[edycol]

Originally Posted by Fiasco

Hey thanks for the response! Not sure why I wasn't able to track this down but it looks great for my purposes.

Several things:
1. That Liqui Moly is NOT approved for LL01. LM claims it "meets" and what they want to tell you is that it could be used in LL01 applications. LM is a shameless advertiser and the LL01 update from 2018 has several very important updates for N20 engines (not your concern). That oil is not tested by BMW for LL01 approval so it is really shitty on their part to recommend that oil considering that the 2018 LL01 update has a specific N20/26 timing chain test.
2. That being said, it can be used in N51/52/53/54/55 engines. But there are much, MUCH better options out there. If you are going for free oil exchanges from FCP, go Pentosin 5W30 or 5W40 (5W30 will do better in winter, and 5W is sufficient in all lower 48).
3. If you want the best oils for your N52, go to a local Wal-Mart and pick up Castrol 0W40 or Mobil1 0W40. If you want best but with LL01 approval, pick up Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W40 in local Advance auto parts or auto Zone. They usually have a sale $33 for 5qt+filter.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by e91Owner

I'm surprised they sell that, simply because LL-01FE was primarily made for engines/fuels not in North America . However, it is compatible with an N52.

If you want just straight LL-01 from FCP, this oil in 0w-40 meets that cert. There are very few oils left in NA that are 0w and are LL-01 approved. Also note that some 5w oils have similar cold viscosities to 0w oils. You have to look at the specs individually when comparing different brands.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/0w-...ui-moly-lm2050

That is not correct. LL01FE is used on the US market by BMW for some 7 years. It is high-SAPS oil so low quality fuel is not a concern.
Since 01/2017 the US has ultra low sulphur gas.
That being said, I would skip LL01FE simply bcs. it has low HTHS.

[Fiasco]

Originally Posted by edycol

Several things:
1. That Liqui Moly is NOT approved for LL01. LM claims it "meets" and what they want to tell you is that it could be used in LL01 applications. LM is a shameless advertiser and the LL01 update from 2018 has several very important updates for N20 engines (not your concern). That oil is not tested by BMW for LL01 approval so it is really shitty on their part to recommend that oil considering that the 2018 LL01 update has a specific N20/26 timing chain test.
2. That being said, it can be used in N51/52/53/54/55 engines. But there are much, MUCH better options out there. If you are going for free oil exchanges from FCP, go Pentosin 5W30 or 5W40 (5W30 will do better in winter, and 5W is sufficient in all lower 48).
3. If you want the best oils for your N52, go to a local Wal-Mart and pick up Castrol 0W40 or Mobil1 0W40. If you want best but with LL01 approval, pick up Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W40 in local Advance auto parts or auto Zone. They usually have a sale $33 for 5qt+filter.

1. The bottle says BMW LongLife-01. Do you have a source to back up this claim?

2. Im in Canada, car sleeps in a garage but some days it'll be parked outside for up to 8 hours in -40 Celsius. 5W still better than 0W? Explain your reasoning.

3. What makes Castrol or Mobil 1 better than LM? LM is rated for 11-01 and those oils aren't. Explain.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by Fiasco

1. The bottle says BMW LongLife-01. Do you have a source to back up this claim?

2. Im in Canada, car sleeps in a garage but some days it'll be parked outside for up to 8 hours in -40 Celsius. 5W still better than 0W? Explain your reasoning.

3. What makes Castrol or Mobil 1 better than LM? LM is rated for 11-01 and those oils aren't. Explain.

1. The claim is in Liqui Moly language. Read again that link!
2. It is not also approved for MB229.5 which is gold standard among these approvals! Always look for oil with MB229.5 in addition to approval you are looking for. In N52 you can go with oil solely based on MB229.5 approval.
3. BMW since 2018 explicitly bans 0WXX oils on LL01 and LL04 approval! It cannot be approved. They do that to increase OCI as 0WXX oils in ACEA A3 and C3 category are oxidizing bit more snd BMW has by far most stringent oxidation requirements (bit too stringent) so they can bump OCI.
4. Castrol and Mobil1 are better bcs. performance numbers, better base stocks, are actually approved for MB229.5. Both oils have extremely low pour point which indicates so called "true synthetic " base stocks.
5. In Canada I would go Castrol Edge 0W30 which was most popular oil for European cars last 20 years, but it is harder to find last 5-6 years. If you can get it use it. Other than that, Castrol or M1 0W40. Check Pennzoil Platinum Euro 0W40. If vehicle is outside definitely go 0WXX. How is your commute? How long?

