Which oil to use..
Discussion
Hi guys,
Been musing about which oil to use for my next service. The car is a late 2001 (very late, last day of December!) 530i Sport and its now the wrong side of 150k miles. All of its life its had nothing but Castrol SLX Longtec II 0w30 and latterly Castrol Edge 0w30 (Which I believe is simply the consumer version of SLX Longtec anyway). I've not had any issues with this and it's oil usage of late is about a litre every 2k miles which is well within normal parameters for this engine.
However, people do keep saying 'Thats a bit thin' but I'm not really sure I understand what this means for me and how much of a problem, if a problem at all, it is.
So, when I chose my oil next time I'm going to go for either Castrol Edge 0w30 again or Mobil 1 Supersyn 0w40. Both are BMW LL01 approved and both will, presumably (Edge is fine) be accepted by my main dealer when I take it for its service.
Which would you use and why, or does it really not matter? Would the Mobil 1 give me any benefit? It's actually cheaper as it's supplied in 5 litre cans rather than 4 litre cans as per Castrol.
Thanks!
Been musing about which oil to use for my next service. The car is a late 2001 (very late, last day of December!) 530i Sport and its now the wrong side of 150k miles. All of its life its had nothing but Castrol SLX Longtec II 0w30 and latterly Castrol Edge 0w30 (Which I believe is simply the consumer version of SLX Longtec anyway). I've not had any issues with this and it's oil usage of late is about a litre every 2k miles which is well within normal parameters for this engine.
However, people do keep saying 'Thats a bit thin' but I'm not really sure I understand what this means for me and how much of a problem, if a problem at all, it is.
So, when I chose my oil next time I'm going to go for either Castrol Edge 0w30 again or Mobil 1 Supersyn 0w40. Both are BMW LL01 approved and both will, presumably (Edge is fine) be accepted by my main dealer when I take it for its service.
Which would you use and why, or does it really not matter? Would the Mobil 1 give me any benefit? It's actually cheaper as it's supplied in 5 litre cans rather than 4 litre cans as per Castrol.
Thanks!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Not sure myslef but if you speak to one of the guys at Opie Oils they seem to know their stuff - and the prices are good too.
Not sure myslef but if you speak to one of the guys at Opie Oils they seem to know their stuff - and the prices are good too.
Here is some info stolen from another BMW forum. I have tried Mobil1 and my car burnt it like water.
For comparison, another very similar oil is Castrol 0W-30 from Europe. It is a thick 0W and a thick 30 and is again very similar to the BMW 5W-30.
I'm far from an expert on this, but I have done a whole lot of reading and I've got a degree in Chemical Engineering, so I'm not dumb on it either.
Were I you (and I was, btw, before I did my reading. I used Rp 5W-30 and went through a quart in <2000 miles! Switched to Mobil1 and no usage) I would immediately switch over to Mobil1 0W-40 or Castrol 0W-30. I chose Mobil1 for no reason other than availability. Castrol makes the BMW oil, but the 0W-30 is hard to find.
In general you want an LL-01 or an LL-04 approved oil. There are many of each; in addition to the 2 I gave you already, there is also Valvoline 5W-40 (a thin 5W thin 40).
Remember: This ONLY applies if you are NOT using the car on the track. If you are tracking your car then you want a 0W-XX where XX is something considerably thicker than 40, and probably close to the 60 in BMW10W-60
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.ph...
- Mobil1 5W-30 is nowhere near BMW 5W-30. For that matter, neither are most other 5W-30's. BMW 5W-30 is a thin 5W (the ratings for oil viscosity are ranges) and a thick 30.
For comparison, another very similar oil is Castrol 0W-30 from Europe. It is a thick 0W and a thick 30 and is again very similar to the BMW 5W-30.
I'm far from an expert on this, but I have done a whole lot of reading and I've got a degree in Chemical Engineering, so I'm not dumb on it either.
Were I you (and I was, btw, before I did my reading. I used Rp 5W-30 and went through a quart in <2000 miles! Switched to Mobil1 and no usage) I would immediately switch over to Mobil1 0W-40 or Castrol 0W-30. I chose Mobil1 for no reason other than availability. Castrol makes the BMW oil, but the 0W-30 is hard to find.
In general you want an LL-01 or an LL-04 approved oil. There are many of each; in addition to the 2 I gave you already, there is also Valvoline 5W-40 (a thin 5W thin 40).
Remember: This ONLY applies if you are NOT using the car on the track. If you are tracking your car then you want a 0W-XX where XX is something considerably thicker than 40, and probably close to the 60 in BMW10W-60
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.ph...
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