[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I've never used car oil for any of my motorcycles since all have the transmission integrated into the engine crankcase and share the engine oil as trans lube. But this isn't a motorcycle forum...

I was talking about cost, but you knew that.

[E92William]

I personally believe that most cam bearing ledge wear issues are not due to the oil used as much as the use the engine gets before the oil gets up to temperature. I always drive the car easy until it tips over 160F to start revving it over 2-2500

[213e90n51]

Originally Posted by TheMidnightNarwhal

I don't garage my car in the winter. It sits outside had no issues at -30c last year.

hows the paint

[TheMidnightNarwhal]

Originally Posted by 213e90n51

hows the paint

It's good but I've been through 2 accidents now with this car so my hood and all the left side of the car is brand new paint and rear bumper.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Originally Posted by E92William

I personally believe that most cam bearing ledge wear issues are not due to the oil used as much as the use the engine gets before the oil gets up to temperature. I always drive the car easy until it tips over 160F to start revving it over 2-2500

It's a design flaw more than anything. That's why BMW changed the seal later and made a SIB about it.

[E92William]

Well the early seals are indeed metal and the later ones nylon but I think some people have had it happen on cars with updated seals too

[Luis561]

Castrol 5w40 from Walmart is what I use. 0w40 burns up for me

[stewbets]

Originally Posted by E92William

I personally believe that most cam bearing ledge wear issues are not due to the oil used as much as the use the engine gets before the oil gets up to temperature. I always drive the car easy until it tips over 160F to start revving it over 2-2500

I keep mine below 1500 until it gets over 240F or I've been driving for 2 hours, whichever comes last. I bought this car to completely obsess over oil temperature theories and not have any fun at all. Safety first, second and third!

[E92William]

Originally Posted by stewbets

I keep mine below 1500 until it gets over 240F or I've been driving for 2 hours, whichever comes last. I bought this car to completely obsess over oil temperature theories and not have any fun at all. Safety first, second and third!

Haha I used to go as far as 220 but I've gotten a bit over it. I'm part of the bob is the oil guy forums too so that explains my obsession with knowing what the oil is doing. When I had my 325i E90 without the oil gauge it was quite annoying to be blind both to coolant temp and oil temp

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by E92William

Haha I used to go as far as 220 but I've gotten a bit over it. I'm part of the bob is the oil guy forums too so that explains my obsession with knowing what the oil is doing. When I had my 325i E90 without the oil gauge it was quite annoying to be blind both to coolant temp and oil temp

I'm on that site too and holy crap do people over analyze stuff. I think it's a combo of people who are into oil technology and a bunch of old farts who think anything besides straight sae 30 will blow up your engine.

Modern oils have come a long way, even in the last 5 years. A multi-viscosity synthetic oil like Castrol 0w40 has fantastic cold flow properties. I wait a few miles for my car to warm up on a cold day (5-10 min) then I have no problem running it wide open throttle. All of my used oil analysis reports have come back great with the Castrol 0w40. The E90's cooling system is very efficient, I usually have heat by the end of my 1.2 mile long street, the car warms up quickly.

[MaconPaul]

I assume most of these replies using the 0w40 are ignoring the LL-01 rating recommendation and getting the LL-04 rated oil. That should save money the next time I change the oil. Are you pleased with the LL-04 oil? Also what mileage interval are people using. I'm new to these long life oil intervals. I was thinking 5k maybe 7.5k interval. I won't be doing 15k. Not sure the age of the oil but I changed mine the week I bought the car in August and it was sludgy around the drain hole.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by MaconPaul

I assume most of these replies using the 0w40 are ignoring the LL-01 rating recommendation and getting the LL-04 rated oil. That should save money the next time I change the oil. Are you pleased with the LL-04 oil? Also what mileage interval are people using. I'm new to these long life oil intervals. I was thinking 5k maybe 7.5k interval. I won't be doing 15k. Not sure the age of the oil but I changed mine the week I bought the car in August and it was sludgy around the drain hole.

LL-01 is an obsolete spec that BMW no longer uses, so most oil companies (even those who previously carried the spec, like Castrol 0w40 and Mobil 1 0w40) are no longer carrying that spec. In many cases even though the oil doesn't show the spec, the formulation of the oil remains unchanged.

BMW's latest oil spec is LL-01FE which the FE stands for fuel efficiency, and it applies to mostly 0w30 oils. LL-04 is a spec for their diesel engines.

Any oil that carries the Porsche A40 spec will be similar to the old BMW LL-01 spec and is perfectly fine to use in our engines.

These include:
Castrol 0w40
Castrol 5w40
Mobil 1 0w40
Pennzoil Platinum Euro 0w40
BMW TwinPower Turbo 5w30
Liqui-Moly 5w40/0w40/5w30

And I'm sure there are others.