[e91Owner]

Originally Posted by Fiasco

1. The bottle says BMW LongLife-01. Do you have a source to back up this claim?

2. Im in Canada, car sleeps in a garage but some days it'll be parked outside for up to 8 hours in -40 Celsius. 5W still better than 0W? Explain your reasoning.

3. What makes Castrol or Mobil 1 better than LM? LM is rated for 11-01 and those oils aren't. Explain.

Not that your car will ever notice the difference, have a shorter lifespan or have any other negative effect, but if you read it, it's a recommendation not a manufacturer approval.

That being said if you want the manufacturer approval from something at FCP in an LL-01 at 0w, you're not going to find it.

This is probably what the vast majority of people use from FCP on our cars. It has a similar cold viscosity to their other cars.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...SABEgJ_4vD_BwE

Get whatever you want though. Whether you use this one or the other one, it will work just fine.

[edycol]

Here you go, rebadged Pennzoil Platinum Euro 0W40 or what is in other markets Shell Helix Ultra Pure Plus:

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/m...7963p.html#srp

[Fiasco]

Originally Posted by edycol

1. The claim is in Liqui Moly language. Read again that link!
2. It is not also approved for MB229.5 which is gold standard among these approvals! Always look for oil with MB229.5 in addition to approval you are looking for. In N52 you can go with oil solely based on MB229.5 approval.
3. BMW since 2018 explicitly bans 0WXX oils on LL01 and LL04 approval! It cannot be approved. They do that to increase OCI as 0WXX oils in ACEA A3 and C3 category are oxidizing bit more snd BMW has by far most stringent oxidation requirements (bit too stringent) so they can bump OCI.
4. Castrol and Mobil1 are better bcs. performance numbers, better base stocks, are actually approved for MB229.5. Both oils have extremely low pour point which indicates so called "true synthetic " base stocks.
5. In Canada I would go Castrol Edge 0W30 which was most popular oil for European cars last 20 years, but it is harder to find last 5-6 years. If you can get it use it. Other than that, Castrol or M1 0W40. Check Pennzoil Platinum Euro 0W40. If vehicle is outside definitely go 0WXX. How is your commute? How long?

1. I see the claim now, that's kinda odd. You would think BMW would catch something like like or FCP Euro wouldn't sell it. That being said if it was ruining engines they definitely wouldn't be selling it. Motul is doing the same thing it seems. That's a good catch though. I wonder if this is due to hefty fees that BMW charges to get them to look at the oil? Maybe not but just a thought.

4. I have Mobil 1 0W-30 in the car right now, looked at the bottle and no MB229.5. Checked the site too, nothing there either, then checked Mobil 1 5W-30 and same thing too. Perhaps they lost it recently?

Commute can vary, right now looking like im not gonna do much driving. What makes the MB229.5 approval better than the ACEA A3/A4?

Originally Posted by edycol

Here you go, rebadged Pennzoil Platinum Euro 0W40 or what is in other markets Shell Helix Ultra Pure Plus:

https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/m...7963p.html#srp

Seems as though people like this stuff, and its hits all the buttons, but I stay away from Shell. Super unethical company. I took a peek in my manual and I feel better now haha, for those that may not have one handy:
_____

Straight from the manual:

Gasoline Engine

Preferred: BMW Longlife-01
BMW Longlife-01 FE

Alternatively: BMW Longlife-98

Diesel Engine

Preferred: BMW LongLife-04

Approved Viscosity Classes:

SAE 0W-40
SAE 0W-30
SAE 5W-40
SAE 5W-30

"BMW Recommends Castrol"
____

I can see online that this has changed to Pennzoil, does anyone know why? Is it just for the newer engines and not the older ones?

I already ordered the LM 0W-40, wondering if I should keep it or return it.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by Fiasco

1. I see the claim now, that's kinda odd. You would think BMW would catch something like like or FCP Euro wouldn't sell it. That being said if it was ruining engines they definitely wouldn't be selling it. Motul is doing the same thing it seems. That's a good catch though. I wonder if this is due to hefty fees that BMW charges to get them to look at the oil? Maybe not but just a thought.

