[E90N52Fan]

Visited my local Canadian tire for some oil, and saw they had Pennzoil Ultra Plat for sale. They have their euro line which is BMW LL04 Cert, but on paper, the ultra plat should be a better oil right? It is higher on their offerings. Wanted to know if this option is safe to use.

[cbyrne]

Im sure it's a good oil. Just use it. N52 will be fine with any decent lubricant. LL01 is only a consideration if you plan to extend your oil service intervals to the factory maintenance schedule (most people service much more frequently). If you are changing every 5-6k miles like most do, anything reputable will do fine.

[E93Dude]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Eh, I'd bet a majority of BMW owners are not car enthusiasts like most members are who are on car internet forums and follow the BMW condition-based-service system schedule rather than over-maintain engine oil.

The CBS system actually works. But your advice is spot-on, the N52 will survive use of non-LL-01 spec oil if the change intervals are in the 7,500 range or lower.

Enthusiasts worry far too much about engine oil.

Eh, I'd bet that most non-enthusiast BMW owners who like to drive more than get their hands dirty do one of two things: drive their car until CBS tells them its time to change their oil, OR they just look at that plastic sticker in upper left hand corner of windshield and take it in at the X,XXX mile mark that DiscountOil-R-Us tells them to. Either way, as long as its the right grade of full synth, the car will be fine. I have 07, and at 100k I went from CBS to every 6 or 7k just because I use it as an excuse to get into the engine and poke around and make sure nothing is fraying, loose, etc. Plus with the FCP deal on oil, I'm effectively paying nothing.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Enthusiasts worry far too much about engine oil.

Didn't you mean to say "Enthusiasts worry far too much about every stupid aspect of their cars"????

[Tambohamilton]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I'm old school. I actually open the hood at gas stations and check the engine for leaks while the car fuels up. I really don't need an occasion to check my cars because I have a dedicated building at home I built just for car maintenance. It's fully equipped.

Most modern people have no interest in automotive maintenance. But modern cars really don't require a lot of maintenance.

#opens hood#
"Yep, still leaking"
#closes hood#

That's how it goes, right? We are talking about BMWs here, after all. They took away our dipsticks, but gave us various oil leaks to monitor the oil level instead.

[E93Dude]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I really don't need an occasion to check my cars because I have a dedicated building at home I built just for car maintenance. It's fully equipped.

Yeah, but do you have a set of these kick-ass custom low rise ramps?... [drops mic, walks away and falls off stage]

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I did. And it always starts with engine oil...

The gateway drug...

Next up: Tires!

[edycol]

Originally Posted by E90N52Fan

Visited my local Canadian tire for some oil, and saw they had Pennzoil Ultra Plat for sale. They have their euro line which is BMW LL04 Cert, but on paper, the ultra plat should be a better oil right? It is higher on their offerings. Wanted to know if this option is safe to use.

Not really for N51/52/53/54/55. They update it in 2018 to address timing chain issues on N20/26 and further increased limits on oxidation.
Any oil that has MB229.5 will do good in any of engines I mentioned.
As for LL04, it is same as LL01 regarding protection, but it is so called Low-SAPS oil. Additive package is different, and there is lower TBN. That means you will run out if additives sooner IF fuel is rich in sulfur. Otherwise, you should be good for at least 10,000km.