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Gas. It will work with diesel, too.

Yes. Try it and you'll see your oil consumption go down.

Sorry, but your Ravenol link is for diesel engines, MB-Approval 229.51. Mine is for gasoline engines, MB 229.5. My initial point still stands, that this MB approval process has become ridiculous. So long as I use a top-grade 5w-30 synthetic, like Red Line Performance, the official MB Approval is...

If you want tungsten, go with Rislone Nano Prime. Works great in my Benz E350.

Forget the 0w-xx, they're just blanket oils that cover every possible temp. scenario. Go for a targeted 5w-30, like Red Line High Performance.

Nothing flew over my head, that's my point exactly. Red Line's cheaper product (Pro Series) may have the official MB 229.5 approval, but is an inferior product to the non-approved High Performance Series. They took a MB 229.5 oil, improved it, and didn't bother to summit it to MB for approval...

All good points. Do you know where I can buy the Ravenol RSP 5W-30 in America? I just can't seem to find a supplier, even on the Ravenol USA website. The SSL is 0W-40 and I want 5W-30. The Ravenol HCL comes in 5W0-30, but it's NOACK is 9.3 (compared to Red Line's 6).

Good point. There really is no way to know if I'm being ripped off. I'm just looking for the best quality 5W-30.

I think you've missed the point. I'm paying for the oil, not the approval.

Not to belabor the issue, but you really have no idea how much it costs an oil company to submit to the MB 229.5 process, do you? I have heard that the MB standards process was started by Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway, and so there may be the possibility that the whole process is a racket...

Thanks, guys, for all of your opinions. It was a fun debate!

I just spoke to an engineer at Red Line (Dave, (707) 751-2914). He said that the Red Line Performance Series does, in fact, meet MB 229.5 standards, as the Red Line website states (see OEM Compatibility tab). Red Line does not submit the Performance Series to MB (only its Pro Series), so that's...

Answer to #7 by OP: I would cut the mileage in half on all of those maintenance tasks.

Thanks for all the feedback, Wolf359. I did just what you are saying on this E350 when we first got it and on a previous ML320 for many years, and both cars developed lots of rough idle, oil leaks, hesitation. It might be that these cars are "granny-mobiles" that are only driven occasionally by...

I've been hand waxing automobiles for 35 years and never had one fade. All Meguiars waxes have sun block, according to the manufacturer, and I've used Turtle Wax with excellent results on past cars. I've been using Meguiars Ultimate Paste on my Mercedes E350 for 10 years now and it still looks...

Thank you, andyd. I think I'll sleep better tonight knowing it's not catastrophic.

Thanks for the tips. I might try Mobil 1 Formula M 5w40 next time. I used Red Line High Performance 5w-30 based on the recommendation of the Red Line site. Red Line considers it better than the Professional Series that MB approves. I've decided to use the Rislone additive because I've read that...

I have exactly the same startup noise, so thank you very much for posting the recording. I'm the second owner who bought my '08 E350 at 18k miles. I first noticed the knock at 33k miles and now the car has 54k and the sound hasn't really changed. When I first heard it years ago, it was an...