4. I have Mobil 1 0W-30 in the car right now, looked at the bottle and no MB229.5. Checked the site too, nothing there either, then checked Mobil 1 5W-30 and same thing too. Perhaps they lost it recently?

Commute can vary, right now looking like im not gonna do much driving. What makes the MB229.5 approval better than the ACEA A3/A4?

Seems as though people like this stuff, and its hits all the buttons, but I stay away from Shell. Super unethical company. I took a peek in my manual and I feel better now haha, for those that may not have one handy:
_____

Straight from the manual:

Gasoline Engine

Preferred: BMW Longlife-01
BMW Longlife-01 FE

Alternatively: BMW Longlife-98

Diesel Engine

Preferred: BMW LongLife-04

Approved Viscosity Classes:

SAE 0W-40
SAE 0W-30
SAE 5W-40
SAE 5W-30

"BMW Recommends Castrol"
____

I can see online that this has changed to Pennzoil, does anyone know why? Is it just for the newer engines and not the older ones?

I already ordered the LM 0W-40, wondering if I should keep it or return it.

Keep LM and next time get Motorcraft.
There are numerous stuff to answer here. I will try, but if you can find my posts you can stumble on some posts where I thoroughly explained all this.
1. "Meets and Exceeds" or "recommended " is classic shady advertising to lure customers. One would think those companies who have approval would put "approved for xxxxxx." But no, Motul has that language and Motul is VERY diligent with approvals. Shell has it, Castrol etc. Probably most straightforward is Mobil1.
2. Approvals are cheap! I worked on oil testing that was sent to VW, BMW etc. for approval. It is around $5,000 and idea is to have oil that customers know they can use without doing research. Go to the store, see LL01 and there you go. Or mechanic shops (though they think they know better than people developing engines or oils).
3. Mobil1 you use is oil made for Asian and American cars. Don't look at the grade! European manufacturers don't base their approvals on grade but High Temperature-High Shear (HTHS). HTHS is temporary or permanent resistance to loss of viscosity. For LL01 and LL04 it is 3.5cp. That HTHS can only be achieved with so called heavy "XW30" oils and up. There are some requirements on consumption so they don't go for example XW50 oils in many of these approvals. That leaves options in grades such as 0/5W30 or 0/5W40. That Mobil1 you are using is ILSAC oil. Energy conserving oil with much lower HTHS and KV100 (kinematic viscosity of oil at 100c). Grades are range and for XW30 it is 9.2 to 12.5cst at 100c (KV100). So, that M1 0W30 you have has HTHS around 3, while KV100 is around 10. On other hand Castrol Edge 0W30 that has MB229.5 has HTHS of 3.5-3.6 and KV100 12.1. That is almost 0W40 oil as KV100 is 12.1 and XW40 range starts at 12.6cst.
4. All these European approvals are based on ACEA. ACEA is basically European API just formed by vehicle manufacturers not oil companies. They set starting point and manufacturers develop their approvals from there. So MB229.5, LL01, Porsche A40 are all based on ACEA A3.
5. All these companies are more or less unethical or ethical as long as it fits their balance sheets. BMW had Castrol as supplier until 2014. Than Shell. From February 2021 it is Castrol again.
6. All this being said, you came here for an advice. Here are enthusiasts not average owners. I have 80+ years neighbors with X3 28i and I tell them: get what manual or dealership says.
But you are different story. So LL01 is not in reality necessary in your engine. BMW updated LL01 and other approvals to address some fairly big issues on N20/26 engines. Also they further extended OCI by demanding more resistance to oxidation. That is good and bad. Good is that lower oxidation is always better. But best base stocks (esters) are already fairly acidic and will oxidize faster. They provide better thermal stability and protection, especially in cold, but need to be changed more often. Mobil1 0W40FS has all gentlemen set of base stocks: GTL, PAO and Esters. But, it does oxidize bit more. It still could do 10,000 miles or 16,000km OCI but BMW wants more. At the same time that oil is used by Porsche in races. I used it in my 328 on track and run it as hot as 293f before my engine went to limp mode. Made cool ing lap, then 3-4 laps, again limp mode and all day like that. Engine ran so hot that my OFHG resealed itself for 2 months. And I ran that oil next 5,000 miles and never used a drop of it.
Castrol Edge 0W40 is of same quality so is Motomaster 0/5W40.
Liqui Moly on other hand is average player here. Will it cut it? Yeah. But you have better choices!
7. Your driving regimen requires fairly light oil. It is not only about cold start but warming up process. Lighter oil will flow better at lower temperatures during warm up, hence why they are called energy conserving oils. You personally could get away with regular Mobil1 5W30. It is ACEA A5 which LL01 FE is based on. If you can get hands on Mobil 5W30 Extended Performance (I use it in my Toyota Sienna) it would be ok. It has good cold performance and it has strong additive package. You could do 5-7,500km interval on that or once a year. Idk price of that oil there.
Another great option is Motorcraft 0W30 LL04. LL04 is same as LL01 just so called Low-SAPS (Sulfated ash and phosphorus) oil designed to protect DPF in diesel engines and GPF in gasoline engines. It was not recommended on NA market due to high sulfur in gas. But US and Canada use ultra sulfur gas since January 2017. LL17FE that BMW now uses in newer engines is basically light LL04. Motomaster 0W30 LL04 is Shell Helix ECT 0W30. It is GTL based which means it has ridiculous cold starting performance. If you can get that I would go with it and change every 7,500km or once a year.

