Without getting into the merits of whether BMW has it right in specifying the 0 W 20 grade, I am still wondering if my perceptions are correct. On the "newish" BMW 2.0 Twinpower cars, you can use LL 01, LL 04 or the LL 17. The LL 17 is what you get when you go to the dealer, at least in my experience. If you want LL 17 sourced from Amazon, you have only three choices: Triax Euro Ultra, Liqui Moly 6600 or Valvoline Euro. Maybe, sometimes, you can find BMW oil also.
From what I can tell on BITOG, many folks are using the older LL 01/04 specced oils, where there are many, many more choices. Still others seem to get through the warranty period, and be quite content that other oils that do not have the BMW specs are fine, or even better. A few others will pay the delivery charge to someone else, and pay very high prices for, say Ravenol or Motul oils.
I wonder if the German makers have propagated too many standards, the oil companies can't keep up. Or are we in an age of such sophistication that you need a very specific oil for a very specific engine?
From what I can tell on BITOG, many folks are using the older LL 01/04 specced oils, where there are many, many more choices. Still others seem to get through the warranty period, and be quite content that other oils that do not have the BMW specs are fine, or even better. A few others will pay the delivery charge to someone else, and pay very high prices for, say Ravenol or Motul oils.
I wonder if the German makers have propagated too many standards, the oil companies can't keep up. Or are we in an age of such sophistication that you need a very specific oil for a very specific engine?