[mainbearing]

I have continued to use Castrol Edge 0W40 even after Castrol (and Mobil) got rid of the LL01 rating. The Castrol 5W40 now showing up at Walmart does carry the LL01 rating. It is about $22.xx a 5qt (liter?) jug. Even without the LL01, I figure if it meets MB, Porsche and VW specs over the same period, then I would use it.

[Tunafish]

I wouldn't worry about the LL01 out of warranty and not going by cars oil change internal. Under these conditions oil weight is more important. Any full synthetic oil with approved weight will do.

[CTinline-six]

Originally Posted by Tunafish

I wouldn't worry about the LL01 out of warranty and not going by cars oil change internal. Under these conditions oil weight is more important. Any full synthetic oil with approved weight will do.

Agreed.

It's basically so manufacturers have a standard for what oil they want used in their cars during warranty. The N52 engine is not hard on oil, so in theory if you used any good 5w30 it shouldn't cause issues. I'm sure the LL-01 spec was more for making sure good synthetic was used for the extended drain requirements while under warranty.

I'm sure there are engineering parameters that come in to play with determining what viscosity to use. For example using 5w20 or 0w20 might cause issues with the VANOS function, so it's important to use the spec'd viscosity, but the brand shouldn't matter.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

Agreed.

It's basically so manufacturers have a standard for what oil they want used in their cars during warranty. The N52 engine is not hard on oil, so in theory if you used any good 5w30 it shouldn't cause issues. I'm sure the LL-01 spec was more for making sure good synthetic was used for the extended drain requirements while under warranty.

I'm sure there are engineering parameters that come in to play with determining what viscosity to use. For example using 5w20 or 0w20 might cause issues with the VANOS function, so it's important to use the spec'd viscosity, but the brand shouldn't matter.

I agree with you and Tuna, if one is not following the BMW long drain interval spec, LL01 is not really necessary. Any oil will last 7,500 miles, even non-synthetic. I just stay with BMW oil, on line it's less expensive than other quality oils at auto parts stores and it's a no-brainer that it meets spec.

[POBEP]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I agree with you and Tuna, if one is not following the BMW long drain interval spec, LL01 is not really necessary. Any oil will last 7,500 miles, even non-synthetic. I just stay with BMW oil, on line it's less expensive than other quality oils at auto parts stores and it's a no-brainer that it meets spec.

My next oil change is due in a couple weeks.
My factory OCI is 24mo/~14K mi. I put 7K/mi year on my 09 E91.

I always used BMW LL-01 5W-30.

Couple days ago got $59 oil change offer (includes oil, filter, labour and loaner) from local dealer. They do 0W-30 LL-01 FE only.

Dilema:
I am not concerned about 5W or 0W.
I have some concern about HTHS difference
- LL-01 FE is 3.0 (P/N 83-21-2-450-384)
- LL-01 is 3.5 (P/N 83-21-2-466-454)

What you guys think?
On one hand $59 seems reasonable.
DIY is not an issue, but oil disposal is PITA in my area.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

I predict this thread will go well and everyone will be civil.

[Luis561]

Originally Posted by POBEP

My next oil change is due in a couple weeks.
My factory OCI is 24mo/~14K mi. I put 7K/mi year on my 09 E91.

I always used BMW LL-01 5W-30.

Couple days ago got $59 oil change offer (includes oil, filter, labour and loaner) from local dealer. They do 0W-30 LL-01 FE only.

Dilema:
I am not concerned about 5W or 0W.
I have some concern about HTHS difference
- LL-01 FE is 3.0 (P/N 83-21-2-450-384)
- LL-01 is 3.5 (P/N 83-21-2-466-454)

What you guys think?
On one hand $59 seems reasonable.
DIY is not an issue, but oil disposal is PITA in my area.

$59 is a good price

Also, you don't have an advance auto or autozone nearby that recycles?

[Ozzie335i]

For 59 dollars, no need to get your hands dirty. And you never know, you may like the loaner and want to buy it instead.

[marvinstockman]

POBEP, the $59 oil change is to get your car into the shop so that the mechanic can do an overall mechanical inspection and generate work. Some dealers are honest and some are not, kind of just like people.

If you get a long laundry list of required work either say you can't afford it, or that you want to get a second opinion. Remember, you drove in to the dealer and you can drive out of the dealer.

[longm1985]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

You guys understand that 5W means the oil meets the SAE pour test at -35 deg. F. right? In Georgia or Cali, it makes no difference if the oil is OW or 5W. The last time it was that cold in either of those areas was over 10,000 years ago. Lol.

Yeah, it gets that cold here in Wisconsin. Not so far this year somehow. 5w30/40 is a worthwhile choice here.