Wholly Crap that's a lot of info on oil

[Gangplank]

Was trying to look up info on LL-01 oil and came across this...

https://www.bimmerworld.com/BMW-Engine-Oil/

BMW ENGINE OIL

TL;DR:
- Allow oil to reach optimum temperature before driving hard - 210-220°F if you have an oil temp gauge. Without a gauge wait until the coolant temp gauge is at normal center position.
- Use a high quality oil if you expect high performance. With engine oil you absolutely get what you pay for - pay a little more and you get better oil.
- Match your oil to your engine spec and mileage, which may not be what's in your owner's manual.
- Our recommended oil change interval is 5,000 miles.
- Get a regular used oil analysis done to observe internal engine wear as well as oil compatibility.
- Get out and drive! Avoid short trips where oil never reaches optimum temp and moisture doesn't burn off. Once up to temp, open the throttle(s) and give your engine the opportunity to recirculate oil.


Recommended Oils for 1992-2013 Non-Turbo 128i
(M42, M50, M62, N52, N62, S50US, S52, etc)

Red Line 5W30 Engine Oil
Red Line 10W40 Engine Oil
Red Line Professional 5W40 Engine Oil
BMW 5W30 Engine Oil

Recommended Oils - 2007+ 6-cyl US Turbo Engines 135i
(N54, N55, S55, B58, S58)

Red Line 5W30 Engine Oil
Red Line 10W40 Engine Oil
Red Line Professional 5W40 Engine Oil
BMW 0W30 Engine Oil

The BimmerWorld View:
Our happy compromise is the Red Line Euro Series oil (5W30 or 5W40) that meets BMW LL-04 oil spec. These are low SAPS oils that are safe for modern cats and DI engines. Red Line's better base stocks also have lower evaporation (NOACK) and higher ZDDP protection. It's just a better all-around oil than an off-the-shelf brand. The Red Line 0W30 also comes into play as a thinner version of the 5W30. It bridges the gap between BMW 0W30 and BMW 5W30. Use it for M cars or other models that get driven aggressively. For even better protection we use Red Line High Performance 10W40 but keep in mind that it has higher SAPS and ZDDP and is not good for modern ceramic cats (but great if you have metallic cats or have removed them altogether).

[NorthernDancer]

Good info. But, my 08 128 is now 13 yrs old [I've owned it for 10] and I'll keep using Castrol 0W 40.

[Olgeezer1]

Interesting article. Still a good number of LL01 approved oils out there besides Redline. The Euro Castrol 0-30 and 0-40 were my favorites until they stopped going on sale locally. Motul and LiquiMoly are good choices, though not all grades are LL01. My current favorite is Euro Pennzoil Platinum 5-40 (Sold in Europe as Shell Helix). Great deal when on sale locally at 1/2 price, LL01 and the rigorous MB229.5 approved. Price is really secondary when considering the life blood of your very expensive engine, but who doesn't like a deal.

[gjm120]

Been using Castrol 0W-40 also.

Latest bargain find (maybe) is Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5W-40. Has LL01, MB 229.5. Likely is Pennzoil Platinum 5W-40 in a green jug.

[dtla1]

Are we not happy with the Made in the USA Castrol 5W40 that's got an LL-01 rating? Jugs at my local Autozone for like $20

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by dtla1

Are we not happy with the Made in the USA Castrol 5W40 that's got an LL-01 rating? Jugs at my local Autozone for like $20

The Edge 0W-40 is considered a better oil. Lot of discussion on BITOG on this. Seems like BMW put some newer requirements to meet LL01 (I think relating to oxidation) that are more for the N20 engines.

[dtla1]

And how does the 5W-40 "new edge" compare to the pennzoil or other similarly priced fluids?

Also, does the new formula really have any significant impact of doing 5-7k mile oil changes, and not really track driven?

Sorry I know I can dig around on BITOG, but as you said, lots of discussion. If someone has already gone through those talks and can provide a TLDR that's cool, if not, I think I'll just continue with my new edge anyways.

[gjm120]

Originally Posted by dtla1

And how does the 5W-40 "new edge" compare to the pennzoil or other similarly priced fluids?

Also, does the new formula really have any significant impact of doing 5-7k mile oil changes, and not really track driven?

Sorry I know I can dig around on BITOG, but as you said, lots of discussion. If someone has already gone through those talks and can provide a TLDR that's cool, if not, I think I'll just continue with my new edge anyways.

I don't think Castrol changed the forumla - BMW added some tests that were important to the N20 engines.

The 0W-40 has better base stocks than the 5W-40. It's 25%-50% PAO which is a high quality synthetic stock. Does that make a big difference with shorter change intervals? Probably not. In fact I had a good bit of shear down with a very short OCI with the 0W-40. That could be due to the fact I made too many short trips or just a bad analysis.

With 5-7k miles changes I would get whatever of the two Castrol Edge oils are the better buy.

Other oils I'd consider are Pennzoil Plat Euro 5W-40 or Quaker State Ultimate Durability 5W-40. Like I mentioned above, the QS looks like it's the Pennzoil rebranded. (Shell owns both companies). Caveat - my digging into to this and (probably worthless opinion) is geared toward my N52 engine.

[gjm120]

dtla1

Here you go...

https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/th...mw-n52.334829/

[Kheadley]

I use ll-01 pennzoil 5w40, sometimes I get bmw 0w30 for Canadian winter.

[Tommm]

I plan on getting Kirkland next time it is on sale. Half the price of Edge high mileage or Mobil1. Still change it every 5,000.

[wdb]

Do any of them prevent, or even delay, VCG/OFHG/OPG leaks?

[dtla1]

Originally Posted by wdb

Do any of them prevent, or even delay, VCG/OFHG/OPG leaks?

Let us know how it goes. https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-102...ditives-pcr-20

[wdb]

Originally Posted by dtla1

Let us know how it goes. https://www.amazon.com/Lucas-Oil-102...ditives-pcr-20

But a guy can still dream.

I actually took some time to read the comments. All of the 3 stars I read said basically "It didn't fix my leak but it might fix yours." Uhm, okay.