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I don't know, all the new BMW cars are running synthetics with a 12,000 mile change interval. It must be OK at least on a brand new engine with minimal blow by. Having said that I still feel more comfortable changing my dinosaur oil every 5000 miles

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BMW's SIA system ran off of driving habits, engine rpm, temperature, and fuel consumption to calculate its oil change intervals. The clock starts at 15,525 (off the top of my head i think thats what it is). From there depending on the items above it calculates the oils remaning life in it. In a perfect world you would get 15k out of your Mobil1. However also consider those engines run atleast 7 quarts of oil and do run very efficiently. So at 5,000 you're safe, but just for most that say 'German cars do it with that oil, my car can'...it depends on the cars driving conditions, varies car to car.

I run Mobil1 15w-50 in my Barracuda and Mobil1 5w-20 in my Ranger. Can be had for 'cheap' at wal-mart in 5qt jugs for ~$22. Figure I run 8,000 miles intervals with it in my truck (Cuda varies), it's more cost effective than regular engine oils.