LL01 or LL04 in Australia for B48

J

justdriving

Joined
Nov 3, 2018
Messages
30
Location
Australia
Hi all,


I’m feeling a bit lost and hoping for some guidance. I recently purchased a 2019 G20 330i petrol with the B48. With my old N52, oil selection was easy — any LL-01 oil and call it a day. This newer engine has me second-guessing things.


I’m in Australia, and I’ve been trying to sort out which BMW oil spec actually makes sense here. I’ve come across conflicting info on forums, and availability of certain approved oils locally doesn’t help.


I contacted the dealer, and they advised me to disregard the online owner’s manual, stating it applies to European models. They recommended sticking with LL-01 oils due to the higher sulfur content in Australian fuel. I’m aware BMW updated the LL-01 spec around 2018 to better suit newer turbo engines and timing components, which unfortunately rules out a lot of the older LL-01 oils I used to buy on sale.


That said, the handbook lists LL-04, LL-12 FE, and LL-17 FE as approved specs. Given our fuel quality, would LL-01 still be the safest choice here? Are there any long-term concerns with running LL-01 in terms of timing chain wear or emissions components?


As far as actual oils go, I’ve been considering:


  • Shell Helix Ultra X SP 5W-30
  • Shell Helix Ultra 5W-40
  • Castrol EDGE 0W-40
  • Liqui Moly Molygen 5W-30

I also noticed Mobil appears to have lost LL-01 approval on some products, which adds to the confusion.


I’ve seen people running everything from 0W-20 to 5W-40 in the B48. I’m leaning toward 5W-30 since that’s what most dealers use here, and I do drive the car fairly spiritedly.


Any insight or real-world experience would be appreciated.
 
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Can't go wrong with any of them really unless you're burning oil. High saps is fine to use in a cat/gpf equipped engine as long as it burns nothing or close enough. If you have oil consumption lower saps 04 is better for it. I'd take helix ultra it runs clean. The fuel is fine there and i forgot to answer the chain part. If you want chains to last just change the oil frequently. Helps the phasers and rings too.
 
JavierH19 said:
Can't go wrong with any of them really unless you're burning oil. High saps is fine to use in a cat/gpf equipped engine as long as it burns nothing or close enough. If you have oil consumption lower saps 04 is better for it. I'd take helix ultra it runs clean. The fuel is fine there and i forgot to answer the chain part. If you want chains to last just change the oil frequently. Helps the phasers and rings too.
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I’m not certain what oil is currently in the engine as it was serviced by an independent shop previously. Given that, would you lean toward a 5W-30 or would there be a case for going slightly lighter or heavier initially? No GPF thankfully!
 
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justdriving said:
I’m not certain what oil is currently in the engine, as it was serviced by an independent shop previously. Given that, would you lean toward a 5W-30 or would there be a case for going slightly lighter or heavier initially?
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The approval dictates a minimum HT/HS and renders the grade pretty irrelevant. Use any winter rating in Australia.
 
justdriving said:
I’m not certain what oil is currently in the engine as it was serviced by an independent shop previously. Given that, would you lean toward a 5W-30 or would there be a case for going slightly lighter or heavier initially? No DPF it is a 330i B48 petrol.
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Well it kind of depends LL-01 and 04 dictate 3.5 min hths so there isn't going to be a big difference with a 5W-30 and 5W-40 as most off the shelf offerings have similar hths figures. With boutique oils you usually get bigger spread between the two grades and their hths values.

LL-12fe is a low viscosity 30 grade with a min hths of 2.9 which is standard for all 30 grades.

LL-17fe is 0w-20 which has a minimum hths of 2.6.

LL-01fe being 0w-30 is a bit odd since the minimum is not 2.9 or 3.5 but 3.1.
 
JavierH19 said:
Well it kind of depends LL-01 and 04 dictate 3.5 min hths so there isn't going to be a big difference with a 5W-30 and 5W-40 as most off the shelf offerings have similar hths figures. With boutique oils you usually get bigger spread between the two grades and their hths values.

LL-12fe is a low viscosity 30 grade with a min hths of 2.9 which is standard for all 30 grades.

LL-17fe is 0w-20 which has a minimum hths of 2.6.

LL-01fe being 0w-30 is a bit odd since the minimum is not 2.9 or 3.5 but 3.1.
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I was curious if I needed an FE rated oil for the rings… owners are all over the place with this drivetrain. If not I’ll pick up some Shell Helix Ultra 5w30, see what the uoa reveals
 
justdriving said:
I was curious if I needed an FE rated oil for the rings… owners are all over the place with this drivetrain. If not I’ll pick up some Shell Helix Ultra 5w30, see what the uoa reveals
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Fe only means fuel economy which means less than 3.5 hths. Rings and other components trend towards lasting longer with thicker but not by that much but early changes usually do more for preventing wear.
 
Marcozi said:
Just get an oil that has either the "LL01" or "LL04" imprimatur. Don't overthink it.
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I was under impression that in the presence of high sulphur content in the petrol (as OP states is the case), that LL-01 spec was preferred over LL-04 due to higher TBN with normal SAPS oil.

That LL-04 oil being mid-SAPS with lower TBN may be used but then OCI intervals needs to be shortened appropriately.

Not true or is it not relevant in this use case?
 
samiamz said:
I was under impression that in the presence of high sulphur content in the petrol (as OP states is the case), that LL-01 spec was preferred over LL-04 due to higher TBN with normal SAPS oil.

That LL-04 oil being mid-SAPS with lower TBN may be used but then OCI intervals needs to be shortened appropriately.

Not true or is it not relevant in this use case?
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I thought bmw thoroughly checked the fuel quality of the countries they sell in which they're usually pretty good at doing to list the appropriate oil in the manual. But even so with frequent changes which one should do just to eliminate possibilities of engine issues it's a non issue unless there's extreme dilution which there normally isn't in these bmw engines from what I know.
 
JavierH19 said:
I thought bmw thoroughly checked the fuel quality of the countries they sell in which they're usually pretty good at doing to list the appropriate oil in the manual. But even so with frequent changes which one should do just to eliminate possibilities of engine issues it's a non issue unless there's extreme dilution which there normally isn't in these bmw engines from what I know.
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I had no idea Australian fuel had more sulfur than Europe or the U.S.

OP what is the ppm of sulfur in your fuel?
 
Google says the fuel is 10 ppm as a very recently but that it was 150 for regular and 50 for premium. This isn't the 500 ppm fuel of long ago at least.

Many engines have been ran on bare minimum spec pcmo with a tbn of 7 or less with 150 ppm sulfur and be fine if changed regularly. I'd change regularly regardless of oil used just to reduce possibilities of engine issues. Oil is still cheap at the end of the day.
 
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