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Which oil should I purchase?

3K views 22 replies 17 participants last post by  TEF 
#1 ·
My 2012 BMW 528i is officially out of warranty. I will be needing an oil change soon, but I do not want to pay an arm and a leg at BMW service. I would rather go to a local mechanic shop and have them change the oil. The only problem is that I'm concerned that they will use some cheap generic oil. So I was considering to buy the oil myself and take it to the mechanic. Which oil is recommended for use besides the original BMW oil? And if there is no alternative, what would be the part number for the BMW oil?

Will appreciate some feedback. Thanks!
 
#4 · (Edited)
Something that says ACEA A3 will do the job. BMW LL-01 will also appear on a lot of the same products, but it's more about lasting BMWs long factory service intervals and not so much about lubrication.

If you get a xW30 that doesn't say ACEA A3 it won't have some of the properties that our revvy engines with oil operated system like VANOS call for. Extra care is also required for forced induction compared to the old days where the entire BMW line up was normally aspirated.

Most 40 weights will be A3 but still look. Don't touch 20 weight oils. Note also that each "weight" (like 30) spans a large range of viscosities if you actually measure them. All "5w30s" are not even close to being the same, for instance.
 
#6 ·
The BMW LL01 spec is more stringent than ACEA A3/B3 and ACEA A3/B4. LL01 was required only for M cars when your car was built. At the time, the standard BMW synthetic oil did not meet LL01. But, BMW's changed suppliers (to Shell from Castrol) and the new oil in ExGMan's post does. Mobil 1 0W-40 does meet LL01. Other Mobil 1's don't. Mobil 1 0W-40 is slightly more viscous at high temperature than other LL01 5W-30's, but the difference is very small.

The weak links in our engines are VANOS, turbochargers, and piston ring deposits (which can cause a piston ring to stick to the piston instead of sealing with the cylinder wall, resulting in excessive oil consumption even without excessive ring and cylinder wall wear). Here's a RADAR graph of the spec's. Note that the piston deposit requirements are more strict for LL01.

Castrol (BP) makes LL01 oils, but they're hard to fine. Shell sells their consumer oils under the Pennzoil and Quaker State brands (which the bought) in the US. Pennzoil has a "Euro" something that meets LL01, but it's hard to find. As above, your best bets for LL01 are BMW oil and Mobil 1 0W-40.
 

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#10 ·
After reading these posts, my last two oil changes I've used Liqui Moly Leichtlauf High Tech SAE 5W-40 fully synthetic....at 60,000 miles and most recently at 70,000 miles...is this the wrong oil? Seems like everyone on this topic is using 5w/30...will 5w/40 cause oil seal leaks? I'm starting to second guess my choice of oil.
 
#13 ·
In cold weather a 0W oil has benefits during cold start-up. Here's a random graph of the Interwebs showing the viscosity of a 5W-40 (dashed line) vs. temperature. Notice the scale of the vertical axis. It's logarithmic. It goes 10, 100, 1000, 10000, 100000.. instead of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5....

As a rough estimate, ten points on the SAE viscosity index is equal to about 15 degrees F or 8 degrees C. At really cold temperatures, like those in PA in the winter, the added 5 points on the winter (W) viscosity index means significantly higher viscosity and more time to get oil to the lubricated parts in the engine, and therefore more wear during cold start-up.

I live in Floriduh where it rarely gets below freezing. So, I used a 5W-20 in Frau Putzer's Honda and 5W-30 in my Chevy and BMW. But, if I lived up north and drove my car in the winter, I'd use a 0W oils instead.

10k miles is the maximum drain interval for BMW's in the U.S. now. If the inside of your engine (looking down the oil fill hole) is spotless, you're probably o.k. But, it there's varnish (brown film) or sludge (black or brown crud) that means your oil and additives are breaking down. My cars' engines are spotless inside, even at 100k+ miles with (mostly) 8k mile oil changes. Our Honda and Chevy have condition based oil change intervals, They can vary due to driving conditions, anywhere from 6k miles (all short trips) to 12k miles (almost all interstate driving)
 

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#16 ·
Liqui Moly 2039 5W-30.... This oil thing is so confusing!!!!!
 
#23 ·
My local Walmart sells a synthetic Pennzoil marked for BMWs in a five-quart yellow container for about $22.00. The back of the container indicates that the oil meets BMWs LL4 spec. Currently, oil changes for my BMW 535d are covered by BMW, but it seems like a hell of deal if I had to do my own changes. The label has all sorts of adjectives describing its performance, but I believe its one of those recent oil (from Shell) derived from natural gas.
 
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