The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i

[ScottyB]

I'm just afraid to run anything other than the "BMW specific" kinds like Mobil 1 European Blend or whatever.

i wouldn't be. any decent 5 or 0W40 will perform fine.

rotella T6 is filthy cheap for a synthetic if you want to run that (i have, worked great), many people swear by it. as Adam said a high mileage oil may help your leakage problems as the detergent package is designed to make the seals swell to correct for old seals and gaskets. pretty much any high mileage oil, synthetic or not, will do this.

Pennzoil sludges so don't buy that.

:?: no. i'll show you some of my used oil analysis of running Platinum in my cars some time. both my cars run it on and off, the subaru runs extended length changes (7-8k miles). both are spotless under the valve covers.