unfoundhorsepower

Does anyone know if the V 10 has a dry sump oil system??? If so , no dip stick is need , one just pops open the resevoir can, fill, and looks in...I haven't recieved my car yet to look..

kees

Have a look at this thread:
Accurate oil level measurement

12Special

BMW describes it as a "semi-dry sump" - so it doesn't have a seperate reservoir that you can check as in a full dry sump - but the sump is somehwat divided and not all the oil will necessarily be in the same place in the sump all the time. It lacks a dipstick and uses a somewhat controversial oil level measuring system; many curse the lack of a dipstick and would like one as a supplement. It's speculative I think whether a dipstick is possible or not.

On my car though, the electronic system works well and always has.

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Jim -
The 12th in a list of special cars:
2006 e60 M5 - Silver-Gray / Black / Walnut
All options except rear airbags

swb3

It is a dry sump but its situated so you can't see inside.

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unfoundhorsepower

Thank you all, my Interlagos is in the process of being born....

swb3

If you are interested in more detailed information on the dry sump and other interesting details about the car go to post # 57 under the launch control thread. It's near the top of the E60 page. In that post you can follow the link and download the product data sheet in PDF format. Lots of cool stuff that will only make your wait more painful

bernhtp

The electronic oil measurement system is controversial because it is a) different and b) is not real-time. The latter is most problematic for people because they are used to measuring what the level is right now, especially after having added some and this is something it does not do terribly well. The "instant check" mechanism is only very approximate. The normal and more accurate and reliable mechanism seems to calculate the oil level from the many measurements it takes from various places over the course of the previous half hour.

It also seems that a traditional dipstick is not that practical or even possible in the M5's oil system with its quasi-dry sump and four oil pumps. Different amounts of oil are in different places at different times, which does not make simple measurement with a dipstick feasible from what I understand.

Even with these problems, I find the M5's electronic oil measurement and display system to be an improvement over the dipstick. It is better for me because I am generally too lazy or forgetful to check the oil often enough with a dipstick, and the M5's system makes me continually aware of it without ever having to get out of the car. It's only important function is to let me know when I need to add oil and with enough notice. It does this extremely well, and better than a dipstick for me.

Tom

Here is BMW's description of the oil system from their press release:

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Constant lubrication even in hard cornering situations.

Four oil pumps provide the engine with lubricating oil. The reason behind this unusually elaborate oil supply system is the M5’s exceptional driving dynamics with extreme acceleration rates. The sports saloon has a cornering capability of over 1 g. During extreme cornering centrifugal forces force the engine oil to the cylinder bank facing the outside of the bend, thereby preventing the natural return of oil from the cylinder head, which might lead to inadequate oil supply in the oil sump. Should the worst come to the worst, the oil pump sucks air. In order to reliably prevent this situation, the engine features a traverse force regulated oil supply system. This system incorporates two electrically-operated duo-centric pumps which pick up oil from the outer cylinder head and transport it to the main oil sump if lateral acceleration rates exceed 0.6 g. A lateral-g sensor transmits signals to the pumps. The oil pump itself is a continuously variable pump with volume control which delivers exactly the amount of engine oil needed by the engine. This is achieved by the variable eccentricity of the pump’s rotor in relation to the pump casing, depending on the oil pressure in the main oil duct.

Proper oil circulation in all conditions.

In extreme braking manoeuvres the M5 might even reach negative acceleration rates of up to 1.3 g. If deceleration rates are that high, it might well be that the amount of oil flowing back to the oil sump, which functions as an intermediate buffer, is not sufficient, particularly since the oil sump is located behind the front-axle support in order to save space. The worst-case scenario is that lubrication is interrupted. In order to prevent this situation, the M5 engine has been fitted with a so-called “quasi-dry sump oil system” which incorporates two oil sumps: a smaller one in front of the crossmember and a bigger one behind. A recirculating pump has been integrated into the housing of the oil pressure pump, which picks up oil from the small front oil sump to convey it to the big rear oil sump, which has been carefully shielded. The return passages and the pickup point of the oil pressure pump are perfectly tuned to ensure proper oil circulation in all conditions.

rsteele

Just curious about oil changes. If the oil is distributed to multiple locations within the engine even at rest (front and rear sumps), how is the engine completely drained of oil? Secondly, how does one know when enough oil has been added to reconstitute the proper engine oil level during a complete oil change? I ask this, because the BMW service technician volunteered without apparent duplicity that he had to drive my car around a bit to be sure that he had added the correct amount of oil. One would think that even without the ability to perform an accurate, instantaneous oil level measurement, the amount of oil that needs to be added during a complete oil change-out should be known and provided to BMW service departments by the parent company. If this amount is known, I'd like to weigh in at my local dealership against the procedure of driving my car 5-10 miles to check the oil level.

Richard