[Greg220]

I bought M1 0w40 LL-01 but I have second thoughts because when I enter my car info on the Mobil 1 website it says:
"Based on what you've told us, your vehicle manufacturer recommends 7 quarts of a 5W-30 or 5W-40 viscosity and oil that meets BMW Longlife LL-01. We currently do not offer any motor oils in the United States that meet these specifications".

Also, the recommendation from BMW for Mobil 1 0w40 seems to refer only for a top up rather than a full replacement:
"If you need to add oil between oil changes and BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil is unavailable, you may top up the oil level with one of the following approved synthetic oils".

Do you think it's better to return Mobil 1 and stick with OEM oil?

[MR.BLUECOLLARMAN]

I'm currently running 0-40 Mobile 1 in my E90. I'm gonna change out the oil around 2k miles and see how it looks. I had a ticking sound before and some guys on the forums recommended it for me. Seems to be running well at the moment

[Greg220]

Originally Posted by MR.BLUECOLLARMAN

I'm currently running 0-40 Mobile 1 in my E90. I'm gonna change out the oil around 2k miles and see how it looks. I had a ticking sound before and some guys on the forums recommended it for me. Seems to be running well at the moment

I see. And did you notice any difference in engine noise when you switched from OEM to M1?

[MR.BLUECOLLARMAN]

Originally Posted by Greg220

I see. And did you notice any difference in engine noise when you switched from OEM to M1?

My ticking stopped! But it does seem a little hotter after you drive it for a while. I wasn't sure if it was the oil or because of my coolant/water pump because I was just doing a coolant flush earlier. They do recommend the Euro version over the US version ....not sure why? Eastern US is pretty warm right now so that also might be why. Currently 90-100 degrees everyday

[kkasson]

Originally Posted by Greg220

I bought M1 0w40 LL-01 but I have second thoughts because when I enter my car info on the Mobil 1 website it says:
"Based on what you've told us, your vehicle manufacturer recommends 7 quarts of a 5W-30 or 5W-40 viscosity and oil that meets BMW Longlife LL-01. We currently do not offer any motor oils in the United States that meet these specifications".

Also, the recommendation from BMW for Mobil 1 0w40 seems to refer only for a top up rather than a full replacement:
"If you need to add oil between oil changes and BMW High Performance Synthetic Oil is unavailable, you may top up the oil level with one of the following approved synthetic oils".

Do you think it's better to return Mobil 1 and stick with OEM oil?

Mobil 1 0w40 used to be LL-01 approved, but the formula was changed and is no longer approved as of a couple months ago. That's why the website says that they don't offer anything meeting the spec....yours may or may not have been approved depending on how old it is. You can check your particular bottles to see if it has the LL-01 approval.


It will be fine either way though. Even if it's not approved, it's not gonna cause any problems to use it once. I'd switch to something that's approved for the long term though.

[MrSmileyDC]

I'm running it on my f82 right now. I've never used BMWs extended change intervals though. So my oil rarely gets more than 5-7k miles on it.

[Bamaben]

I don't know why anyone uses anything other than factory oil from dealer or online because it's designed for our car and no more expensive than Mobil

[TheeGovernor]

Originally Posted by Bamaben

I don't know why anyone uses anything other than factory oil from dealer or online because it's designed for our car and no more expensive than Mobil

Those same fine engineers thought 15k oil change intervals were great also. Mobil 1 is cheaper too and so many people have ran it with no problems.

[F22_Raptor]

Castrol 0w40. It's made in Germany so you know it's good stuff

[GATORB8]

Originally Posted by F22_Raptor

Castrol 0w40. It's made in Germany so you know it's good stuff

The Castrol is the OEM BMW Supplier, and it's LL-01, and only $23/5qt on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-03101...=castrol+0w-40

IIRC, the owner's manual just specifies LL-01, not viscosity. And I can use it in our Benz as well.

[banshee28]

Originally Posted by GATORB8

The Castrol is the OEM BMW Supplier, and it's LL-01, and only $23/5qt on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-03101...=castrol+0w-40

IIRC, the owner's manual just specifies LL-01, not viscosity. And I can use it in our Benz as well.

I just switched over to this from the GC 0W-30. So far I plan to stick to this one, and as mentioned, its cheaper and easier to get also!

[F22_Raptor]

Originally Posted by GATORB8

The Castrol is the OEM BMW Supplier, and it's LL-01, and only $23/5qt on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Castrol-03101...=castrol+0w-40

IIRC, the owner's manual just specifies LL-01, not viscosity. And I can use it in our Benz as well.

0w30 and 0w40 are the only oils that are mande in either Belgium or Germany. 5w40 and 5w30 meet LL01 but are made in the USA. All will work just fine but I personally prefer the German made oil, just like I prefer German made cars lol.

[The Nightman]

Here's a thread about the new M1 0w40 formulation and how it no longer meets BMW's LL-01 standard: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...il#Post4068933

Basically BMW added the N20 engine to the LL-01 standard and Mobil's new 0w40 formula failed the tests for it. Mobil claims that the new formula is still fine for older engines. Castrol's Edge oils (A3/B4 0w30, 0w40 and C3 5w30) seem to be better as it continues to carry the LL-01 certification.

