BMW Longlife Question

[Scout1]

I just bought a 2003 Z4 with the 3.0 engine. I bought it from my friend who was the original owner and the car only has 16k miles on it!

The manual just says use BMW 5w30 synthetic oil, but I see that GC 0w30 and M1 0w40 are also listed as acceptable oils for this BMW. I've got the GC in my stash so I'll probably use that going forward.

My question is on some Castrol Syntec 5w40 I have in my stash that carries the ACEA A3, B3, B4 cert but it's listed as BMW Longlife 98. For this car I think I need a Longlife 01 oil. What's the difference between the BMW Longlife 98 and the BMW Longlife 01? Think I can use the Castrol 5w40 without concern? How would you compare this oil to the GC or M1? (For some reason I can't seem to make "search" work on this web-site so if this question has been answered before I apologize, if you can give me the link I'd appreciate it)

Thanks,

 

[Quattro Pete]

How often are you planning to change your oil?

If I'm not mistaken, LL01 is a bit more strict standard with regard to wear protection and deposit formation, designed to be more stable for somewhat longer drain intervals than LL98:
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/lubrizol/EOACEA2009/RP/PC/index.html


In general, Syntec 5w-40 is perceived to be a lower quality oil than either GC, M1 0w-40, or even the dealer-provided BMW (Castrol) 5w-30.

Considering that GC costs the same as Syntec 5w-40, I don't really see a reason why you'd want to use the latter.

 

[JHZR2]

regardless of the difference, if you can get the oil that meets the right spec, I would. If this means GC, great.

Likely the difference is in oxidative stability and emissions protection, amongst other things. There is a site which compares all the various specs, it may be the ACEA site itself.

Id want to meet the specs that the OM recommends.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: Scout1
What's the difference between the BMW Longlife 98 and the BMW Longlife 01?
It's either 03 or 97, depending on which way you go.

I concur with Quattro Pete, LL01 is a 'new & improved' version of the spec WRT longer drain intervals. I also would use GC or M1 0w40 anyday instead of Syntec 5w40. I'm personally not terribly impressed with Castrol's domestic Syntec line, especially if it costs the same as M1 or GC.

 

[Trajan]

My sig.

I did use the Castrol 5w-40 for about 7k, so I don't think you'll have a problem. (It was on sale, so I used it.)

But stick with what the mfg says. (A3/B3, LL01.)

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Scout1
For this car I think I need a Longlife 01 oil.

Correct. M54 engine requires LL01:

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
How often are you planning to change your oil?

If I'm not mistaken, LL01 is a bit more strict standard with regard to wear protection and deposit formation, designed to be more stable for somewhat longer drain intervals than LL98:
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/lubrizol/EOACEA2009/RP/PC/index.html


In general, Syntec 5w-40 is perceived to be a lower quality oil than either GC, M1 0w-40, or even the dealer-provided BMW (Castrol) 5w-30.

Considering that GC costs the same as Syntec 5w-40, I don't really see a reason why you'd want to use the latter.


Agreed in full.

As a general rule, there will be little to no discernible difference among oils that meet the spec for your engine. Your owner's manual recommends BMW's house brand, but the actual requirement is an oil with LL-01 approval, so anything that carries that approval (beware of marketing snares like "meets the requirements of" or "meets or exceeds" -- look for an explicitly stated approval) will work well for you.

LL-98 is an older spec. LL-01 oils are supposed to work in engines that spec LL-98, but not vice versa. In all honesty, I suspect that an LL-98 oil would be fine with short change intervals, but that's pure speculation on my part. If the choice is between GC and Syntec 5w-40, I definitely recommend GC.

 

[Trajan]

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Content/Owner/SyntheticEngineOils.aspx

The Valvoline should be Valvoline MST 5w-30 IIRC. But I think GC and the M1 are the easiest to get.

 

[sprintman]

Absolutely correct. The ordinary Synpower 5W30 doesn't meet spec.

 

[Scout1]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
How often are you planning to change your oil?

Considering that GC costs the same as Syntec 5w-40, I don't really see a reason why you'd want to use the latter.



Thanks for all the inputs! The only reason I'm thinking about using the Syntec 5W40 is I have 5 qts sitting on my shelf! It's either into the BMW or into my wife's Audi TT which has a turbo, and I'm thinking the BMW would be less at risk for this oil which as everyone has said probably isn't as good as the GC or M1 0w40.

I run 5k miles OCIs although I hear this BMW has a large sump... something like 7 qts? If so I may have to rethink the interval and go a bit longer... especially with something as good as the GC or M1.

 

[Scout1]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete

If I'm not mistaken, LL01 is a bit more strict standard with regard to wear protection and deposit formation, designed to be more stable for somewhat longer drain intervals than LL98:
http://sas-origin.onstreammedia.com/origin/lubrizol/EOACEA2009/RP/PC/index.html



By the way, very cool tool! Thanks for that link! I'm surprised at the differences it lists between Longlife 98 and Longlife 01 in terms of wear, sludge and deposits. Big difference! The 0 1 looks a lot better!

 

[fdcg27]

That is a cool tool!
Interesting how API SM isn't even close to BMW LL-98.

 

[Scout1]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
That is a cool tool!
Interesting how API SM isn't even close to BMW LL-98.


Yeah, I saw that too! Kinda makes me wonder about what I'm dumping in my Detroit iron... I wonder how accurate that comparison is? I always thought SM was pretty good stuff.

 

[fdcg27]

OTOH, if you click on the Heavy Duty specs tab, and look at the API CH-4 and CI-4 specs, you see much more robust performance, although not all of the values are comparable (bore polish?).
Still, it appears that those who have advocated HDEOs as a cheaper way of meeting a demanding specification have been onto something all along.
I have long known that the current diesel spec dual rated oils were better than the purely SX-CF rated oils.
The chart is simply a visual portrayal of how much better they are.

 

[330indy]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Scout1
For this car I think I need a Longlife 01 oil.

Correct. M54 engine requires LL01:




LL01

LOL
it's all junk after 10k miles.
If you have a BMW change it at 5k. Or pay with sludge. I don't care what brand of oil you use, you are gonna get screwed with extended OCIs.
Not
Worth
It

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: 330indy

If you have a BMW change it at 5k. Or pay with sludge.

Got proof or do you just like to spread old wives tales?

You sound almost like a Jiffy Lube ad.

 

[330indy]

nice
I've seen blown M54s due to sludge clogging up the crankcase ventilation system. Plenty of them.
but by all means, go ahead and gunk up your bimmer. I don't care.

 

[sprintman]

My two local BMW indy's love the 25,000km factory OCI's, gives them lots of work evem w/LL01 oil. Madness!!

 

[d00df00d]

Originally Posted By: 330indy
nice
I've seen blown M54s due to sludge clogging up the crankcase ventilation system. Plenty of them.
but by all means, go ahead and gunk up your bimmer. I don't care.

Any engine will blow if you let it run with a clogged PCV for long enough.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: 330indy
nice
I've seen blown M54s due to sludge clogging up the crankcase ventilation system. Plenty of them.
but by all means, go ahead and gunk up your bimmer. I don't care.

Clogging CCV is a common problem on M54 engines, especially in colder climates. BMW released an updated "cold climate" CCV design to reduce the risk of clogging.

Still, I'm not sure this is related to extended OCI. The CCV just needs to be cleaned/replaced once in a while.

Once again, please show us proof that running LL01 oil at more than 5k miles results in sludge.

I've seen sludged up pictures on the internet too, but nobody was able to confirm with 100% accuracy what the interval actually was and what oil was used. And there is a difference between running an oil 10K vs 20K miles.