Mobil 1 0W-40

[sonus]

I've seen a TON of threads on oil, but I'm still wondering: is the recommended Mobil 1 0W-40 "LL1 approved" oil the same as the Mobil 1 0W-40 sold at places like Advance Auto Parts?

I've seen the pics Dackelone posted showing "European Formula" Mobil 1 but I suspect we can't get that in the US... just wondering if that's equivalent to the Mobil 1 in the US.

EDIT:

Hmmmm well maybe I answered my own question:

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub...l_1_0W-40.aspx

"BMW LONGLIFE OIL 01" is listed under "builder approvals"

[AW128i]

Just FYI, Mobil1 calls the 0w-40 oil it's "European Car Formula" here in the U.S., too.

[Dackelone]

Mobil-1's 0w40 LL-1 oil sold in the USA. THIS is the ONLY Mobil-1 oil you should use in the USA/NA in a BMW.


This oil can be purchased over here in Germany thru the PX on US bases over here. The German Mobil-1 oil is much more expensive ($30 per liter!) and of a different formula and is LL-4 rated.

Here is a picture of the various Mobil-1 oils sold at my local German supermarket. take note of those prices!



I have to say that I have found the German Castrol (G.C.) oil to be really, much better oil than the above Mobil-1 LL-1 oil. I have been using German Castrol RS Edge 0w40 LL-4 oil and I am really impressed with it. Sure it does costs more (Mobil-1 on base costs $7/lier while the G.C. costs me $17 per liter!). But it is worth it. The G.C. makes my engine run cooler (two needle widths lower) and the engine is MUCH quieter on cold starts and when warmed up. With the Mobil-1 my engine sounded more metalic, esp when cold.

My advice would be to only use the approved Castrol oil sold thru BMW dealers in the USA.

Dackel

[bimmerboy]

i just swapped out the bmw 5w-30 for mobil 1 0w-40 and the engine runs noticeably smoother. Temps used to hover around 240 before and now are around 230 so I can't complain. +1 for Mobil 0w40

[romak47]

dackel. ima try this oil you speak of. Where do you buy yours? at BMW? RS Edge it is...
I will change my oil in a couple weeks. I use Mobil 1 5w-40 and 0w-40 depending on season. I hope to see cooler temps as well when i try this Castrol stuff. With mobil 15w-40 i notice its a peg higher in temperature compared to mobil 1 0w-40
So, if i end up liking the Castrol RS Edge and wanna use it stateside, where will i find it there?

[Dackelone]

Romak47 - I buy my German Castrol from a indi parts place called: Stahlgruber.

http://www.stahlgruber.de/vertriebsgebiet/index.php

click on the top right corner that says: "Sales Territory" to find a store near you. I think Weissbaden or Mannheim are teh clostest to you. You can also try a store by the name: Trost. They also have good deals on auto parts and also carry Castrol oils. Or... just buy it at your local grocery store. That would be the most expensive option though.

Trost....

http://de.trost.com/

You will see a map on their home page to find a shop near you.

A five liter jug of German Castrol RS Edge 0w40 oil costs me 53 euros at Stahlgruber using a tax free form. I think the normal price is 69 or 79 euros. I have seen it for as muct as 89 euros though at some German stores, like Toom or REAL. A single liter cost me 12 euros, so that is why I always just buy one ot two 5L jugs.



Castrol RS Edge 0w40 LL-4 oil... new and ol bottles... I pay 53 euros for a 5L jug like these.


single liter bottles - taken at REAL German grocery store. I think Toom Markts are more common by you. Or maybe Praticka or even Obi might also sell this oil. Note the high-er oil prices! My price is only 12 euros at Stahlgruber for this very same oil!!


back of the G.C. single liter bottle...



Romak - IF you can't find the German Castrol oil you can always PM me and I can buy some locally here for you. We get free shipping APO to APO.

bye,
Dackel

[romak47]

haha oh yea.. coool. ill keep eye out for it around my part of town. who knows i may find cheaper.. lol.

[newowner35i]

can i use 5w 30

[newowner35i]

i purchased some lubro moly from bavauto.com and i have yet to recieve it, its from a bmw specialist so it should be bmw approved right? can any body confirm if its approved

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by newowner35i

i purchased some lubro moly from bavauto.com and i have yet to recieve it, its from a bmw specialist so it should be bmw approved right? can any body confirm if its approved

Nope. You need to read the label and see IF it has the BMW LL-1 rating. Just as with some oils... only Mobil-1's 0w40 blend has the BMW LL-1 rating. It could be the same thing with LiqiMolly.

I still think the best thing to do is follow BMW's recomendation and use Castrol oil - sold by BMW. For $70 for an oil change kit that you KNOW works and is spec'd for our cars... its a no brainer.

[newowner35i]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Nope. You need to read the label and see IF it has the BMW LL-1 rating. Just as with some oils... only Mobil-1's 0w40 blend has the BMW LL-1 rating. It could be the same thing with LiqiMolly.

I still think the best thing to do is follow BMW's recomendation and use Castrol oil - sold by BMW. For $70 for an oil change kit that you KNOW works and is spec'd for our cars... its a no brainer.

the only pic i saw was the one on bavauto.com, so ill just wait and see thanks for the help

[takrdown]

Originally Posted by newowner35i

i purchased some lubro moly from bavauto.com and i have yet to recieve it, its from a bmw specialist so it should be bmw approved right? can any body confirm if its approved

Mike Miller(BMW CCA Roundel Magazine Technical Editor: techtalk@roundel.org) specifically calls out LubroMoly in his "Old School Maintenance Schedule FAQ" as specifically being endorsed by BMW in Europe. I use it and have found it to work well.

