LL17FE+ oil help

[Fudz]

Hi, 1st post so please bear with me.

I have a 2024 B58 engined BMW, it had its 2nd oil change last year at 9000miles and i sent a sample off for anlysis. It came back very healthy with everything in spec and a little amount of wear metals present - as expected, This was after the original factory fill and 1x change with BMW twin power LL17fe+.

At this oil change ( at an indy) Petronas Syntium 7000 0w-20 LL17FE+ was used with a new filter etc The next change was at the BMW main dealer again as they had a deal on. BMW twin power LL17FE+ was used, a sample taken of the old oil and sent to the same lab. Again everything came back as expected, wear metals down, oil in good shape due to frequent change apart from Sodium was at 62ppm ( Potassium etc was 0).

High and low temp coolant circuits are perfect and never need topped up, air filter is in place correctly and I can't see a way winter road salt got into the oil.

I contacted Petronas and got no response regarding sodium contact in the oil. I googled this a few nights ago and it lead me to here as I was thinking of maybe moving to Liqui Moly oils- however there is mention on here of Sodium levels in their oils too with this spec, I did contact LM and they did say some companies use Sodium compounds as a cleaner however they can't specify if they use them.

What I am looking really is a bit of reassurance on a few points:

1: Is there a downside to using Sodium containing oils?

2: Is there a better spec oil than BMW Twinpower 12FE/17FE+ ( car under warranty so using spec oil) and is there one that won't flag false positive such as the Sodium reading.

3: Is it worth while sending a sample of the clean Petronas oil for a sample? - It's been in my shed in the original opened container for a few months though - It would show Sodium surely?

Thank you all for your time.

 

[JavierH19]

That's not the only option. You can use ll-01fe 0w-30. But outside of the US bmw continues to spec the standard ll-01 since EPA regulations aren't a thing elsewhere. But many on here run thicker ll-01 and have zero issues. I run ll-01 40 grade instead of 20 grade in two non bmw suv's that still under warranty which state to use 0w-20 but i don't. Engines aren't glass that'll explode if a different oil grade is used.

Post in thread 'BMW B58 0W-12?'

Feb 5, 2023

Looking at the manual online for the 2023 X7....

Looks like it's a new German thing to have confusing oil requirements, pioneered by VW.

• UG_Passat

• 

 

[Fudz]

The three specs it reccomends in my documents are

12FE, 17FE+ and 19FE.

Is there a recommended go to high spec 0w30 oil?

 

[JavierH19]

19fe is supposed to be an upgraded 17fe as it's still 0w-20 and 12fe is supposed to be an upgraded 01fe 0w-30. The newest bmw oils have a bit less sulphated ash which is bad when you have oil consumption but if you have little to no consumption now you'll be fine and you'll very likely have less going up a grade too. Look up this article. Images are a bit blurry but you can make them out.

https://ato24.de/en/blog/comparison-0w-30-engine-oils/

In all honesty it doesn't matter and you could use an oil that doesn't have the bmw spec on the bottle like Mobil 1 esp 0w-20 or 0w-30 and do the right thing which is to not give that engine any kind of chance to have an oil related issue by changing it very frequently like 3 or 4 maybe 5k miles and maybe leave the filter on there for an extra run if you want or not.

If it were to have an issue just claim you used castrol ll-17fe oil but never bothered to keep receipts on any vehicle and that you were never told to either. At worst they'll charge for a valve cover removal but if the inside is spotless and the oil level was never low they can't deny any warranty claim but that's if you have an issue in the first place and those usually happen with long drains on these even with the right oil.

Also forgot to reply to the numbered questions. For the first sodium is used as a corrosion inhibitor additive and there's no need to go crazy on it and there's no benefit. For the second yes and no and it does and sometimes doesn't matter and to explain it would take forever but at the same time it doesn't matter that much in the real world. Engines can run without the bmw spec and outlast others and vice versa. For the third question sure if you want but I wouldn't bother it. Typically it is good to know new values as it's the change in values with the used analysis that matter.

 

[Fudz]

Thank you for your detailed reply, would I be right in thinking that regarding your link the Motul and Fuchs Gt1 would be a good buy?

 

[JavierH19]

Thank you for your detailed reply, would I be right in thinking that regarding your link the Motul and Fuchs Gt1 would be a good buy?

Can't go wrong with any of them. Sure we could nitpick about x thing on their respective pds, sds, and oil analysis as being worse or better than the other as that's what we do on here. But at the end of the day If it carries the bmw license there's no way bmw could say the oil choice was bad.

 

[XJRiver]

the Castrol option

Thread 'Castrol Edge Euro 0W-20, LL-17FE+ / SP at walmart' https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/castrol-edge-euro-0w-20-ll-17fe-sp-at-walmart.368257/

 

[JavierH19]

the Castrol option

Thread 'Castrol Edge Euro 0W-20, LL-17FE+ / SP at walmart' https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/threads/castrol-edge-euro-0w-20-ll-17fe-sp-at-walmart.368257/

I was going to recommend that but it seems to have disappeared as quickly as it came.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Hi, 1st post so please bear with me.

I have a 2024 B58 engined BMW, it had its 2nd oil change last year at 9000miles and i sent a sample off for anlysis. It came back very healthy with everything in spec and a little amount of wear metals present - as expected, This was after the original factory fill and 1x change with BMW twin power LL17fe+.

At this oil change ( at an indy) Petronas Syntium 7000 0w-20 LL17FE+ was used with a new filter etc The next change was at the BMW main dealer again as they had a deal on. BMW twin power LL17FE+ was used, a sample taken of the old oil and sent to the same lab. Again everything came back as expected, wear metals down, oil in good shape due to frequent change apart from Sodium was at 62ppm ( Potassium etc was 0).

High and low temp coolant circuits are perfect and never need topped up, air filter is in place correctly and I can't see a way winter road salt got into the oil.

I contacted Petronas and got no response regarding sodium contact in the oil. I googled this a few nights ago and it lead me to here as I was thinking of maybe moving to Liqui Moly oils- however there is mention on here of Sodium levels in their oils too with this spec, I did contact LM and they did say some companies use Sodium compounds as a cleaner however they can't specify if they use them.

What I am looking really is a bit of reassurance on a few points:

1: Is there a downside to using Sodium containing oils?

2: Is there a better spec oil than BMW Twinpower 12FE/17FE+ ( car under warranty so using spec oil) and is there one that won't flag false positive such as the Sodium reading.

3: Is it worth while sending a sample of the clean Petronas oil for a sample? - It's been in my shed in the original opened container for a few months though - It would show Sodium surely?

Thank you all for your time.

1: No because it's likely related to an additive. Especially if it's just a small amount.
2: It's unknown really since we will never know the specific composition of this and other oils let alone where they fell on the BMW specific engine tests. Sure we can say a heavier LL04 in 30 grade will provide more headroom for track conditions but that's about it.
3: Up to you.