Oil question

[markbigears]

Afternoon all, quick question about oil. Mini 2010 Cooper .Oil used genuine mini (the black bottle with red stripe) for top ups. BMW Longlife 0w-30.
I've asked at 2 dealers and none can (or won't) give me the maker of said re packaged oil/ Some say they think it's Castrol, some say we think it's Shell.
Anyone know what it actually is? I'm thinking of putting Castrol Edge in it or should i continue with dealer oil as a huge mark up! thoughts and advice greatly appreciated, cheers fellows, regards, Mark?

[mon the fish]

Oil is oil. As long as it's fully synthetic and to Mini specs I wouldn't be buying oil from a dealer. Try someone like Opie.

I've tried a few brands, some seem to burn off more than others but my engine is still working after 13 years and 80k miles. I'm using Castrol at the moment

[sad61t]

Castrol is BMW's oil brand of choice. Although any fully synthetic oil will suffice if you're doing a full oil and filter change.

You could also consider swapping to 0W40 or 5W40, slightly thicker but lasts longer and protects the engine better than 0W30. The 0 copes with arctic conditions better, but is unlikely to be needed in Kent. The 0W30 helps MPG figures, and <cynic alert> who cares for longevity when your sales model is based around three year PHP lease cars.

[mon the fish]

I've moved to 5W-40, my thinking being the slightly thicker oil will be beneficial to a higher wear engine

[markbigears]

Many thanks guys, just wanted to double check ..... have it dealer serviced and they use 0w-30 so i'll get some Castrol same spec.
Have a great Christmas.

[Matt97]

I'm pretty sure they changed over to Shell which is probably why the bottles changed design as well. As mentioned above as long as you're using the same grade that's recommended you'll be fine.

Edited by Matt97 on Tuesday 19th December 20:12

[steve-5snwi]

I think it was Castrol originally but changed to Shell, to be honest the dealer may not know and what they actually put in out of the big barrel might be something completely different again. I'm using Shell Helix 5w30 in mine.

[GaryF]

Yes, Mini's latest partnership is with Shell - they put Shell Helix 0w30 in mine last week. It used to be Castrol Edge that they used - in fact it still says Castrol beside the dipstick on mine as being the recommended oil!

[markbigears]

this is the email i got from BMW mini:

Good afternoon Mark

Thanks for getting in touch about oils.

I wouldn’t recommend getting the oil change done yourself as it may avoid your warranty as all the work carried out on your vehicle needs to be done by MINI Approved Centres.
In reference to the oil, the same oil which has been used on your vehicle during servicing can be used in future.
I hope this information is of use to you, but if there is anything else I can help with, please get back in touch

so not helpful at all, I've emailed them again with specific questions this time.

What Shell 0W-30 are you using Gary as i see 2 types:

Shell Helix Ultra ECT (C2/C3) 0W-30

Shell Helix Ultra (A5/B5) 0W-30


Happy New Year
Mark

[AMG Merc]

His first sentence is incorrect and possibly unlawful. Longstanding EU (I think) directive states taking car to indy, or even doing it yourself, does not void warranty.

[bearman68]

markbigears said:

this is the email i got from BMW mini:

Good afternoon Mark

Thanks for getting in touch about oils.

I wouldn’t recommend getting the oil change done yourself as it may avoid your warranty as all the work carried out on your vehicle needs to be done by MINI Approved Centres.

Happy New Year
Mark

Cheeky lying toerag. Block exemption regs say anyone VAT registered can service the car as long as they used approved parts, inc oil.

Anyway, take your reg to a decent local motorfactor, and ask them. They will give you 2 options generally. 1) An oil suitable for the engine but not approved. (Cheaper). 2) An oil approved by the manufacturer. It will be as No1, but more expensive.

Wound up by comments in the e-mail I'm afraid.

[steve-5snwi]

Are you sure its 0w30 ? i thought it was 5w30 as a minimum, I did enquire about buying oil from mini but the parts person told me to buy it from euros as they were mega expensive.

[GaryF]

markbigears said:

What Shell 0W-30 are you using Gary as i see 2 types:

Shell Helix Ultra ECT (C2/C3) 0W-30

Shell Helix Ultra (A5/B5) 0W-30

Happy New Year
Mark

Hi Mark,

It was on the 'bill' that was going back to Mini based on my TLC so I did not get to keep it. I don't think it was down as anything more specific than 'Shell Helix 0W-30' but it could have been 5W-30, though I think it was the former. If you look on the side of these I'm sure they will carry the relevant BMW approved codes now (check your Mini manual for these) so you can determine which to use (possibly both are fine).

I'll actually still be using Castrol Edge to top up as that's what I have in the garage as it was previously the recommended brand. I don't think there will be any issues mixing...

Edited by GaryF on Thursday 28th December 23:57

[CarsOrBikes]

In the bottle is Shell Helix Ultra 0/30

What's vat registered got to do with who services the car? If it's done according to manufacturers specification surely anyone can do it including the owner.

[SlimJim16v]

I wouldn't use anything less than a full ester synthetic 5W40 in those stty engines that drink oil and crap timing chains.

[watchnut]

the oil issue thing is interesting, as I would not like to "mix" oils up, and like to have a litre in the boot should it need a top up between services.

Question....

by putting in a different oil....would it harm the engine for a top up between services?

My mini 2012 diesel now on 118,8000 ish miles eats hardly any oil and not required a top up between services....but then mine gets serviced about once/twice a year due to being a higher miles car......(bought 2013 14 months old with 7k on the clock) My car works bloody hard as driven by learners so loads of low gear/slow speeds/loads of slow reversing) car runs some days for 8 hours or so and only does some 100-130 miles in that time.

