A bit higher HTHS (3.8) and seems to have better viscosity retention. Not a ton of difference on paper but enough that Porsche had it created and does not accept C30 for the 911.
Watch Dmitry's Garage on YouTube, he's tested like 20 coatings and none protected his paint chip against UV fading. The coatings say they may have UV protection but what they mean is they have some antioxidant capability to protect themselves from getting destroyed by the sun, but that's it.
CarPro claims their DLight coating has some meaningful protection. I will say that I used it 8 months ago on restored headlights and they have stayed crystal clear so far. It has a noticeably thicker film build than all other ceramic coatings I have used as well. I am awaiting some real...
That is a great oil but it's on the thin side for a 50. The S54 has borderline oil pressure with a 10W-60 so I'm not sure what is to be gained in California with a 5W-50. If you were in New York and it's winter that's one thing.
I'm not sure, I think the ESP 0W-30 and X4 0W-40 are better for most applications at this point. I am not sure if it's statistically significant but I see lower wear metals / 1000 mi with the ESP X4. They are all good, of course.
BMW does not want you to run non-FE oils but I don’t see any factual reason there could be harm. If it is, it’s something new we don’t know about. That said; there’s nothing wrong with the 30 grade FEs in my opinion. As mentioned earlier these bearings are IROX coated and look great on stock...
LL01FE is fine if you don’t have GPF, it’s X marked for Gen3. Regular is not (no technical issue just compliance). Just run one more FE oil if you’re paranoid.
If you are willing to pay for an oil filter you will not use you can get the X-Cess Gen2 5W-40 from FCP Euro in the bundles. You could also try the 8100 Power 5W-40. The X-Clean 5W-30 (C3) is probably good too.