[Carbon.F30]

Hello everyone,

This is just a general question. BMW has four options for engine oil and I'm sure as many of us are aware, you have to top up your engine oil occasionally between oil changes. BMW recommends Castrol engine oil (according to the knob in the engine bay). So my question is: What oil do you prefer for your BMW, and what would be best for an F30 335i when it comes to topping up? (ie: do you have a brand/viscosity preference and why?)

[Delta0311]

Remember ONLY top of when it says +1. The electronic gauge is a measure of 1 liter of oil and NOT of the entire oil pan. In my 335 I only had to add once between an oil change and that was due to a slight OFHG leak. At this time ALL my gaskets have been replaced and I never have to top off between changes. Although I do change my oil ever 6k miles.

IF you are using this interval and have the need to add a liter of oil then you might have a leak some where..

[R3dliner]

you might want to post this on the 335 page.
BMW recently switched from Castrol to shell now on the 10W60. People here with M's are limited to those and Liquid Moly

[davis449]

Castrol is what's in there now from the dealer. Next oil change, I will be going to an Indy (car's warranty\free miant. is up) and it will be Lubro Moly.

[0w40X1]

Mobil 1 0w40. Made for high heat German cars, and lab tests on BITOG.com show low wear metals on nearly any engine. Mobil doesn't claim the BMW spec anymore. I like 10k mile oil changes, and can get Mobil 1 0w40 for dirt cheap every where.

My car is the N20 in a X1 s28i. I see they have a BMW Longlife-14+ spec for 0w20 to improve mpg 3%.

I consider 0w40 the thinnest oil that I'll run, and holds its film strength under stress.

Some other oils that are listed as 5w30 are actually approx thickness cold or hot.

[Carbon.F30]

I saw the 0W40 in the OM and that's what I'm running right now. Seems to be pretty fuel efficient, and to my understanding they also call it BMW longlife 01 on the label. So here are the next questions:

Would it be okay to mix different oil? Let's say for argument's sake your dealer put 0w40 and you top up with 5w30 which is listed on the OM, would that matter at all?

Would it be better to have a thinner oil, or a thicker oil?

Also, would the oil viscosity change based on seasons or use the same year round? Should we be switching our oil to thicker/thinner ones through the winter vs. Summer?

[insanecoder]

I'm stickin with European Formula Castrol until someone satisfies LL-14
You cant get it for as cheap as MobileOne but the fact MO is sooo damn cheap at WallyWorld really has me wondering how cheaply made it really is..

[SackOHammers]

There is a sticky thread on this.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=529230
Make sure it's specified for BMW LL0-01, which is what you want if you're running your car on American gasoline. BMW LL-04 certified is not specified for use within the US due to the high sulfur content in our fuel.
More reading:
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...l-5W-40/page3&

[0w40X1]

I'm using Mobil 1 till they pry it from my cold dead hands. LOL

To the previous posts. I was a fuel and oil distributor for Exxon, and I tested the factory fill in my X1 s28i. It was very good, and nil break in metals.

I changed to Mobil 1 0w40, and then, changed back to 5w30 BMW for the free oil change.

I'd say you could run half of each if you wanted. After studying 0w40 to death, it has just about the right thickness for anything unless someone says they have super tight engine, and needs thinner 0w20. I'm in hot desert, and I'm never running 0w20 even though many cars can get good lab results.

This difference is: if you drive4 for economy everywhere 0w20 might work, but if you're gonna try out the high power part of car 0w40 is about as thin as it should be.

I'm pretty sure nobody has made a fake Mobil 1 for Wallyworld. Mobi wouldn't stand for it, and like their fuel they buy and test their stuff out in the market place.

[HighlandPete]

I'm in the UK and my dealer was using Castrol.

With BMW now moving over to Shell, my last oil service (N55 engine) had a red stamp on the worksheet, specifying Shell Helix. Not seen the exact spec' being used, but assume it is something like Shell Helix Ultra 0W-30 or 5W-30; as these are to BMW LL-04.

Will be interesting to see if there is any difference in oil consumption. To date consumption negligible.

[Torgus]

I've done stock bmw oil it's entire life until 80k just switch to the shell rotella t6. It's inexpensive and has good reviews especially with turbo cars and trucks. That being said iirc bms said all they use is mobile 1 and have had no issues. There is so much discussion about oil. Get a good one and change it often if you are pushing the car is the best advice I can give.

[Dackelone]

0w40X1

Originally Posted by insanecoder

I'm stickin with European Formula Castrol until someone satisfies LL-14
You cant get it for as cheap as MobileOne but the fact MO is sooo damn cheap at WallyWorld really has me wondering how cheaply made it really is..