[e91Owner]

The only reason to use the oil from FCP is to take advantage of their free lifetime replacement. There are equally good oils for less money from your local Walmart.

I haven't paid for oil for years, but prior to the free PayPal return shipping offer, I always just went with an off the shelf LL-01 oil from Walmart and prior to that from any number of stores in Germany.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by e91Owner

The only reason to use the oil from FCP is to take advantage of their free lifetime replacement. There are equally good oils for less money from your local Walmart.

I haven't paid for oil for years, but prior to the free PayPal return shipping offer, I always just went with an off the shelf LL-01 oil from Walmart and prior to that from any number of stores in Germany.

Oils in Wal Mart are actually better than anything Liqui Moly offers, except Castrol Edge 5W40 which is kind of same category as Liqui Moly.
Two reasons why people use Liqui Moly:
1. Oversized Made in Germany letters. Advertisement: German oil for German cars, although no German manufacturer uses any Liqui Moly product. If someone wants German product for German vehicle, that person should go Pentosin.
2. Free exchanges. But then, FCP carries Pentosin too. Except Pentosin (Fuchs is owner of Pentosin, largest industrial lubricant manufacturer in Germany) is not shameless advertiser as Liqu Moly.

[e91Owner]

Originally Posted by edycol

Oils in Wal Mart are actually better than anything Liqui Moly offers, except Castrol Edge 5W40 which is kind of same category as Liqui Moly.
Two reasons why people use Liqui Moly:
1. Oversized Made in Germany letters. Advertisement: German oil for German cars, although no German manufacturer uses any Liqui Moly product. If someone wants German product for German vehicle, that person should go Pentosin.
2. Free exchanges. But then, FCP carries Pentosin too. Except Pentosin (Fuchs is owner of Pentosin, largest industrial lubricant manufacturer in Germany) is not shameless advertiser as Liqu Moly.

Better is a moving target. Better in my mind means something that has an effect on actual outcomes. Prior to PayPal's free shipping I used super tech synthetic 0w-20 in my super old Toyota for over 100,000 miles with a 10k OCI. Never skipped a beat. I now use liqui moly 0w-20 because I paid for it once several years ago. Liqui-moly 5w-20 in my Kia, liqui-moly 5w-40 in my 2 remaining BMWs. All free aside from the first purchase. And with the BMWs, that includes the filters.

I rarely used it in Germany because it was around 11 Euro/L and there were far cheaper options out there.

I would have a different opinion if I raced any of my cars where performance on the margins is important. But if your just driving cars, slippery stuff in slippery stuff out at regular intervals is far more important than a cert. Finding someone who has had a failure caused solely by the brand of oil they chose who uses BMWs as a daily driver would be difficult.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by e91Owner

Better is a moving target. Better in my mind means something that has an effect on actual outcomes. Prior to PayPal's free shipping I used super tech synthetic 0w-20 in my super old Toyota for over 100,000 miles with a 10k OCI. Never skipped a beat. I now use liqui moly 0w-20 because I paid for it once several years ago. Liqui-moly 5w-20 in my Kia, liqui-moly 5w-40 in my 2 remaining BMWs. All free aside from the first purchase. And with the BMWs, that includes the filters.

I rarely used it in Germany because it was around 11 Euro/L and there were far cheaper options out there.

