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      07-26-2011, 08:02 PM   #1
Eddie135
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Different Oil grades

Hi all

Need some advice on the approved BMW oil grades LL-01.

Between 5W-30 and 0W-40 , which one is better on 135I engine.

I am currently running 5W-30 as factory defualt and in the forum heard other says 0W-40 is better than 5W-30.

Any advise will be highly appreciated.

Thanks.
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      07-28-2011, 09:30 AM   #2
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My '08 manual states that 5w30 and 5w40 are the only acceptable viscosities. So if your car has the OEM BMW 5w30 oil, why not stick with that? I've used it for my last 3 BMWs and have never had to add oil between changes. And here in the US, it is price competitive with other approved oils.

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      07-28-2011, 05:48 PM   #3
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For the 135i there are 4 approved non-BMW oils listed on the BMW USA website, including both 5w-30 and 0w-40. The list includes mobil 1, castrol, penzoil, and one more brand, all the special full-synthetic euro blend oils. Though these are approved in the US, all of these oils are imported from Europe specifically for European cars because we apparently manufacture crap oil in the US haha. But in oz there might be oils available and approved that we don't get. But I'd say either weight is safe. 5w 30 is less viscous cold, but more viscous warm, and 0w 40 is more viscous cold and more viscous warm. Some people think this makes different weights suited for different seasons (based on the ambient temperatures since the heat thins oil) but most people will probably say it doesn't matter.
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      07-29-2011, 02:02 AM   #4
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I have to say - I just finished putting my car on the Mobil 1 0-40 oil and I'm very impressed. Slightly smoother engine and temperatures went down between 5-15 degrees. It also takes quite a while for the oil temperature to level out. It used to be that the temperatures would even out within about 8 minutes of driving. Now it's closer to 12-15 minutes.

Also changed out our 550i to it as well with similar results. I'm impressed.
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      07-29-2011, 10:44 PM   #5
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Thanks for the feedback guys.

I am coming soon for my first oil change at 10,000km.

And after that, I will service it every 7500km to keep my engine in tip-top condition. I do not really believe the oil will last 15,000km in the engine.

As BMW covers me up to 60,000km service @ 15,000km service interval.

Thanks.
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      08-17-2011, 04:56 PM   #6
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that's funny, bmw uses the same 15,000 service intervals for us....except in miles.

actually i'm glad to find that out. now i don't feel like my 7500 mile oil changes are a waste. not that i really did before, but now i have numbers!

but to answer your question, the 4 non-BMW oils are in varying viscosities. iirc, the castrol is 0-30, the mobil is 0-40....i forget the others, but found the list pretty easily on the bmw website
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      08-17-2011, 05:23 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by and 1 View Post
that's funny, bmw uses the same 15,000 service intervals for us....except in miles.

actually i'm glad to find that out. now i don't feel like my 7500 mile oil changes are a waste. not that i really did before, but now i have numbers!

but to answer your question, the 4 non-BMW oils are in varying viscosities. iirc, the castrol is 0-30, the mobil is 0-40....i forget the others, but found the list pretty easily on the bmw website

And BMW AG says every 24K kms (15K miles) or TWO YEARS(!) over here! lol Not every year!

This is just one more reason why I believe BMW free maintenance is total BS. How can you build the same car but require different service intervals based on "free maintenance" vs COD maintenance. Just like the brake fluid change interval... every year for Germany vs every two years for the USA. Wierd.

OP - there are three oil viscosities that BMW says to use: 0w40, 0w30 and 5w30. What is more importent is to make sure the oil you use has the "BMW Long Life-1 or LL-1" rating on the bottle and is fully synthetic.

Most people buy the oil filter change kits from Dan at United or Tischer for around $70. That comes with the correct BMW/Castrol made oil and is cheaper than most dealers will sell you the oil and filter for.

here is what BMW NA says... (bellow are the ONLY four motor oils sold in the USA that BMW NA says you may use in the N54/N55 motor!)


BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil is recommended for scheduled engine oil changes.


BMW High Performance SAE 5W-30 Synthetic Oil* (BMW part number 07 51 0 017 866)


BMW Long-life rating LL-01 Approved Synthetic Oils for the US Market:

  • Castrol Syntec European Formula SAE 0W-30
  • Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40
  • Pennzoil Platinum European Formula Ultra SAE 5W-30
  • Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30


http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Owner/SyntheticEngineOils.aspx



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      08-17-2011, 05:38 PM   #8
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Well to me 7500kms service interval seems okay to me.
Oil cost couples hundereds but engine cost even more, plus it is forced induction.

Always run fresh new engine oil in your engine where possible.
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      08-17-2011, 05:46 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddie135 View Post
Well to me 7500kms service interval seems okay to me.
Oil cost couples hundereds but engine cost even more, plus it is forced induction.

Always run fresh new engine oil in your engine where possible.
+1. Totally agree with you! Oil is cheaper than engines.

Even for me... I change my oil every 9K or 10K kms... and each time the oil is sooo dark and stinks of fuel. And I always drive 30 minutes or more commutes. No short trips for me I don't want to imagine what that oil would look like at 24K kms. For me its short OCI - Danke.
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      08-17-2011, 09:23 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
And BMW AG says every 24K kms (15K miles) or TWO YEARS(!) over here! lol Not every year!

This is just one more reason why I believe BMW free maintenance is total BS. How can you build the same car but require different service intervals based on "free maintenance" vs COD maintenance. Just like the brake fluid change interval... every year for Germany vs every two years for the USA. Wierd.

OP - there are three oil viscosities that BMW says to use: 0w40, 0w30 and 5w30. What is more importent is to make sure the oil you use has the "BMW Long Life-1 or LL-1" rating on the bottle and is fully synthetic.

Most people buy the oil filter change kits from Dan at United or Tischer for around $70. That comes with the correct BMW/Castrol made oil and is cheaper than most dealers will sell you the oil and filter for
every other year?? i would think it'd be more often, knowing how bad traffic can be in europe. plus there's the whole autobahn thing. not like every mile is free speed, but still, highway driving at 100mph has gotta put more wear & tear than at 75.

and my oil comes out black as hell too. i mean, i'm at autocross/track about every other weekend on average, but still...blacker than......insert racist joke here

at least the brake fluid makes sense. more frequent stopping from higher speeds.
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      08-18-2011, 01:55 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone View Post
And BMW AG says every 24K kms (15K miles) or TWO YEARS(!) over here! lol Not every year!

This is just one more reason why I believe BMW free maintenance is total BS. How can you build the same car but require different service intervals based on "free maintenance" vs COD maintenance. Just like the brake fluid change interval... every year for Germany vs every two years for the USA. Wierd.
I recall reading that the reason for the one year OCI in the US was because of the poorer quality gas (higher sulphur?).

But I suppose with heavy autobahn braking, you guys need more frequent brake fluid flushes! After all, we Americans rarely, if ever, use our brakes.

Tom
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