Am I lucky in that it sips almost no oil?

Why do some bh at the oil consumption? shouldn't they all use a wee bit, and owing to many service intervals being around 2 years for some models....then maybe it looks like they are thirsty for oil?

[AMG Merc]

watchnut said:

Question....
by putting in a different oil....would it harm the engine for a top up between services?

I've looked into this before and the answer was no problem but even so I'd still keep it to just a top up once only.

[Rockster]

watchnut said:

the oil issue thing is interesting, as I would not like to "mix" oils up, and like to have a litre in the boot should it need a top up between services.

Question....

by putting in a different oil....would it harm the engine for a top up between services?

My mini 2012 diesel now on 118,8000 ish miles eats hardly any oil and not required a top up between services....but then mine gets serviced about once/twice a year due to being a higher miles car......(bought 2013 14 months old with 7k on the clock) My car works bloody hard as driven by learners so loads of low gear/slow speeds/loads of slow reversing) car runs some days for 8 hours or so and only does some 100-130 miles in that time.

Am I lucky in that it sips almost no oil?

Why do some bh at the oil consumption? shouldn't they all use a wee bit, and owing to many service intervals being around 2 years for some models....then maybe it looks like they are thirsty for oil?

For topping up it is best to top up with the same oil that the engine is filled with. In a pinch any oil that meets the automakers requirements for oil could be used unless the manual says otherwise.

Can't really be a hardship to carry a spare bottle of same oil the engine is filled with in the car or to have a bottle at the house or office to use to top up the oil if it gets low.

One of the first things I did after I bought my new Mini was to swing by a local Mini dealer parts department and pick up a bottle of the same oll the engine was filled with. I have a deep enough plastic tub/bin to put the bottle of oil into and the put a lid on the plastic tub/bin. I like to store the bottle of top up oil this way rather than letting it lay loose in the rear trunk. I'm always a bit concerned over time the bottle could leak.

Oil consumption is seen as a sign of "bad" engine because the assumption is the oil is being consumed because the engine is worn out, or has bad seals, or rings, or...

These conditions are rare. One can usually tell if an engine is suffering from one of the above not by its oil consumption but by the fact the engine emits smoke while running. After idling at a stop light then upon accelerating away, or as the engine RPMs fall a bit then rise again during/after a shift up (or down) a gear.

Most oil "consumed" by modern engines is via the crankcase ventilation system. Crankcase fumes are pulled from the crankcase through some kind on an oil vapor separator -- in some cases (I've cut one apart) with an internal shape like that of nautlius shell -- which causes the vapor to follow a circular route through the oil vapor separator. In making these ever sharper turns the oil vapor is slung out of the fumes and hits the walls of oil vapor separator and collects as a liquid and drains back into the crankcase. Just water vapor can make it through the oil vapor separator and this water (in vapor form) is then fed to the engine and expelled out the exhaust.

What happens is the oil vapor separator is not that effective at removing oil vapor. One can tell this if he ever has the chance to view the inside of the engine's intake system. The intake walls opposite of where the oil vapor separator hose connects the intake will be wet with oil.

As an aside my other car is one for which a number of owners have fitted an "oil catch can" between the vapor separator and the intake to help catch any oil that the oil vapor separator allows through. After a few thousand miles the catch can can have a few ounces of oil in it. But even so owners who have bothered to check report the engine's intake walls are stil wet with oil. Even the catch can doesn't appear to catch all the oil vapor.

The above just highlights the fact the oil vapor separator has a lot of work to do. All engines generate considerable oil vapor when working hard but these over head camshaft engines are notorious for generating a lot of oil vapor. At higher RPMs the area under the camshaft cover becomes full of a dense cloud of oil vapor. Under some conditions some of this dense cloud of vapor can pass through the oil vapor separator.

If you have an engine that doesn't "use" any oil you may have an engine with a more efficient/effective oil vapor separator.

Or depending upon how the car is driven/used while oil is being consumed it is being replaced by water. Under some operating conditions the water the oil can accumulate can be considerable. Back in early 2002 with around 4K miles on my then new Boxster I had the oil analyzed. The water content was around 7%. With an oil capacity of around 9 quarts this represented about a half a quart of water in 9 quarts of oil. The oil level was not high so what had happened is the engine, a new engine, had consumed some oil (and this is normal) but because (as I found out after further investigation) the engine was not getting that hot (wasn't for the lack of my driving the car it was the fact I was driving the car in winter) water -- a normal byproduct of combustion and a normal contaminate of engine oil -- was not being boiled out of the oil but instead collecting in the oil.

I changed the oil right after the analysis and thereafter every 5K miles vs. the 15K miles the factory recommended. Might wrap this up by reporting 320K+ miles later the engine still runs as good as it ever did and oil consumption has not gone up or down by any real amount. Might also mention the engine is on its 3rd replacement oil vapor separator. After some miles (100K+) and time these eventualy "wear out".

[watchnut]

cheers for that....I have an old V70 volvo (219k) and although it does not use much oil....it certainly chucks out a cloud of smoke if really booted!....at 18 years old, maybe it is getting tired.

My Mini at 119k is still fresh out of the exhaust!

[markbigears]

Just got this from BMW mini:

Good afternoon Mark

Thanks for your further email.

We recommend that you use our preferred partner Shell for topping up your engine oil. Please click here to find the most suitable engine oil for your car.

If there’s anything else I can help with please get in touch.

Kind regards

Thomas

BMW Group
United Kingdom