The Minefield That Is Oil Recommendations (M54 Engine)

[drophead]

Have a 2003 325ti (with the 6 speed! Tis rather zippy), was wondering what oil to put in.

I got massively confused by Long-life 04 and Long-life 01. Also not sure on whether Castrol Edge 5w-30 (LL04) will be fine or whether I really need the Edge 0w-30 Titanium (LL01) stuff. I live in Norfolk so cold-start viscosity shouldn't be too much of an issue since we never go below -10C!

Anyway, for those of you who have experience or knowledge of the M54 series engine, any advice would be greatful... as would any current deals you know of

Thanks!

[2xtwins]

I have a 52 plate 325ti, owned it for 4 1/2 years and run it on Castrol Magnatec 5W/30 - as recommended and used by my local BMW Indy, TWG Automotive.
They did an oil service on it last month. Lovely engine, uses very little oil - maybe a litre every 8k miles.
Mine's got the 5 speed box, being the earlier model. Very under-rated car imho.

Kev

[Smuler]

I used this one, over 56,000 miles, having discussed options with Castrol
Edge 0w-30 Titanium (LL01)

I know the garages who did my services used 5w 30 but it didn't make any difference.

[drophead]

Ta for the replies!

Found some Edge FST 0W30 on eBay going for just over £30 inc. delivery so thought I'd go for that as Magnatec seems to have 'synthetic' properties but isn't actually synthetic.

[andyiley]

The spec new was LL01 due to the age of the car.

LL04 is a newer spec, but either will be fine.

[tgr]

I would imagine whatever is cheapest LL01 or LL04 rather than specific makes, and also doing an oil service every year/6000 miles instead of 12000 would be best

[2xtwins]

drophead said:

Ta for the replies!

Found some Edge FST 0W30 on eBay going for just over £30 inc. delivery so thought I'd go for that as Magnatec seems to have 'synthetic' properties but isn't actually synthetic.

Good price for Edge OP, although Costco can often beat that.

As to Magnatec, strange that it says "Fully Synthetic" on the bottle if it's not....

Kev

[drophead]

2xtwins said:

As to Magnatec, strange that it says "Fully Synthetic" on the bottle if it's not....

Kev

Have a Google. They were apparently able to call it fully synth in the UK via a court order. In Germany, Magnatec is classed as semi-synth since their classifications are much more stringent.

[RC1]

the ll04 spec supersedes an ll01 spec and is retro applicable

plug the reg no into the castrol website and i expect it will throw up the 5/30 edge as the recommended one

[helix402]

Any LL04 oil, this supercedes LL01. Available in various grades according to your taste.

[dhutch]

It is a total minefield.

As ECP have 45% off oils today, I have just bought 2x 'Castrol Magnatec (A3/B4) 10W-40 4ltr' for the 330ci which at £48 before discount isn't too unreasonable. £60/5ltr equivalent down to £33/5ltr.

Previously I have also used both 5W30 and 5W40, as well as Mobil Super 2000 'SemiSynth' or Mobil Super 3000 which is 'HC Synthese' as per I believe Magnatec. It is very hard to know what difference this makes to oil consumption, once you throw in a host of other variables such as driving style, and replacing gaskets.

The car is on 180k total millage, and currently using around 1 litre of oil per 1000miles.
At which point I am not sure how fruit ful running it on Castrol Edge or Mobil 1 branded fully synthetics would be.


Daniel

[d_a_n1979]

Use ANY oil that meets BMW LLO1 / LL04 specs..

Sod the label / brand. Just change it twice a year, use Mann or Mahle filters and keep the oil fresh.

I use Triple QX (Eurocarparts) and it meets the necessary BMW specs...

Nothing more is needed

[Court_S]

d_a_n1979 said:

Use ANY oil that meets BMW LLO1 / LL04 specs..

Sod the label / brand. Just change it twice a year, use Mann or Mahle filters and keep the oil fresh.

I use Triple QX (Eurocarparts) and it meets the necessary BMW specs...

Nothing more is needed

Couldn’t agree more. A cheaper brand for 9k / 12 months is going to be better than a posh oil for 18k plus.

I tend to use Fusch or Millers from Opie. Seven litres and a Bosch filter can usually be had for £45 or so with one of their many discount codes.

[d_a_n1979]

Court_S said:

d_a_n1979 said:

Use ANY oil that meets BMW LLO1 / LL04 specs..

Sod the label / brand. Just change it twice a year, use Mann or Mahle filters and keep the oil fresh.