"In Europe, BMW endorses Elf (confusingly called Total in the U.S. market) 5W-30 and 5W-40, and LubroMoly 5W-30, 0W-40, and 5W-40 for the non-M cars. These are PAO synthetics like Red Line, and I’d have no problem running them 7,500 to 10,000 miles. Of course, they are not available at Wal-Mart; like Red Line, you have to order them for UPS delivery."

I would email him and request a copy of his FAQ as he is always updating it.

This man is a god among the enthusiast community as he has been working on BMWs before many of us were born and makes it his life to know everything about maintaining them. If he doesn’t know the answer to the question then he will find out.

[takrdown]

I just did a little research about the Lubro Moly...this thread peaked my interest. It turns out that I was right, Lubro Moly is approved for BMW in Europe as it is an LL-04 approved oil.

That begged the question "What is the difference between LL01 and LL-04 approval?" It turns out that the LL-01 oils are specific for US market due to the high sulfur contents in our fuel and the LL-4 oils are specific for European markets due to the low sulfur contents in their fuel.

Based on this, I think I'm going to go back to the BMW oil from the Lubro Moly. My engine is running cooler and quieter with the Lubro Moly, but I guess I'm worried now about long term reliability.

Please do your own research though.

[Dackelone]

^^That is correct.

LL-1 = high sulfur fuels = US/Canada
LL-4 = low sulfur fuels = Germany/Europe

I don't really see how you can go wrong using the oil that BMW sells thru its dealers. It is the correct oil PLUS its darn cheap. Compared to what a liter of oil goes for over here. lol


Dackel

[Turbolader]

For those on the US (Sorry my Deutsche freunden), you can occasionally find O'Reilly's selling M1 0w-40 for $5/qt.

They ran a sale right after I picked up my 135, and I literally had them special order large quantities for me. I spent $350 on oil that day, but I'm good for probably the next 5 years

I get my filters at Rock Auto and pay something like $5 each for a Mann Filter (plus about two bucks each for shipping).

So each oil change for me runs $38.

[takrdown]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

^^That is correct.

LL-1 = high sulfur fuels = US/Canada
LL-4 = low sulfur fuels = Germany/Europe

I don't really see how you can go wrong using the oil that BMW sells thru its dealers. It is the correct oil PLUS its darn cheap. Compared to what a liter of oil goes for over here. lol


Dackel

Yeah...I've come around on this now. I think it just has to do with the tendency of enthusiasts (everyone on this site) to try to do one better than the OEM. We see a product out there that isn't the OEM so it must be better....

In regards to the Mobil 0W-40 LL-01 oil, they do carry it at Autozone and Advanced Auto Parts here in the northeast. It costs just about the same as the BMW oil so, I guess it's up to preference.

[sonus]

Yeah, and it's actually a little cheaper to get the kits from Tischer.

Tischer: 7 quarts of BMW 5W-30 synthetic and an OEM filter, $69 total

AutoZone: 7 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-40 ($8.49 each) and a non-OEM filter ($15). $74.43 ($78.02 with MA sales tax).

Pretty much the only way it gets cheaper is if you can find a sale at one of the local retailers. Apparently CAP (Consumer Auto Parts) sometimes runs their sales to coincide with mail-in rebates from Mobil, and it works out to ~$6/qt.

[JimD]

The two oil changes I did myself I used a kit. One was from Tisher and was a little cheaper. In addition to a reasonable price for genuine BMW parts, it is very convenient to go on line, order the kit, and have it delivered to your door. These days running around to find the right oil and filter can be a little expensive.

Jim

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by sonus

I've seen a TON of threads on oil, but I'm still wondering: is the recommended Mobil 1 0W-40 "LL1 approved" oil the same as the Mobil 1 0W-40 sold at places like Advance Auto Parts?

I've seen the pics Dackelone posted showing "European Formula" Mobil 1 but I suspect we can't get that in the US... just wondering if that's equivalent to the Mobil 1 in the US.

EDIT:

Hmmmm well maybe I answered my own question:

http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub...l_1_0W-40.aspx

"BMW LONGLIFE OIL 01" is listed under "builder approvals"

The Mobil-1 European Blend 0w40 LL-1 oil is sold on base(US Army), thru the PX. It is the SAME oil you guys can find in the states. It costs about $7 per quart.

I use German Castrol RS Edge 0w40 LL-4 because... I came to realize that usng German fuel - that is low in sulfur requires us to use an LL-4 rated oil. And NOT an LL-1 rated oil.

I also like the fact that the German Castrol oil makes the engine quieter and it runs a lot cooler (two needle widths lower than with Mobil-1). So this is why I spend 70 euros for seven liters of G.C. LL-4 oil plus 10 euros for a BMW oil filter. I change my oil oil myself. I think it is worth it using the G.C. oil.

IF I lived in the states I would be using the BMW oil (also made by Castrol) sold at any dealer. Over here that oil sells for 23 euros to 33 euros PER liter! Nein Danke.

I think the oil change kits that Tischer or United sell is a GREAT deal! I would be snaping those up IF I was livng back in the USA.


Dackel