Old stash of Pennzoil Platinum Euro 5W40 in BMW B46 engine

[Eugenius]

My friend gave me 12 quarts of PP Euro 5w40 dated November 2018 and I am not 100% sure what to do with it. The oil was stored for 3 years in cool and dry basement.

My question would be if I can use it in my 18 bmw 330i or not due to the concerns of LSPI as the oil has a high level of calcium.

And also as my car is LEV3/SULEV30 and it is high-SAPS LL01 oil, will it have any damaging effect on the cat or the exhaust system? I am not entirely sure what LEV3/SULEV30 means in terms of using High-SAPS oil.

The car manual calls for BMW LL01FE or LL17FE+ oils.

Currently I am just thinking of using it in my G37 V6 as this animal will definitely like the stuff or just pass to another friend with an older BMW engine.

 

[danez_yoda]

G37 sounds like a winner. too many valid questions for beamer use.

 

[edyvw]

Use it. Don’t drive in Eco mode to prevent potential LSPI event.
LL01 FE is basically same as LL01 just lower HTHS.

Or use it in G37.

 

[Escape08]

^^^ oil for G37 or use 1 qt at a time every OCI

 

[Snagglefoot]

I believe a LL01 FE is a BMW 0w30 oil with usual BMW hand wringing requirements. I would use Pennzoil Euro LX 0w30 but it doesn’t have a LL01 approval. However, I’m tired of dealing with BMW’s requirements for “special“ Xw40 oil and here we are now needing some “special” xw30 oil. Nothing personal.

Pennzoil Euro LX 0w30 has MB 229.52, Porsche C-30 and VW 507 approvals. Good enough. By the way, LL stands for Long Life. Why push the OCI then have all sorts of “ special requirements”.

Flame suit on!

 

[RooflessVW]

Use it in either or both cars

 

[blufeb95]

Just toss it in the G37 stick with what's called for on the BMW.

 

[edyvw]

I believe a LL01 FE is a BMW 0w30 oil with usual BMW hand wringing requirements. I would use Pennzoil Euro LX 0w30 but it doesn’t have a LL01 approval. However, I’m tired of dealing with BMW’s requirements for “special“ Xw40 oil and here we are now needing some “special” xw30 oil. Nothing personal.

Pennzoil Euro LX 0w30 has MB 229.52, Porsche C-30 and VW 507 approvals. Good enough. By the way, LL stands for Long Life. Why push the OCI then have all sorts of “ special requirements”.

Flame suit on!

BMW has most stringent oxidation requirements. As long as you don’t push OCI too long, it will be fine.
However, when it comes to N20/26 engines ABSOLUTELY LL oils! No monkeying around.

 

[Eugenius]

^^^ oil for G37 or use 1 qt at a time every OCI

mixology is tricky science. Maybe if add it to Pennzoil LL04, maybe half and half. I am not a big fan of mixing oils, especially between brands. Same brand, maybe.

 

[Eugenius]

Use it. Don’t drive in Eco mode to prevent potential LSPI event.
LL01 FE is basically same as LL01 just lower HTHS.

Or use it in G37.

thank you. I was hearing that B-XX type engines were designed around low viscosity FE oils - i.e. smaller oil channels, smaller piston rings, smaller camshaft bearing clearance. Maybe another urban legend, don't know. But if you go to the shell website, pick Germany, and the only oil is recommended for it is Helix Ultra ECT C5 0W-20 with BMW LL-17 FE approval

Shell Motorenöle und Schmierstoffe | Shell

Erfahren Sie mehr über die neuesten Shell Motorenöl-Technologien und finden Sie das passende Produkt für Ihren PKW oder ihre Nutzfahrzeuge.

www.shell.de

 

[edyvw]

thank you. I was hearing that B-XX type engines were designed around low viscosity FE oils - i.e. smaller oil channels, smaller piston rings, smaller camshaft bearing clearance. Maybe another urban legend, don't know. But if you go to the shell website, pick Germany, and the only oil is recommended for it is Helix Ultra ECT C5 0W-20 with BMW LL-17 FE approval

Shell Motorenöle und Schmierstoffe | Shell

Erfahren Sie mehr über die neuesten Shell Motorenöl-Technologien und finden Sie das passende Produkt für Ihren PKW oder ihre Nutzfahrzeuge.

www.shell.de

They are not designed like that. How do they perform when oil is cold?
In Europe they are running on C3 oils.

