N54 Motor Oil Debate-Best

[sbefar01]

I saw 5w30 Castrol Syn at the store the other day, I will just stick with that next time since it is approved.

[john970]

German castrol and BMW OEM aren't the same?

[Farred]

i had a boosted civic and when i used royal purple it drank oil. so i switched to mobil 1 for awhile and then used amsoil. i have only great things to say about amsoil. The oil that comes in the evo x and the one they reccomend using is mobil 1 5w30. Amsoil will probably be my first choice but mobil 1 wasnt that bad either.

[Cuz5150]

wow...........unreal how many people still use mobil1....(not what it used to be)
German Castrol for me, in all of my cars.....

[jayson]

Originally Posted by Cuz5150

German Castrol for me, in all of my cars.....

Where does one purchase german castrol?

[Dackelone]

The only Mobil-1 oil that carries BMW LL1 approval is the Ow40!!! Comes with a black label. Not the 5w30!!! I use the 0w40, evem my guys at the dealer told me it was ok to use. BUT only the 0w40 Mobil-1!!!

Btw... n the jug of the German Castol Edge RS is says BMW LL4. A five liter jug sells for 89 euros over here! Not cheap! Castro oil at the dealer sells for 23 euros per liter!

Also... yesterday while at my German dealer I noticed that the BMW oil has changed. Its comes now in a new bottle. AND... it now says BMW LL4! I have to go back there today to pick up a trim piece. I will ask about that oil.

[Dackelone]

As promised here is the new bottle design of the Castrol 0w40 synthetic oil. This was at my German dealership. I had noticed before they had the old-er bottles like you see from Tischer, et all. My dealer sells this oil for 24 euros PER liter!

It is interesting to note the specs now say: "Quality Long Life 4" and not LL-1 anymore. ? Is that the marketing dept or what? ??? I also thought I would post the other top oils here too - bellow. Enjoy!

BMW Factory oil that the dealer sells.




Also... here is the Mobil-1 oil that I use in my car. This is the ONLY Mobil-1 oil that carries BMW's LL-1 approval. Mobil-1 0w40 european blend, in the black label.


Mobil-1 0w40 european blend




And the German/Euro Castrol Edge RS 5w30 full synthetic oil



this is the back of a different Catrol RS bottle that also carries BMW LL-4 approval.

[shodanusmc]

I get my oil changed 2 times a year at the dealer, so whatever BMW uses, that is what I get.

however, I have never had a problem with Mobil 1 in my SRT's when I had them, and they were beaten on.

[Cuz5150]

Originally Posted by jayson

Where does one purchase german castrol?

Pepboys, Advance, and Auto Zone carry it......

[aksundog]

Originally Posted by mvaccaro

Crap.... in the U.S the Mobil 1 bottle is about U$S 6

No kidding. I bought the Mobil 1 for my other car in a 5 liter bottle at Walmart for $23. I remember thinking 'dayum, Mobil 1 costs more than these economy brands fo sho.'

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by mvaccaro

Crap.... in the U.S the Mobil 1 bottle is about U$S 6

The Germans have all sorts of taxes over here. Esp for oil and gasoline! One liter of Super grade gas sells for 1.50 euro right now. They have these little decals on the pump and say for every ONE euro(you pay)... there is 0.87 cents in TAX! YuP!

Most oils are way expensive over here too. Mobil-1 runs about 23 euros per liter. Even a cheap dino based oil will set you back 6 euros per liter! This is another reason why so many Germans just do not change their oil that often. Maybe once a year or so. Drives me crazy to think about that. Its also another reason why most Germans (some 75%) do not own their cars, but rather lease them for two years and then get a new one. The old one gets exported to some other country. lol

Btw... one gallon of German gas costs $7.70 ish at todays exchange rates. We pay $3.10 per gallon on base.


Don't even get me started on their 19% sales(VAT) tax!! Did I tell you they have a guy in power here(in the Bundes Tag) who wants to raise that to 22%!!!! He wears these "22%" lapel pins on his suit!!! lol

Ok, I;ll step off my rant box now.


PS: Luckly, being an American(in Germany) and having acess to US products(Mobil-1, tax free gas) is nice. Also being able to get out of that 19% vat for big purcheses is even nicer.

[techS54]

FYI I've run a couple track days with new 5w-30 castrol and my oil temps got up between 310-340deg! So I switched to 10w-60 Castrol TWS oil and now my oil temp rarely goes above 300.

[jayson]

Originally Posted by techS54

FYI I've run a couple track days with new 5w-30 castrol and my oil temps got up between 310-340deg! So I switched to 10w-60 Castrol TWS oil and now my oil temp rarely goes above 300.

Was it just standard 5w30 Castrol Syntec? The only type of Castrol approved for BMW is the Euro blend - and for our cars it must have a BMW Long Life rating of 01 or higher! I am seeing a lot of 5w40 Castrol "Euro Blend" in local stores, but notice that it is only BMW Long Life 98 rated, so it is not recommended for our cars:

Castrol Syntec - BMW LONGLIFE-98 (Not recommended for 1er's)
http://bit.ly/cDivO2

In my experience, the only BMW LL approved oil that I can find with any sort of regularity is the Mobil 1 Euro formula 0w40 with the black sticker. My local Pep Boys / Auto Zone and Advance Auto do not stock a Castrol Euro product that is BMW LL 01 or better.

[jayson]

I also will add, verbatim from BMW's website:

Required maintenance work or services should be performed for your vehicle by your authorized BMW center.

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 recommends that you check your engine oil level whenever you add fuel to your vehicle.

If you need to add oil between oil changes and BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil is unavailable, you may top up the oil level with one of the following approved synthetic oils. For information on checking your engine oil level refer to your vehicle’s Owner’s Manual.

The oils listed below meet BMW’s Long-life rating and are acceptable for use in BMW Passenger vehicles and SAVs in the US market with gasoline engines.


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

Use only oils with an API rating of SM or higher.

The choice of the right SAE grade is based on the climatic conditions in the region in which you normally drive your BMW.

To best determine which SAE grade is best suited for your vehicle, contact an authorized BMW center.