[spiderman1982]

The cost of the BMW oil at the dealer is about 12 bucks a quart. The Castrol is 6 bucks a quart. What is everyone's opinion on the Castrol versus the BMW oil? Is the BMW oil worth twice the price? Viscosity is the same. Also, living in Washington in which I never drive below 37 degrees, would it be better to use a 5W-30W oil? I have 29k on my 2020 550 and drive 10k miles a year with most of my driving being 15 minutes at a time which is a mix of city and highway miles.

[mffarrell]

Originally Posted by spiderman1982

The cost of the BMW oil at the dealer is about 12 bucks a quart. The Castrol is 6 bucks a quart. What is everyone's opinion on the Castrol versus the BMW oil? Is the BMW oil worth twice the price? Viscosity is the same. Also, living in Washington in which I never drive below 37 degrees, would it be better to use a 5W-30W oil? I have 29k on my 2020 550 and drive 10k miles a year with most of my driving being 15 minutes at a time which is a mix of city and highway miles.

I live near you and currently running factory 0W-30W in my 2020 M550. Now that I am out of maintenance warranty, I plan on either running Castrol or Mobil 1. I haven’t decided the viscosity yet, but leaning towards 5W-30W.

I am running a 50/50 mixture of Mobil1 5W-50W and 0W-40W in my Porsche 911 turbo, which seems like a good viscosity for our climate.

I may also consider a viscosity mixture in the BMW. I have seen the BMW oil as low as $8-10 online. I thought Castrol is the manufacturer of BMW oil?

[spiderman1982]

What repairs have you had on your car? Have you had any problems with the cooling systems or the cooling lines leaking? Have you had any experience with Gaynor's Automotive? They seem to be a good repair shop. They install engine and cabin air filters for free, but of course you have to buy the filters from them. A BMW dealer wanted 400 in labor to do the engine air filters which was ridiculous. It's a 20 minute job.

[mffarrell]

Originally Posted by spiderman1982

What repairs have you had on your car? Have you had any problems with the cooling systems or the cooling lines leaking? Have you had any experience with Gaynor's Automotive? They seem to be a good repair shop. They install engine and cabin air filters for free, but of course you have to buy the filters from them. A BMW dealer wanted 400 in labor to do the engine air filters which was ridiculous. It's a 20 minute job.

I had a coolant loss/smell issue ever since I purchased new. After bringing it to Kuni 3 times, I think they finally fixed it. I had a small leak in the large coolant overflow tank near the firewall. Kuni tried to tell me coolant loss is normal in these cars which is not true. I still have a year left on my warranty, so I will be closely monitoring the cooling system.

I don’t have any experience with Gaynors, as I pretty much do all the wrenching myself except wheel alignment. I have a well supplied shop with a 2-post lift which makes it a lot easier to work on my cars.

The engine air filters are not that expensive and easy to change, but the cabin filters are a bit of a challenge, so I have been told.

Do you belong to the bmw club? I am a member but haven’t done anything with local chapter in Lake Oswego.

[Mosaud1998]

Originally Posted by spiderman1982

The cost of the BMW oil at the dealer is about 12 bucks a quart. The Castrol is 6 bucks a quart. What is everyone's opinion on the Castrol versus the BMW oil? Is the BMW oil worth twice the price? Viscosity is the same. Also, living in Washington in which I never drive below 37 degrees, would it be better to use a 5W-30W oil? I have 29k on my 2020 550 and drive 10k miles a year with most of my driving being 15 minutes at a time which is a mix of city and highway miles.

Or, use FCP.

[ezaircon4jc]

I would think that as long as it's European designated it should be OK. Personally, I would stick with whatever viscosity BMW recommends. IMHO, the engineers know what's best for the engines.

[EC530i]

Originally Posted by mffarrell

I live near you and currently running factory 0W-30W in my 2020 M550. Now that I am out of maintenance warranty, I plan on either running Castrol or Mobil 1. I haven’t decided the viscosity yet, but leaning towards 5W-30W.

I am running a 50/50 mixture of Mobil1 5W-50W and 0W-40W in my Porsche 911 turbo, which seems like a good viscosity for our climate.

I may also consider a viscosity mixture in the BMW. I have seen the BMW oil as low as $8-10 online. I thought Castrol is the manufacturer of BMW oil?

My BMW dealership parts manager told me that BMW oil is Castrol. I also saw where Castrol just signed a 5-year deal with Castrol.

[EC530i]

I have a 2018 530i xDrive. It seems that I can't find a US oil that supposedly meets the BMW specs. The dealership indicates I can use Castrol full synthetic or other oils as long as they are full synthetic. The weight is not the issue, but the other BMW specs. I had thought to use Pennzoil 0w-20 Ultra Platinum. I use it in the other two cars and it performs well.

Thanks!

[spiderman1982]

I would assume that any fully synthetic oil that is specified for European cars meets BMW specifications. If not, then what is the difference?

[GSMCCASH]

Originally Posted by EC530i

I have a 2018 530i xDrive. It seems that I can't find a US oil that supposedly meets the BMW specs. The dealership indicates I can use Castrol full synthetic or other oils as long as they are full synthetic. The weight is not the issue, but the other BMW specs. I had thought to use Pennzoil 0w-20 Ultra Platinum. I use it in the other two cars and it performs well.

Thanks!

Amsoil 0W-30 European Formula meets the LL-01FE designation. I’ll use either the Castrol or Amsoil. I’m more partial to the Amsoil as I’ve used them for 20+ years. Amsoil makes the 0w-20 version as well.

[srybicki]

Guys use FCPEuro and their return warranty...

[430Scud]

There are a number of threads over on bobistheoilguy and the consensus is that one should use either an LL-01 or LL-04 BMW approved oil. Castrol, Pennzoil, Quaker State...pick your poison and viscosity. The approval is more important than the viscosity.

The reason is that LL-01 and LL-04 have a higher High Temperature High Sheer rating over LL-01FE. It must meet or exceed 3.5, where as an LL-01FE only has to meet or exceed 3.0. LL-01FE FE stands for "fuel efficiency" and is why it is compromised a little on the HTHS rating. Its not that LL-01FE rated oils are bad, only that LL-01 and LL-04 is better.

The N63 has shown it needs all the protection it can get.

Note that for many BMW engines, including the N63 the LL-01 and LL-04 oils are approved as a substitute standard. See attachment.
They also warn that "higher viscosity oils will increase fuel consumption"