I use Triple QX (Eurocarparts) and it meets the necessary BMW specs...

Nothing more is needed

Couldn’t agree more. A cheaper brand for 9k / 12 months is going to be better than a posh oil for 18k plus.

I tend to use Fusch or Millers from Opie. Seven litres and a Bosch filter can usually be had for £45 or so with one of their many discount codes.

2 oil and filter changes, DIY, a year is still cheaper than one full tank of fuel...

[dhutch]

d_a_n1979 said:

Use ANY oil that meets BMW LLO1 / LL04 specs..

Sod the label / brand. Just change it twice a year, use Mann or Mahle filters and keep the oil fresh.

I use Triple QX (Eurocarparts) and it meets the necessary BMW specs...

Nothing more is needed

I'm no expert, but would boadly agree, however as a 20yo standard, reference to LL01 is hard to find, and LL04 which as last updated in 2018 now targets quite a different car. Plus, it's only a certain selection of requirements and may or may not be listed even if it would comply I guess.

At which point if it meets ACEA A3/B3, A3/B4 or A5/B5 you shouldn't, as I understand it, have any issues. A low SAPS oil like C3 might well also be fine, but isn't required and may actually be less suitable rather than more?

On the surface both TripleQX and Comma appear to be quality oils and reasonable prices, certainly the ratings appear ahetof the price point on their midranges, and certainly there is a case that the likes of Castrol and Mobil spend a lot of money of advertising etc, including the fact our cars all say 'BMW recommends Castrol ' on the filler cap which you pay for, but at the same time they are also respected brands in their own right and if it's 45% off then £30 a gallon isn't bad in today's world.

Your also more limited if looking for a 10w40 than a 5w30 with the majority of our cars now being on the high mileage end of the spectrum.

I change the oil annually, paying the local garage, who being a Bosch franchise use their filters.

[motco]

I have a 2.2i Z3 with an M54 engine at <50k miles, and it has a tendency to use more oil than most other engines of modern times, so I opt for the 5W-40 as recommended by Opie Oils. It is a known feature of the M54 that it likes a drink of engine oil - nothing excessive, but a top up or so between changes.

[Court_S]

d_a_n1979 said:

2 oil and filter changes, DIY, a year is still cheaper than one full tank of fuel...

Pretty sad state of affairs that isn’t it?

I’m ally halving the BMW recommendation to 9k. My 335i doesn’t burn any oil and the 125i burns a wee bit but does lots of short trips. Plus it’s an N52, so will be leaking from some no doubt!

[Craig W]

My E46 330 drinks a fair amount, and came across so much conflicting info on oil. It's insane. Why people hold such fervent opinions on oil is beyond me. I use Fuchs Titan SuperSyn Longlife 5w40. Been fine so far.

I go by the old wisdom of "you'd be better using any old ste and changing regularly than stressing over the right oil and leaving it in there for a year/10K miles" and it's always worked for me.

[dhutch]

Craig W said:

My E46 330 drinks a fair amount, and came across so much conflicting info on oil. It's insane. Why people hold such fervent opinions on oil is beyond me. I use Fuchs Titan SuperSyn Longlife 5w40. Been fine so far.

Yeah, I expect you could actually run it on literally any multigrade around the SAE 30 40 grade without issues. Expect in summer it would actaully run find on a monograde straight 40 fine too.

But the Fuchs Titan appears to be another ACEA A3/B4 just like Magnetec and various others.

How much do you consider 'a fair amount' mine went down quite nicely with a rocker cover and filter housing gasket, but while my records are patchy, appears to have crept up again a little to about 1 litre of oil per 1000miles, which is like two gallons between annual change!

[Craig W]

dhutch said:

Yeah, I expect you could actually run it on literally any multigrade around the SAE 30 40 grade without issues. Expect in summer it would actaully run find on a monograde straight 40 fine too.

But the Fuchs Titan appears to be another ACEA A3/B4 just like Magnetec and various others.

How much do you consider 'a fair amount' mine went down quite nicely with a rocker cover and filter housing gasket, but while my records are patchy, appears to have crept up again a little to about 1 litre of oil per 1000miles, which is like two gallons between annual change!

Mine does less than 2K per year mileage wise, but I think your consumption of 1 litre per thousand is about where mine is. There is report on MOT's prior to me buying the car of oil leaks, and there obviously have been leaks from the rocker cover in the past, but having cleaned things up when I changed the Thermostat I'm not seeing any new leaks so think it is being consumed rather than getting out anywhere.