[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by DBville

As others have said, you risk losing the engine warranty by not using LL01 or LL04 oil. Given that the BMW oil is relatively cheap, about the same as Mobile 1, before the BMWCCA discount, I will use it. I have heard that either RP/RedLine/Amsoil (don't remember which one) did not get their oil tested to LL0x specs due to cost. They might meet it, but might not.

Unless you are doing some serious track work, and have a specific reason to change, I see no reason to not use the BMW oil - meets specs, reasonably priced, and preserves warranty.

Amsoil definately has an LL04 approved oil... I believe that redline and royal purple are the two that don't have the approval due to cost.

[stressdoc]

The LL04 rating has little to nothing to do with performance or protection, it is primarily about emissions related qualities.

The problem with manufacturer-specific ratings schemes is that they can make unusual requirements, and expensive testing schemes for the oil suppliers.

[Calgary Agent]

Originally Posted by stressdoc

The problem with manufacturer-specific ratings schemes is that they can make unusual requirements, and expensive testing schemes for the oil suppliers.

I'd agree with that, but it doesn't explain why Royal Purple has not submitted and been approved by the most basic of all standards in North America: Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)

[hl0m4n]

i too e-mailed royal purple to find out if their oil is LL01 or LL04 rated, but still no response.

PS: is the mobil 0w-40 approved and good to go for our cars? no problem brining that to dealer right?

[ArmyBimmerDude]

I understand what everyone is saying and all points are very valid. There may/may not be issues when I have RP in the car. That being said, its been proven through out the tuner world as being one of the best. The report I posted, while maybe not covering everything, shows how it performs compared to other leading brands. Lastly, since Ive had RP in the car, my engines temp has never risen above 230F. If somethings wrong with my engine, its not the oil, but yeah maybe I should go with another. I dunno.

[Gort]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

Amsoil definately has an LL04 approved oil... I believe that redline and royal purple are the two that don't have the approval due to cost.

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/afl.aspx LL04

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

i too e-mailed royal purple to find out if their oil is LL01 or LL04 rated, but still no response.

PS: is the mobil 0w-40 approved and good to go for our cars? no problem brining that to dealer right?

Mobil1 0W40 is good to go in our cars... it is BMW LL01 approved.

[Grumpa72]

Originally Posted by DrGP

That being said, unless you are racing, most of the BMW approved oils and almost any other name brand calling their product "full synthetic" will probably give you engine extremely good protection.... I'm not sure whether it is a BMW approved product but I don't expect to have any problems. I think there is a greater chance of having engine problems from letting the BMW oil in for a full year than changing out the oil every 5-7 K miles, whatever brand of so called FULL SYNTHETIC oil that you use.

Just ensure that the oil you use meets the BMW standard. Not all Mobil products do, including some of their synthetics. That is why I visited their site to see which does.

Gary

[hl0m4n]

im confused. we can use mobil 0w-40 but on royal purple case it is 5w-40. whats the difference between the 5w and 0w? to my understanding the number after the dash is in general lower the number better it is for the cold like 5w-30.

[Calgary Agent]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

im confused. we can use mobil 0w-40 but on royal purple case it is 5w-40. whats the difference between the 5w and 0w? to my understanding the number after the dash is in general lower the number better it is for the cold like 5w-30.

It's not about the weight of the oil, it's about whether or not a synthetic oil meets / exceeds the manufacturer's standards (requirements). I believe there are many people who will swear by Royal Purple as a lubricant, but the product(s) aren't certified to the standards set by BMW. As a matter of fact, as already mentioned, RP isn't even SAE approved. You'll have to ask RP why this is ......

[Driver72]

I'll add my two cents.

I first took notice of Royal Purple a couple years ago when i saw one of the tuner shows on Speed (the one that's filmed in Canada) with Tazz, or Jazz, or Razz or whatever the F his name is.

They dynoed an F150 pick up truck on regular conventional oil.
Then drained it, poured in the Royal Purple, drove the truck for 100 miles and brought it back to dyno.

It made like 7 whp more.

So when I got my first 335i sedan, at 2000 miles I decided to change the oil and spend the $7 a quart on Royal Purple.

Luckily, at 1220 miles on it, I had the 335i dynoed after the original LA Dyno Day installation of the PROcede.

Then a month or two later, after the 2000 mile oil change and having the Royal Purple in my car for a bit (now 3200 miles) I learned of the updated v1.4 map for the PROcede.

I took my car back to the same dyno and redynoed it.
Now with 3200 miles on the odometer (so more break in miles) and with the Royal Purple in for about 1200 miles AND with 2000 miles adaptation time on the v1.2 PROcede.