I would have a different opinion if I raced any of my cars where performance on the margins is important. But if your just driving cars, slippery stuff in slippery stuff out at regular intervals is far more important than a cert. Finding someone who has had a failure caused solely by the brand of oil they chose who uses BMWs as a daily driver would be difficult.

Moving target is right word, because you want black and white picture. No oil will cause engine failure immediately. Put Supertech 0W20 in S65 and it will work. Problem is what damage it causes overtime. Any oil that has any of European approvals will cut it. But approvals are minimum requirement regardless how stringent they are. That means oil companies could and they do develop better oils than required. Some don't. What effect does that have on your engine? It is hard to determine. Tracking vehicle is very often less stressful than short trips on an engine. Especially engines designed to take abuse.
Point I am trying to make is that there are better oils out there. If goal is saving last cent, yeah maybe FCP deal is worth it. I personally wouldn't go through shipping stuff etc. I like having best available oil in my sump. Oil is generally very cheap in US, so why not? I am aware of oil prices in Europe as I am from there.

[Fiasco]

Originally Posted by edycol

Keep LM and next time get Motorcraft.
There are numerous stuff to answer here. I will try, but if you can find my posts you can stumble on some posts where I thoroughly explained all this.
1. "Meets and Exceeds" or "recommended " is classic shady advertising to lure customers. One would think those companies who have approval would put "approved for xxxxxx." But no, Motul has that language and Motul is VERY diligent with approvals. Shell has it, Castrol etc. Probably most straightforward is Mobil1.
2. Approvals are cheap! I worked on oil testing that was sent to VW, BMW etc. for approval. It is around $5,000 and idea is to have oil that customers know they can use without doing research. Go to the store, see LL01 and there you go. Or mechanic shops (though they think they know better than people developing engines or oils).
3. Mobil1 you use is oil made for Asian and American cars. Don't look at the grade! European manufacturers don't base their approvals on grade but High Temperature-High Shear (HTHS). HTHS is temporary or permanent resistance to loss of viscosity. For LL01 and LL04 it is 3.5cp. That HTHS can only be achieved with so called heavy "XW30" oils and up. There are some requirements on consumption so they don't go for example XW50 oils in many of these approvals. That leaves options in grades such as 0/5W30 or 0/5W40. That Mobil1 you are using is ILSAC oil. Energy conserving oil with much lower HTHS and KV100 (kinematic viscosity of oil at 100c). Grades are range and for XW30 it is 9.2 to 12.5cst at 100c (KV100). So, that M1 0W30 you have has HTHS around 3, while KV100 is around 10. On other hand Castrol Edge 0W30 that has MB229.5 has HTHS of 3.5-3.6 and KV100 12.1. That is almost 0W40 oil as KV100 is 12.1 and XW40 range starts at 12.6cst.
4. All these European approvals are based on ACEA. ACEA is basically European API just formed by vehicle manufacturers not oil companies. They set starting point and manufacturers develop their approvals from there. So MB229.5, LL01, Porsche A40 are all based on ACEA A3.
5. All these companies are more or less unethical or ethical as long as it fits their balance sheets. BMW had Castrol as supplier until 2014. Than Shell. From February 2021 it is Castrol again.
6. All this being said, you came here for an advice. Here are enthusiasts not average owners. I have 80+ years neighbors with X3 28i and I tell them: get what manual or dealership says.
But you are different story. So LL01 is not in reality necessary in your engine. BMW updated LL01 and other approvals to address some fairly big issues on N20/26 engines. Also they further extended OCI by demanding more resistance to oxidation. That is good and bad. Good is that lower oxidation is always better. But best base stocks (esters) are already fairly acidic and will oxidize faster. They provide better thermal stability and protection, especially in cold, but need to be changed more often. Mobil1 0W40FS has all gentlemen set of base stocks: GTL, PAO and Esters. But, it does oxidize bit more. It still could do 10,000 miles or 16,000km OCI but BMW wants more. At the same time that oil is used by Porsche in races. I used it in my 328 on track and run it as hot as 293f before my engine went to limp mode. Made cool ing lap, then 3-4 laps, again limp mode and all day like that. Engine ran so hot that my OFHG resealed itself for 2 months. And I ran that oil next 5,000 miles and never used a drop of it.
Castrol Edge 0W40 is of same quality so is Motomaster 0/5W40.
Liqui Moly on other hand is average player here. Will it cut it? Yeah. But you have better choices!
7. Your driving regimen requires fairly light oil. It is not only about cold start but warming up process. Lighter oil will flow better at lower temperatures during warm up, hence why they are called energy conserving oils. You personally could get away with regular Mobil1 5W30. It is ACEA A5 which LL01 FE is based on. If you can get hands on Mobil 5W30 Extended Performance (I use it in my Toyota Sienna) it would be ok. It has good cold performance and it has strong additive package. You could do 5-7,500km interval on that or once a year. Idk price of that oil there.
Another great option is Motorcraft 0W30 LL04. LL04 is same as LL01 just so called Low-SAPS (Sulfated ash and phosphorus) oil designed to protect DPF in diesel engines and GPF in gasoline engines. It was not recommended on NA market due to high sulfur in gas. But US and Canada use ultra sulfur gas since January 2017. LL17FE that BMW now uses in newer engines is basically light LL04. Motomaster 0W30 LL04 is Shell Helix ECT 0W30. It is GTL based which means it has ridiculous cold starting performance. If you can get that I would go with it and change every 7,500km or once a year.