[dleccord]

Originally Posted by MR.BLUECOLLARMAN

I'm currently running 0-40 Mobile 1 in my E90. I'm gonna change out the oil around 2k miles and see how it looks. I had a ticking sound before and some guys on the forums recommended it for me. Seems to be running well at the moment

For clarification, your mobile1 doesn't have that European stamp on the bottle, right? Because if so, I'm going to get them at Costco

[MR.BLUECOLLARMAN]

Originally Posted by dleccord

For clarification, your mobile1 doesn't have that European stamp on the bottle, right? Because if so, I'm going to get them at Costco

I'll double check tomorrow but I'm pretty sure it doesn't have the stamp. It says "Euro Formula" on the front but for the BMW specific oil Mobil 1 only makes it in Europe.

[kkasson]

Originally Posted by freedomfries

Here's a thread about the new M1 0w40 formulation and how it no longer meets BMW's LL-01 standard: http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums...il#Post4068933

Basically BMW added the N20 engine to the LL-01 standard and Mobil's new 0w40 formula failed the tests for it. Mobil claims that the new formula is still fine for older engines. Castrol's Edge oils (A3/B4 0w30, 0w40 and C3 5w30) seem to be better as it continues to carry the LL-01 certification.

Interesting thread. I'm hesitant to accept the response from M1...I find it hard to believe that BMW changed the LL-01 spec. Someone posted a list of BMW oil specs on the next page. LL-01 already superseded LL-98, and there's now a LL-12 and LL-14. If the N20 needed a better spec than LL-01, I think they would just make a new spec for it.

[The Nightman]

For the Canadians out there, I dropped by CT to see what they carried and found the following Castrol Edge LL-01 oils:

1. "SAE 0W-30 A3/B4" - orange label, made in Belgium
- ACEA A3/B3, A3/B4; API SL; BMW LL-01; MB 229.3, 229.5; VW 502.00, 505.00; Fiat 9.55535-GI.

2. "SAE 0W-40 A3/B4" - black label, made in Belgium
- ACEA A3/B4: API SN, CF; BMW LL-01; MB 229.3, 229.5; VW 502.00, 505.00; Porsche A40; Ford WSS-M2C937A.

3. "SAE 5W-40 US" - yellow label, blended in Canada
- ACEA A3/B4: API SN, CF; BMW LL-01; MB 229.3; VW 501.1, 502.00, 505.00; Porsche A40.

5L jugs of 5W-40 were readily available at this location. 0W-30 and 0W-40 were only available in 1L bottles.

[Washington335i]

I used Mobil 1 0W-40 for 5 years, but just bought Castrol 5W-40. My BMW oil cap says "Castrol" on it, which led me to change. The 5w-40 is slightly thicker for the high temperatures here in the summer.

[Bamaben]

Originally Posted by TheeGovernor

Those same fine engineers thought 15k oil change intervals were great also. Mobil 1 is cheaper too and so many people have ran it with no problems.

People have run dealer oil with no problems either. Do you use autozone parts on your Bimmer because it's cheaper ?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by TheeGovernor

Those same fine engineers thought 15k oil change intervals were great also. Mobil 1 is cheaper too and so many people have ran it with no problems.

Hummm... Over the first 11 oil changes my engine average OCI was 16,380 as dictated by the CBS. One change was at 12,310 (to check the oil level sensor accuracy) and the next at 8,184 (caught back up with the CBS - didn't reset it the 12.3K interval). Take those two OCIs out, and the average is 17,743. At 186,000 miles (300,000 KM) the CBS drops the oil quality measurement data from the OCI algorithm and makes the OCI calculation defunct (CBS only resets to zero). When you reach that point, BMW suggests to use a fix-interval OCI. I chose 10,000. My average OCI now with the engine at 300,000 miles is 14,208.

'06 325i w/ N52. Use only BMW oil and OE filters.

[TheeGovernor]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Hummm... Over the first 11 oil changes my engine average OCI was 16,380 as dictated by the CBS. One change was at 12,310 (to check the oil level sensor accuracy) and the next at 8,184 (caught back up with the CBS - didn't reset it the 12.3K interval). Take those two OCIs out, and the average is 17,743. At 186,000 miles (300,000 KM) the CBS drops the oil quality measurement data from the OCI algorithm and makes the OCI calculation defunct (CBS only resets to zero). When you reach that point, BMW suggests to use a fix-interval OCI. I chose 10,000. My average OCI now with the engine at 300,000 miles is 14,208.

'06 325i w/ N52. Use only BMW oil and OE filters.

I would like to see how your engine looks on the inside. And you have no turbos to deal with as well as higher temperatures. And the oil change interval were revised by bmw

[TheeGovernor]

Originally Posted by Bamaben

People have run dealer oil with no problems either. Do you use autozone parts on your Bimmer because it's cheaper ?

I never said there was anything wrong with oem oil. I just dont like to waste money on things that i know will perform as well or better than the original. And chinese parts and german cars dont mix.