I did another dyno run, was hoping for 10+ rwhp (figured 5 more because of more adaptation time on the PROcede, and 5+ more from more break in miles and the use of Royal Purple).

The weather conditions were VERY similiar, and guess what?

I actually dynoed about 1.5 rwhp and 2-3 rwtq less the second time around.

The Royal Purple did nothing, the extra adaptation time did nothing.

True, not scientific, as it was a different day, but again, I think temps were within 5 degrees of each other.
The only difference was it was a bit more humid on the second dyno day.


So all in all, I just went back to using Mobil 1 5W-30

As I can get a 6 pack of it at Costco for $29 instead of spending $42 for a 6 pack of Royal Purple.

[DASHOCKER]

Stick with the factory Castrol..

[hl0m4n]

Originally Posted by DASHOCKER

Stick with the factory Castrol..

factory is castrol? thought it was mobil...castrol 0w-40?

[Calgary Agent]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

factory is castrol? thought it was mobil...castrol 0w-40?

It was Castrol 5W-30 in mine.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

factory is castrol? thought it was mobil...castrol 0w-40?

European formula Castrol, not the stuff off the shelf in NA.

[black M3]

hi im new to this board, just bought RP 10-40 for my 330i. there is a SAE approved logo at the back of the bottle. used to run on castrol, thot of giving RP a try.

[HERR FSTIR]

Originally Posted by hl0m4n

im confused. we can use mobil 0w-40 but on royal purple case it is 5w-40. whats the difference between the 5w and 0w? to my understanding the number after the dash is in general lower the number better it is for the cold like 5w-30.

The first number (the winter rating which is denoted by the letter W) indicates the viscosity at low temperature (how long it takes the oil to flow through a viscometer at 0 degrees F). The lower that number the better the oil will flow at low temperature. The second number of the rating describes viscosity at 212 deg F ("summer" temperature).

The difference between 0W and 5W winter ratings is pour point. The pour point describes the temperature when the oil becomes gel-like and thus won't pour rapidly. For many synthetic oils the pour point is about -35 degrees below zero (F). The 0W oil has a lower pour point (about -45F below zero ) than the 5W (about -35 deg F).

For most people the difference between 0W and 5W is therefore moot as their cars never see such extreme temperatures.


http://www.carbibles.com/viscosity.html

[epiphone3]

In BMW's TIS system, they actually recommend 0W oil for cars that regularily see -20 degrees Celsius rather than 5W oil.

[HERR FSTIR]

Originally Posted by epiphone3

In BMW's TIS system, they actually recommend 0W oil for cars that regularily see -20 degrees Celsius rather than 5W oil.

I was not aware of this, but at the same time I still maintain this is not important to the vast majority of people (with all due respect to BMW engineers). The pour point has a built in safety factor of about 5 degrees, so that the true "gel" point of the oil occurs at an even colder temperature. Thus a standard 5W synthetic should still flow at -40F.

I do happen to live in a place where 45 below zero (farenheit) occurs with some frequency, and thus a 0W oil would be advisable over 5W (probably true for Calgary too). I won't drive my 335 when it gets below -30F, but this relates to concerns about other vehicle fluids and the general stress on the drivetrain.

[epiphone3]

Originally Posted by HERR FSTIR

I was not aware of this, but at the same time I still maintain this is not important to the vast majority of people (with all due respect to BMW engineers). The pour point has a built in safety factor of about 5 degrees, so that the true "gel" point of the oil occurs at an even colder temperature. Thus a standard 5W synthetic should still flow at -40F.

I do happen to live in a place where 45 below zero (farenheit) occurs with some frequency, and thus a 0W oil would be advisable over 5W (probably true for Calgary too). I won't drive my 335 when it gets below -30F, but this relates to concerns about other vehicle fluids and the general stress on the drivetrain.

yeah... I run Castrol Syntec 0W30 or Mobil1 0W40 because of the cold weather. Just a little more fluid for those really cold days!

[hl0m4n]

is the amsoil oil the color of factory? or in other words, no problem having this and dealer right?

thanks guys.

[HyperM3]

You guys realize that it doesnt matter what color the oil is when you pour it in. It all comes out dirty black when its changed. No technician will be able to tell the difference at that point. Put in whatever you want.

FWIW, I just put in RP on my last change with my M3 after going back and forth between Castrol and Mobil1 for the past 10 yrs. All I can tell you is Castrol smells really sweet when its burning and mobil1 smells bad when its burning. Havent really driven on the RP as I changed it before I put the car away for the winter. The cost was the same though for 6 qts of any of them at the local pepboys.