Ultimately, there are a couple of solutions to N52 lifter tick. Intermittently driving at high RPMs can force more oil into the cylinder head and lifters, alleviating the noise. Some N52 owners opt to use slightly thinner 0W-30 BMW -approved LL01 oil which warms quicker and flows to the lifters easier. BMW also redesigned the N52's cylinder head in late 2008 which incorporated a check valve that keeps oil inside of the lifters when the engine is off. While expensive, swapping to a late-model cylinder head has been shown to reduce the frequency of the issue.