[quote=“Steve D” post=74812]I was perusing the new rules (10-24-2013 edition) and noticed this change in definition:
Are you using synthetic? I don’t believe the original factory fill was with that fancy stuff. It’s now illegal.
Same for the air filter - it’s gotta be the stock piece.
PS - What is the difference now between the defined terms in rules 3.4 and 3.5?
[b][i]3.4. “Substituted” means that original OEM equivalent items may be used.
3.5. “Replaced” means that the item may be replaced with items meeting OEM specifications. [/i][/b][/quote]
I’m not sure that “OEM Specification” means exactly the same as “came from the factory that way”. If we buy a wheel bearing, for example, we buy one that some website says fits the car. We know that’s not the way it came from the factory. Suppliers change all the time, there might have been several wheel bearing suppliers to BMW during the run of e30’s. We can’t be worrying about some subtle difference between the (Chinese?) replacement bearing and the original.
Sanity check. If we are to adhere to this idea of “meet but cannot exceed” that strictly, we’d drive ourselves crazy. Who says one oil filter “exceeds” another…the marketing dept? How is “exceeds” defined in oil filters…flow rate? Particulate filtering? Long life?
It would be interesting to know, however, what the thinking was on the strike-out of “or exceeding”.
