Bmw synthetic oil help

Im new to this vehicle so i dont know anything. Anyways, my oil us about minimum , should i just put a castrol synthetic oil. 5w30 . I dont really wanna go to the dealership cuz its really far. Any suggestions would be appreciated

I'm attaching a link to a PDF list of LL01 certified oils. If it meets LL01, it meets BMW's specs.

There is (and always will be) debate about which is best, but the fact of the matter is that that these are the ones BMW recommends.

http://www.bimmerfile.com/wp-content...hetic-oils.pdf

Also, this post would have been better placed in either the General BMW forum or the model specific forum. I take it you have an E46?

Originally Posted by Schemin

Im new to this vehicle so i dont know anything. Anyways, my oil us about minimum , should i just put a castrol synthetic oil. 5w30 . I dont really wanna go to the dealership cuz its really far. Any suggestions would be appreciated

As far as I know for the oils that carry the BMW LL-01 approval, they are

Castrol Syntec 0W-30 European Formula (Made in Germany)

Mobil 1 0W-40 European Car Formula

Do not use Castrol Syntec 5W-30.

Originally Posted by Schemin

Im new to this vehicle so i dont know anything. Anyways, my oil us about minimum , should i just put a castrol synthetic oil. 5w30 . I dont really wanna go to the dealership cuz its really far. Any suggestions would be appreciated

If you don't know what the previous owner used, it's a crapshoot anyway. If he used mineral oil or synthetic blend, and you switch to full synthetic, you'd want to use a heavier weight.

But since you can't know what he used, I wouldn't worry about it, just buy Mobil 1 synthetic 5W-30, if you're not in a really cold or hot region. Castrol synthetic is probably ok too, but if I'm buying I'd go with Mobil 1.

Take your pick:

Castrol Syntec European Formula SAE 0W-30
Mobil 1 SAE 0W-40
Pennzoil Platinum European Formula Ultra SAE 5W-30
Valvoline SynPower SAE 5W-30