of benefits of going after-market I'll swap over pretty fast. OEM will always work as expected, After-market ones are fine, as long as they don't fall apart (some people reckon the Ryco ones do that) or have any other defects. The good thing with the oil filter on the E30 is you can actually visually inspect it if you want, whereas the "can" style ones you can't.

Change the oil & filter regularly I would expect no problems. Especially with the daily cruiser. The K&N ones are good but they are designed to benefit in performance, I doubt you'll really see much of a benefit over a OEM/Ryco filter on the daily driver.

[2052NV 43]

Put a genuine oil filter in there so cheap!! The oil filter for my 205 GTI genuine is $11 and my E30 one was like $17