Seems legit haha, thanks for writing all of that out, lots of great verifiable information there. Im gonna do some more reading and return to this if questions come up.

[Uunfamousjay]

10winter 40 for hot climate areas like Arizona, Nevada.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by Uunfamousjay

10winter 40 for hot climate areas like Arizona, Nevada.

Care to elaborate that nonsense?

[Monique Clark]

I often come and use Valvoline's service every oil change. I love their service and I often get Valvoline coupons too. What I like about them is that every person who comes to the store is greeted by enthusiastic consultants and very professional staff, all of which are handled very quickly. They also include the cost of changing the oil filter into the cost of changing the oil, so I think the price is reasonable.

[edycol]

Originally Posted by Monique Clark

I often come and use Valvoline's service every oil change. I love their service and I often get Valvoline coupons too. What I like about them is that every person who comes to the store is greeted by enthusiastic consultants and very professional staff, all of which are handled very quickly. They also include the cost of changing the oil filter into the cost of changing the oil, so I think the price is reasonable.

And what oil they use?

[POBEP]

Originally Posted by edycol

And what oil they use?

perhaps customer friendly and/or unfiltered (since filter is included with oil service)

[Donald Moody]

I'm about to change my car's oil for the first time but am wondering what kind of oil to use. I'm thinking about Valvoline because I just received a Valvoline coupon but I don't know if their service is good. I'm an inexperienced person looking for someone to help me share my experience.
Thanks everyone.

[BSM n54iS]

Originally Posted by Donald Moody

I'm about to change my car's oil for the first time but am wondering what kind of oil to use. I'm thinking about Valvoline because I just received a Valvoline coupon but I don't know if their service is good. I'm an inexperienced person looking for someone to help me share my experience.
Thanks everyone.

Castrol or Liqui Moly for our cars

[POBEP]

Originally Posted by Donald Moody

I'm about to change my car's oil for the first time but am wondering what kind of oil to use. I'm thinking about Valvoline because I just received a Valvoline coupon but I don't know if their service is good. I'm an inexperienced person looking for someone to help me share my experience.
Thanks everyone.

IF
- you do not plan to tackle oil change yourself AND
- you do plan to keep your BMW for next 3 years AND
- your BMW is 60 month (or older) OR has 60,000mi (or more) THEN
THEN
consider: 3 years of unlimited, prepaid oil service for a single payment of $199

Do NOT use above service if you have
- diesel powered BMW (dealer will use LL12FE instead of LL04) OR
- any E-series (dealer will use LL01FE instead of LL01) OR
- N55 F-series BMW (dealer will use LL01FE instead of LL01)

[edycol]

Originally Posted by Donald Moody

I'm about to change my car's oil for the first time but am wondering what kind of oil to use. I'm thinking about Valvoline because I just received a Valvoline coupon but I don't know if their service is good. I'm an inexperienced person looking for someone to help me share my experience.
Thanks everyone.

If they stock Valvoline European Vehicle 5W40, yes.
It is actually really, REALLY good oil.
If they don't, skip it.
Best oil performance so far that I have seen in E90 engines (gas) is Castrol Edge 0W40 or more expensive 0W30.
Mobil1 0W40 is also excellent.