Wrong Oil?

Good point. I think the Mobil1 oil at WalMart is only either the 5w30 (which is what I use) or 10W30, 20W50, etc. However, for my older BMW cars ('94, '95, '97) this is just what the doctor ordered. There is no need for LL-01 spec oil because the service intervals per the SI lights is not as long as on the later models.

as always... YMMV,

-Fred W

Clive,

what is "Autodata CD2"?

Also, the excerpt was taken directly from an electronic copy of the Owners manual of a 2000 525i, US version, that I grabed off the BMW USA web site.

-Fred W

The Autodata CD2 is the latest trade software covering all cars in Europe.

I have saved some stuff as a pdf file out of it on your model in Europe. If you can confirm your email address by mailing me I can send you an Autodata sample

I may be wrong but the more we discuss this I feel that the BMW oil specs may be different than in Europe. Am I right in thinking that climates in USA may vary from Arctic to desert and if BMW wish to play it safe the obvious thing to do would be to recommend an oil that covered all USA climates hence Mobil 1. Here in Europe perhaps they do it by the country they export to. Just a guess. BTW I did email you the graph out of the TIS, don't know whether you received it, I removed the word "SPAM" out of your address. Regards Clive

Oh, OK. That's sort of what I thought. It is not the manufacturer's recommendations, but some other servicing group's recommendations.

Not necessary. It was not my car that was being discussed. I use the oil I want (Mobil1) even though my cars predate the need for synthetic oil.

Yes, I did receive the scanned page, and interestingly enough it includes verbiage that seems to prove my point.

The second section titled "BMW Longlife Oils:". I quote below: "BMW longlife oils, as specified for all BMW vehicles since 1998, are tested by BMW..."

This sure seems the same as the quote I gave you from a US market, MY

2000 owners manual that said the owner should *only* use BMW synthetic oil unless unavailable.

-Fred W

I don't understand it. I knew things are expensive in the UK having visited it last April. But $23 a quart of Mobile 1? It's $5.29 a quart at Pepboys. I'd soon move out of the country unless I am making gzillions of sterlings.

It sounds similar to the US company Alldata, which compiles various manufacturers' technical service bulletins, and packages them for distribution to mechanics.

Nah. I think BMW is pretty much telling consumers to ignore the standard API specs and look for an oil meeting their own more stringent specs. Any oil meeting the BMW LL-01 specs is likely to be OK, and several of these oils are relatively inexpensive here in the US.

Several of these oil aren't truly "synthetic" though in the traditional sense of a PAO and/or ester based product. Some of them are "Group III" petroleum oils, such as Valvoline SynPower

5W-40 or Castrol Syntec.

I found it curious that Valvoline SynPower 5W-40 only claims to meet the BMW LL-98 spec, although this product datasheet could be outdated.

I think the 5W-40 version of Castrol Syntec meets BMW LL-01. There's also the legendary green 0W-30 oil with the whiff of gummy bear odor dubbed "German Castrol" by American VW owners. That one was known to be a true PAO + ester base compared to the Group III + ester base of the other Castrol Syntec oils. There's a big disappointment because of an apparent change in formula.

Sure, sure but what about the rest of the document you fail to mention. I AGREE about the Longlife, never said I didn't. I can't say or argue against what your US documentation says as I am UK based. The PDF file from Autodata CD2 is approved by manufacturers for the Motor Trade and shows there ARE alternatives as does the document I sent you. Can't really see why this is such an issue for you. I have worked on these cars for forty five years and never had a lubrication problem. If you wish to call the European oil specs rubbish that is your choice but I will continue to adhere to them, after all it is a European vehicle! I appreciate that if you can buy the top stuff for a few dollars well use it! If you look at previous UK posts you will see it is a lot different here. For the man just running to the golf club in his Jaguar a sump full of oil could cost over £60 and to a lot of people over here think that's a rip off. The point I am trying to make is: There is a choice! PDF file on the way. Cheers Clive PS "BMW longlife oils, as specified for all BMW vehicles since 1998" This simply means that vehicles after this date can use Longlife Oils otherwise why list the alternatives?

That's impossible (to make gzillions of sterlings)...

You can make gzillions of pounds sterling, however.

DAS