First Engine Oil Change

Right before I bought the car, the previous owner did an oil change.  This was at 57,800 miles.  Now I am a little over 60,000 miles.  But, it's been 12 months.  I like to change engine oil every 5,000 or 12 months, whatever comes first.  Mostly because I think the filter needs a change at least every 12 months, even with low miles on the oil.

Anyway, the previous owner was an Amsoil fanatic.  Amsoil may be (is, probably) a great oil, but I have always hated it.  I have never used it, so I am 100.00% biased and my hate is baseless.  Amsoil people tend to be self righteous.  And Amsoil is not easy to get, it always seems like it is sold via pyramid scheme of some kind.  I have always been loyal to Castrol, so I thought I would switch.

But, I have seen the inside of the top of this engine.  And the tailpipes are always super clean...  There is never anything in them to clean during washes.  This car doesn't burn any oil.  I am thinking I will continue to use Amsoil in this car and "let it ride".  So there it is.  I bought this Amsoil online direct from them, not through some pyramid scheme.

Amsoil 5W-40, 12 quarts (only need 6.5-6.75/change), EC-1 European formula, $100.10r shipped, $54.22r per change
Oil filter kit, 11427833769, $17.79r

Total cost of this mod = $72.01
Total investment in vehicle to date =$13603.54

The Year in Review

I have owned the car almost one year exactly.  The car may look similar, but so much has changed.  The car I bought was fine to drive, probably for a long time.  It was probably better than many M coupes on the road at the time.  But now it's excellent.  Some of the service highlights:

• All fluids and filters changed
• All bushings, motor, and transmission mounts changed
• Wheels refinished in Chrome Shadow and new Pilot Sport tires 
• New fender liners - to "keep the car fresh"
• Entire shifter assembly rebuilt and improved
• Clutch pedal rebuilt and improvedwith delrin bushings and "old school" return spring
• Flex disk replaced
• New alternator, new belts, pullies, tensioners, fan clutch
• Spark plugs and valve cover gaskets replaced
• Aftermarket audio installed
• New headliner installed
• New tint installed
• Replaced OE exhaust with Supersprint DTM
• All bulbs replaced, on the whole car inside and out
• A/C serviced with many new components
• Added factory alarm/keyless entry, new key fobs and sorted switches which had failed
• Passenger airbag switch installed
• Interior OE chrome package installed 
• New steering wheel, shift and brake boots, new shift knob
• New UGDO Mk2 LeatherZ armrest
• Oil pressure & water temp (unbuffered) gauges installed
• New S54 badges, new hood roundel
• Wiper arms and hatch spoiler repainted.  New wiper blades all around
• Rear window glass replaced with new OE BMW glass without the white, faded edges
• About 1000 other small jobs that are documented in the blog

I don't think people believe me when I say the car drives better than my garage queen S54 M coupe.  I am sure all the new bushings have something to do with that, but it really is a fantastic car.

What's next?  Drive the car is the obvious answer.  The next big project will be to refresh the cooling system and all the hoses.  Like, ALL of the hoses.  Will probably do an S54 oil cooler too.  Very likely the car will go to Randy Forbes for subframe reinforcement.  I have been collecting parts to convert the interior into something more exciting.