 

[Escape08]

Any BITOGERs near you will take it if you dont want it.............. donate oil to Goodwill....................

 

[kschachn]

thank you. I was hearing that B-XX type engines were designed around low viscosity FE oils - i.e. smaller oil channels, smaller piston rings, smaller camshaft bearing clearance. Maybe another urban legend, don't know. But if you go to the shell website, pick Germany, and the only oil is recommended for it is Helix Ultra ECT C5 0W-20 with BMW LL-17 FE approval

Engines can be designed to tolerate lower HT/HS oils but this does not preclude the use of oils with a higher HT/HS. The fact that LL-17 FE approval is permitted doesn't mean that's the only acceptable approval in terms of engine design.

Hasn't this been discussed before?

BMW LL17FE, BMW LL14FE, BMW factory oil

From Left to right. BMW LL17FE, BMW LL14LE, BMW factory oil Both 2 last are the BMW dealer fills. I have 5K OCI in between the dealers services Well, I am pretty sure it was BMW oil, as I have been told many times the dealer is using only BMW OEM oil and couple people who I know personally...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[Eugenius]

Hasn't this been discussed before?

BMW LL17FE, BMW LL14FE, BMW factory oil

From Left to right. BMW LL17FE, BMW LL14LE, BMW factory oil Both 2 last are the BMW dealer fills. I have 5K OCI in between the dealers services Well, I am pretty sure it was BMW oil, as I have been told many times the dealer is using only BMW OEM oil and couple people who I know personally...

bobistheoilguy.com

Not discussed 3,5 years old LL01 oil in that engine. Part of my doubt and hesitation was to use this old oil because of the age. I remember there is a common advice from the most oil manufacturers for the oil shelf life is 5 years. Also not sure if PP Euro has changed the formula since 2018
As nobody in this thread has complained about the age, i assume it is not a problem

 

[RooflessVW]

Not discussed 3,5 years old LL01 oil in that engine. Part of my doubt and hesitation was to use this old oil because of the age. I remember there is a common advice from the most oil manufacturers for the oil shelf life is 5 years. Also not sure if PP Euro has changed the formula since 2018
As nobody in this thread has complained about the age, i assume it is not a problem

Absolutely not an issue.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

My friend gave me 12 quarts of PP Euro 5w40 dated November 2018 and I am not 100% sure what to do with it. The oil was stored for 3 years in cool and dry basement.

My question would be if I can use it in my 18 bmw 330i or not due to the concerns of LSPI as the oil has a high level of calcium.

And also as my car is LEV3/SULEV30 and it is high-SAPS LL01 oil, will it have any damaging effect on the cat or the exhaust system? I am not entirely sure what LEV3/SULEV30 means in terms of using High-SAPS oil.

The car manual calls for BMW LL01FE or LL17FE+ oils.

Currently I am just thinking of using it in my G37 V6 as this animal will definitely like the stuff or just pass to another friend with an older BMW engine.

I know for a fact that originally the B46 could run LL01/LL04 (HTHS 3.5 or more) all the way down to LL17FE (20w). It's possible BMW has since revised that requirement and one way to check is to visit german sites (ex. Ravenol, LiquiMoly) to see what they would spec.

In 2018 BMW updated their certs with more stringent oxidation requirements. From a certification perspective the oil is fine for your typical 5k mile OCI but I don't know if it meets the 2018 cert. From a SAPS perspective LL01FE is LL01 with a slightly lower HTHS (3.5 to 2.9) so you shouldn't really have to worry about LSPI or the emissions system. Now onto the age of the product. I've read that 5 years is the typical shelf-life before additive fallout but I don't know how much is truth and whether just shaking the bottle will pull them off the bottom.

What is kinda sad is that hoarding has resulted in a situation where perfectly fine oil which may end up going to waste.