+1. I am also using Castrol RS Edge euro oil. I used to use their 0w40 viscosity, but I've switched to their 5w30 blends. I now don't experience any oil consumption when I drive the car hard. I use to see a liter or two of oil consumption between oil changes(every 6K kms) when I ran say a few hard V-Max pulls(285+ kph) or on our Sella tours. Now with the 5w30 I don't have that problem.


Also... I use to run Mobil1's 0w40 European Blend oil(bought on Base/PX). But then I started to read some threads on 1Addicts back in 2009, touring the German Castrol(also 0w40) blends... so I tried some(even though it was more expensive)... I was shocked at how much quieter the engine ran on cold start(much less metallic noises) and more importantly the oil temps ran almost two needle widths cooler!! I was sold on German Castrol ever since!

insanecoder I've also read on BTOG forum that Mobil1 isn't what it used to be.

I think running a top tier oil brand like German Castrol, Shell Helix, Motul, Amsoil or Redline is the way to go. Also using short oil change intervals(OCI) is the way for a long living BMW engine. Too many times you see people with dirty vanous sensors due to long OCI's.

Dackel

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by SackOHammers

There is a sticky thread on this.
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=529230
Make sure it's specified for BMW LL0-01, which is what you want if you're running your car on American gasoline. BMW LL-04 certified is not specified for use within the US due to the high sulfur content in our fuel.
More reading:
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...l-5W-40/page3&

LL4 meets LL1 specs. But not the other way around.

Besides... if your changing your oil more often than 10K miles/once per year, I wouldn't be too concerned with the LL rating(s). The BEST oil is FRESH oil.

[paliknight]

My dealer keeps putting 5W30 garbage in my F82

[SackOHammers]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

LL4 meets LL1 specs. But not the other way around.

Besides... if your changing your oil more often than 10K miles/once per year, I wouldn't be too concerned with the LL rating(s). The BEST oil is FRESH oil.

Several places I have read as I state above. LL4 is for euro gasoline and LL1 is for US gasoline which has higher sulpher content and can break it down faster.

Some supporting documentation from BMW TIS, and another source:
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...2#post28267232

http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...7#post28268737

Read note #2 at the bottom:
http://s34.photobucket.com/user/esca..._2009.png.html

[jaybird124]

Quaker State Advanced Durability 5W-30

[insanecoder]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

0w40X1
+1. I am also using Castrol RS Edge euro oil. I used to use their 0w40 viscosity, but I've switched to their 5w30 blends. I now don't experience any oil consumption when I drive the car hard. I use to see a liter or two of oil consumption between oil changes(every 6K kms) when I ran say a few hard V-Max pulls(285+ kph) or on our Sella tours. Now with the 5w30 I don't have that problem.
Also... I use to run Mobil1's 0w40 European Blend oil(bought on Base/PX). But then I started to read some threads on 1Addicts back in 2009, touring the German Castrol(also 0w40) blends... so I tried some(even though it was more expensive)... I was shocked at how much quieter the engine ran on cold start(much less metallic noises) and more importantly the oil temps ran almost two needle widths cooler!! I was sold on German Castrol ever since!

insanecoder I've also read on BTOG forum that Mobil1 isn't what it used to be.

I think running a top tier oil brand like German Castrol, Shell Helix, Motul, Amsoil or Redline is the way to go. Also using short oil change intervals(OCI) is the way for a long living BMW engine. Too many times you see people with dirty vanous sensors due to long OCI's.

Dackel

cool gotta remember that
I use 0w-30 Belgian Castrol..
Ill check out moving up to 5W..

[0w40X1]

If you look up viscosity weights you'll see that some 0w30, 5w30, and 0w40 are all about the same viscosity at operating temp.

I think Mobil 1 0w40 might even be thinner than Castrol 0w30, but they are mostly close to ideal vis.

Shell Rotella T6 is a diesel oil with good additives for all that carbon, so will work great with gasoline engines, too.

It seems that there are many oils out now that won't hurt engine, but aren't necessarily spec'd for them.

[insanecoder]

I'd rather focus on the full synthetic oils not the halfies or dino-oil dressed with tons of detergents..
0W thin BMW likes to make its efficiency #s but yea I wouldn't mind a 5W for alil more protection

[Efthreeoh]

310,000 miles on BMW 5W-30 and OE filters. Just did my 23 oil change yesterday.

[0w40X1]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

I'd rather focus on the full synthetic oils not the halfies or dino-oil dressed with tons of detergents..
0W thin BMW likes to make its efficiency #s but yea I wouldn't mind a 5W for alil more protection

0w40 is approx thickness to 10w30 at around 70 deg f, and is always slightly thicker. 10w30 10.4 cst vs 0w40 12.9 cst @ 100 deg C

5w40 is thicker at 14.2 cst @ 100 deg C

Widman.com has a graph to play with.

[ShocknAwe]

Motul 8100 Xcess 5w40