BMW E90 320d... .Oil recommendation

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Hello,

it's been awhile since the last time I posted on this forum, now I'm going to ask a common question on which Oil to use for my car.

I got a BMW E90 320d (N47D20A engine) with an upgraded performance Kit reaching now 217 HP.. ..

Up so far, I used Castrol Edge Oil, 0W30, 0W40 or 5W40 ones...now I'm reaching 60K miles on the car and thinking of getting a better Oil for the engine, with Oil change intervals at around 7500 miles (or 1 year, whichever comes first).

I've decided to use one of the following 4 oils, and I want to hear your thoughts about which one you would choose and why.

To help you with the climate I live, the temperature in my area is from -10 C in winter up to 40 C in Summer time.

These are the candidate oils:

CASTROL EDGE FST TITANIUM 0W-30

Pour Point: -57 °C
Flash Point: 238 °C
Density 838 kg/m³ (0.838 g/cm³) at 15°C
Viskosity Index: 170
Viscosity: Kinematic: 71 mm2/s (71 cSt) at 40°C // 12.3 mm2/s (12.3 cSt) at 100°C


CASTROL EDGE FST TITANIUM TURBO DIESEL 5W-40

Pour Point: -42 °C
Flash Point: 202 °C
Density 850 kg/m³ (0.85 g/cm³) at 15°C
Viskosity Index: 174
Viscosity: Kinematic: 75 mm2/s (75 cSt) at 40°C // 13 mm2/s (13 cSt) at 100°C


LIQUI MOLY TOP TEC 4100 5W-40

Pour Point: -39 °C
Flash Point: 230 °C
Density 855 kg/m³ (0.855 g/cm³) at 15°C
Viskosity Index: 169
Viscosity: Kinematic: 88 mm2/s (88 cSt) at 40°C // 14,3 mm2/s (14,3 cSt) at 100°C


ARAL SUPER TRONIC 0W-40

Pour Point: -60 °C
Flash Point: 244 °C
Density 838 kg/m³ (0.838 g/cm³) at 15°C
Viskosity Index: 171
Viscosity: Kinematic: 75.7 mm2/s (75.7 cSt) at 40°C // 12.8 mm2/s (12.8 cSt) at 100°C

PS: All the above oils have similar price, at around 13$/litre.

Thanks in advance.
 
Originally Posted By: edwardh1
what does owners manual say


Sorry, forgot to mention that all the above oils have the factory BMW specification LL04 needed .....so all of them can be used. ....

Basically, I'm looking for the one with the best specs as we see all 4 of them. ...
 
Last edited:
I'd pick TD 5w40 if you live in Germany.

Why 5w40 instead of w30? Because there's no speed limit on German highways
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: dgunay
I'd pick TD 5w40 if you live in Germany.

Why 5w40 instead of w30? Because there's no speed limit on German highways
smile.gif



Well, I don't live in Germany but in a far more warm enviroment, I live in Greece (North Part).....
 
Originally Posted By: riggaz
I'd go for the 5w-40 or 0w-40 LL04 oil personally, nice wheels!


Thanks for the answer.. ...which 5W-40? The Castrol or the LIQUI Moly?
 
The Castrol is the tried and tested one, you can't go wrong with it and it's officially approved. In our workshop you'd be getting Total Ineo MC3 5w-40. It's turbocharged so just as important as the correct oil is operating the engine on light throttles until it reaches operating temp. BMW's eat turbos because people drive them too hard from cold so treat it gently and you'll get long life out of it.
 
Hi there, it's been a long time since my last post here.

I still have the same car, BMW E90 320d PPK Edition 197HP (removed the remap, back to factory standards) and since my last post (3 years ago) I kept using the Castrol Edge Turbo Diesel 5W-40 one, on annual oil intervals (6-8.000 miles).

The last time though, last May, I decided to use the Liqui Moly Top Tec 4100 5W-40 one, just for a change.

I'm posting again the specifications of these two oils, just for comparison reasons.

CASTROL EDGE FST TITANIUM TURBO DIESEL 5W-40

Pour Point: -42 °C
Flash Point: 202 °C
Density 850 kg/m³ (0.85 g/cm³) at 15°C
Viskosity Index: 174
Viscosity: Kinematic: 75 mm2/s (75 cSt) at 40°C // 13 mm2/s (13 cSt) at 100°C


LIQUI MOLY TOP TEC 4100 5W-40

Pour Point: -39 °C
Flash Point: 230 °C
Density 855 kg/m³ (0.855 g/cm³) at 15°C
Viskosity Index: 169
Viscosity: Kinematic: 88 mm2/s (88 cSt) at 40°C // 14,3 mm2/s (14,3 cSt) at 100°C

What's your opinion on this oil type change? Anyone else using the Liqui Moly Top Tec 4100 5W-40 oil, to give me a feedback?
 
IMO best LL-04 oil is Castrol 0W30 LL04. It is not imported in the US but in EU is available. It is true synthetic developed for BMW.
Other one would be Mobil1 5W30 ESP. I use M1 5W30 ESP and often drive in Las Vegas in summer where temperatures are creeping to 48c.
Do not forget that with thicker oil comes more resistance and with that more heat. What you need is HTHS above 3.5 and any LL04 will do.
But I would stick to those two I mentioned.
 
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