I usually do an oil change for my 2005 Z4 with Germany/Belgium Castrol 0w40 available readily at Walmart for ~$27 a jug...
Apparently, Castrol discontinued the product now and it's not available anywhere...
Does anyone know a good alternative? Is Mobil 1 0w40 ok to use? I heard it's not LL-01 approved..
You can use Castrol Edge 5w-30 European formula (BMW long life 1 rated) or Castrol Edge 5w-40 (BMW long life 1 rated). 7 quarts of 5w-40 is ideal for vehicles with ticking engines (hydraulic valve lifter noise). Changing from 5w to 0w is recommended by BMW only for cold climates with -20 Celsius (-4 F) temp and lower. This is indicated in an official German BMW document from 2009 (statement #1 in the following image) that has an extensive list of BMW engines and the corresponding approved oils.
93827503-6D63-4E52-8486-0C6B5C77966D.jpg
The BMW extensive list and discussion here:
https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=478346
Last edited by tekoo; 11-05-2018 at 10:48 PM.
Weird, it's available at every Walmart around me here in Southwest Ohio for $25/jug...
That’s probably because German cars in Ohio are very few compared to CA. It will take longer to run out in Ohio. 0w-40 is as good as antifreeze is in CA. Not needed!
That's actually not what it says. The translation is "For countries with frequent outdoor temperatures below -20c we recommend 0w instead of 5w products." My understanding is that 0w-40 has inferior wear characteristics (oil wear, not engine wear) due to longer polymer chains that degrade at a faster rate compared to oils with a narrower viscosity range. I do live in an area that gets cold, so it is the right oil for me. For someone in a warmer climate, a 5w would be just fine, however a 0w should not cause damage - it's just unnecessary.
1- The recommendation is indeed to switch from 5W to 0W in climates with temperature less than -20 Celsius. If 0W was recommended for higher temperature climates then the -20 C value in this statement would have been a different higher value that reflects so.
2-No one mentioned anything about damage. It is just not needed.
Last edited by tekoo; 11-12-2018 at 03:01 PM.
0W has same or slightly lower viscosity than 5W. The significant difference is in the anti-cold weather additives to the 0w. The slightly lower viscosity and special additives of 0W allow its range to extend below the -20 Celsius cold weather (oil gets thicker). At 0 Celsius or 10 Celsius these additives are not needed. On the other hand, at -20 Celsius 5W would fail and perhaps turn into a waxy consistency as it’s lacking the extreme cold weather additives .
There is a fine line between too heavy/thick oil at engine start and lack of sufficient lubrication. This varies by weather condition, oil type and properties, engine speed and power, motor age and needs and many other factors
My believe is that everyone knows their vehicle best. If it drives better, it is probably better. However in any circumstances I wouldn't recommend oil type switch as a reliable fix for an ACUTE oil pressure problem.
Last edited by tekoo; 11-27-2018 at 11:14 PM.
The ONLY 2 listed oil viscosities for the Z4 E85 N52 engine in the BMW parts catalogue are:
1) 5w-30 LL-1
2) 15w-40
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=83_0647
Conclusion:
The lowest recommended oil viscosity at start up for this engine type (in climates above -20 Celsius/-4F) is 5W.
The highest recommended oil viscosity at running engine temp (100 Celsius) is 40.
Discussion:
Oil with viscosity lower than 5w (aka 0W) tends to be a lighter base and more watery oil. Using a lighter base oil in non-extreme weather conditions (above -20 Celsius/-4F) causes significant evaporation and relatively less lubrication -> increased oil consumption + louder engine noise due to improper lubrication and oil deficiency at higher engine parts secondary to increased evaporation (lifter valve noise) + potentially relatively more elevated engine running temps and accelerated wear due to lack of proper lubrication.
In extreme weather conditions (-20 Celsius and lower), oil becomes thicker (more viscid) so starting with a lighter base (0w) is justifiable as it compensates or cancels out the increased oil thickness caused by significantly cold weather. In this case 0w becomes also a more appropriate choice due to added freezing weather specific polymers and additives that lower the motor oil freezing point.
On the other hand, using oil viscosity above 40 at engine running temp (100 Celsius) increases fuel consumption and may waste some of the engine power. If you don’t live in a very hot environment (Average temp less than 40 Celsius/104 F) and you would like to see better MPG, you might want to go with 5W-30.
CB2DC941-973B-4799-838D-93EDEC346AFB.jpeg
SO UNLIKE THE IMMEDIATE IMPRESSION THAT 0W-40 IS 'MORE BANG FOR THE BUCKS' BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO HAVE A MORE EXTENDED TEMPERATURE RANGE; FOR MOST N52 ENGINES ON THE LONG RUN IT ACTUALLY MIGHT NOT BE 'MOST COST EFFECTIVE' NOR 'MOST EFFICIENT'!
Last edited by tekoo; 11-15-2018 at 03:18 PM.
Also please note that the proper motor oil re-fill volume for the N52 engine during oil changes (with filter replacement) is 7 quarts (6.5 Liters).
Last edited by tekoo; 11-15-2018 at 01:19 PM.
I’m really curious about what design flaw on the s54 requires 10-60 oil to hopefully help the rod bearing issue. My turbo MR2 oil analysis at 130 k, (10-30 Mobil 1) is about what you would expect from a well broken in low mileage engine.
my wife’s Sub using recommended 0-20, burned oil from new. At 20k I switched to 5-20 and problem solved. I’ll use 10-60 Liqui Moly in theZ car but everything else (several Diesel engines and bunch of motorcycles) all run on Rotella 5-40 full synthetic diesel oil.
Last edited by tekoo; 11-19-2018 at 11:46 PM.
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