Oil filter OEM BMW or STP

just use pennzoil platinum or valvoline advanced 0w-20 from walmart and an STP 10992XL filter from autozone.

I pay 220 for M2 Comp. 7 quarts of oil and filter. Yeah it may be a high but I prefer peace of mind from a reputable Indy shop.

A good oil filter (I say BMW as I found they fit the tightest, best seal compared to even the MANN/MAHL filters specific to my N20)

I just paid $98 for an oil change at my local BMW dealer in Northern Virginia. 7 quarts and filter, all taxes and fees included.

Personally, I just use whatever is cheapest, as long as it is rated decently by the API. The way I see it, oil is really just oil. It's slick, it lubricates, it has whatever weight and viscosity it says on the bottle. The API makes sure it reaches those standards along with any claims on the bottle, so I'm comfortable saving money there. I've never had any issues in my many tens of thousands of miles of ownership and there's no sludge buildup or any worrying deposits inside the motor that I've seen when I've worked on it.

I am running an STP filter on it.

My mechanic said that a small amount of metal flakes in the engine oil filter is normal, but the amount here is significant and shows theres a something going wrong.

My son went to a local shop who used STP/Fram/K&N and collapsed the material inside the housing, and the motor gave him fits and lights.

Put some normal oil and an STP filter in it. Got it all back together, runs great. Ran around the block, noticed the oil light flashed when over 2500 RPM . Back in the drive way, let it cool down. This morning, put motor flush in, idle it for 5 minutes per instructions, and drained the oil and changed the filter. Looking at the filter, it seems collapsed. It doesn't seem horribly clogged - there is a bit of silt in the crevices, but that was expected. Is it just because of the cheap filter?

When I first purchased my VW, I could drive it how ever far in whatever temperature and wouldn't get any beeps or blinks. I brought it to a friend to do an oil change and he threw 5W30 in it with a STP oil filter. After that oil change, if the car was driven too long the light would blink and the ding would chime. If you revved to about 2300~ RPM, the noises and blinking would stop. I guess that is a temporary fix, but all I did was change the oil to 10W30 and haven't gotten any noises yet. I guess 5W30 is too thin and can't build up enough oil pressure? I'm not too sure.