I just had three jugs delivered and pulled one off the shelf at Walmart. Have not had a problem getting QS Euro 5W-40 in the last 5 years or so using it.
Quaker State 5W-40 Euro gone?
- Thread starter neo4
- Start date
2 jugs gets you free shipping.
BrendanC
$100 site donor 2024
they clearanced and removed it from the shelves of my local WM. shame because i liked using it in neglected vehicles that i did goodwill oil changes on. now i just pony up for R&P or m1 0w-40.
edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
I don’t understand this. QS has all approvals. It seems that regardless of what is inside, people “determine “ quality based on on price. I personally would go QS over Castrol or Valvoline 5W40.
I use qs 5w-40 a lot but why exactly. Just because it's the lowest price and they're all good enough? That's my thinking. I don't know if it's better performing than those two but it's good enough or me since d1 g2 is the minimum and a syn blend can achieve that.
I imagine they all perform the same or similar enough to where performance differences are almost irrelevant so I'll take the savings to change more frequently. I don't like gdi soot building up in the sump that the filter can't remove so why spend more. Don't feel like taking a gamble with extended intervals in these newer engines. Oil is cheap at the end of the day.
My e46 is not a daily and I rarely go over 2k in a year and I was doing my annual May oil change last Friday and for some reason thought I had one full jug and one with three quarts of QS 5W40 Euro that I bought late last year from my local Walmart. Turns out I had one full and only half a quart in the other. I live within 10 miles of three Walmart stores and thought no problem, I'll just head to the local Walmart and pickup another 5 quart jug but decided to jump online to check stock and nothing. Did a quick internet search and found a few sites like this verifying QS Euro 5W40 is no longer sold at any of the Walmart's. To make matters worse, I cannot even find it at any of the parts stores. I ended up adding 1.5 quarts of QS 5W30 Ultimate protection that I had from my wife's SUV oil change which is seems to be shrouded in a bit of mystery of what it offers for a dollar more over regular Quaker State synthetic. Some say ultimate protection and 5W40 Euro were GTL but Quaker State (Shell - SOPUS ) seems to deny their products are GTL seeming to reserve that title for the Pennzoil brand. It was only 1.5 quarts but I hated doing this however the jury seems pretty confident that mixing close oil weights (5W30, 5W40) of the same brand of oil won't harm anything especial given the smaller 1.5 quarts I used of the 5W30 UP. Yes QS 5W30 does not carry the BMW LL-01 cert the E46 called for but it would seem with the new SP rating, oil technology has advanced a bit further and just my opinion, BMW LL-01 was for long extended 7K + oil change intervals along with other "lifetime fluids" auto manufactures like BMW sold to consumers in the late 90's - 2000's which I never subscribed to. I personally still change the oil in our vehicles every 3k regardless and I have the 99 Lexus RX300 we bought back in 2008 with now 415K miles on it on a synthetic blend diet as proof.
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I think we have our answer on why Quaker State 5W40 Euro is no longer sold at Walmart or other stores. It has been replaced by 5W30 Euro which has the new BMW LL-04 spec. https://www.quakerstate.com/en_us/p...jODkyMjAzMWQ0Mzk0ZjM2ZGY4OTU4L2luZGV4Lmh0bWw=
The Walmarts in my area aren’t carrying that either. At least not yet.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
Different HTHS rating. Regular 5w-30 is probably around 2.8 - 2.9. QS Euro 5w-40 is estimated to be around 3.6-3.8. LL-01 (and LL-04) specifies 3.5 or greater. These ratings still exist for reason, and LL-01 was updated just a few years ago.
Actually at the time of your E46, the oil life monitor would typically indicate a need for an oil change at around 15,000 miles. Since new, I halved that interval on my 2001 BMW E39 540 M-Sport changing at 7,500 mile intervals. I have always used LL-01 (or more recently occasionally use LL-04) oil anyway for the long life claims and higher HTHS. I'm at 377,300 miles. Original engine, never rebuilt.
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f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
Pure speculation. Quaker State Euro L 5w-30 has been around for over 3 years, as there is a thread here discussing it in 2022.
Regardless, I have never seen it sold or offerred anywhere online or in stores around me. But BOITOG users in Canada say it is available up there.
I would love to see it available here in the USA, but it sounds like it is just a relabeled version of Pennzoil Euro L 5w-30 (readily available from Walmart.com). Comparing the PDS of each oil they are very similar, but not exact. Similar to the comparison of the euro version of Pennzoil Euro 5w-40 and QS Euro 5w-40.
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I used to buy the QS 5W-40 because of the price, but now that Walmart carries ESP I just pay the difference and move on.
You can save a buck or two and buy any Euro 0W-40 if you really prefer a full SAPS oil. The savings on QS were nice but there are alternatives for just a little more.
You can save a buck or two and buy any Euro 0W-40 if you really prefer a full SAPS oil. The savings on QS were nice but there are alternatives for just a little more.
Pure speculation. Quaker State Euro L 5w-30 has been around for over 3 years, as there is a thread here discussing it in 2022.
Regardless, I have never seen it sold or offerred anywhere online or in stores around me. But BOITOG users in Canada say it is available up there.
I would love to see is made available here in the USA, but it sounds like it is just a relabeled version of Pennzoil Euro L 5w-30. Comparing the PDS of each oil they are very similar, but not exact. Similar to the comparison of the euro version of Pennzoil Euro 5w-40 and QS Euro 5w-40.
All the Quaker State Euro oils have vanished from Canadian Tire and Walmart. PartSource (part of Canadian Tire) still has QS Euro L 5W-30 and the QS LX 0W-30 but they seem to be on sale/clearance.
I forgot to mention the BMW owners manual on the E46 series called for two year round weights of 5W30 or 5W40.
I've just seen too much varnish build up with stuck oil rings which leads to oil consumption and bore scoring on 7K and over intervals on disassembled engines. Admittingly with today's engines and oil advancement, my 3K is to conservative but it works for me. I agree with Amd at The Car Care Nut assessment who is a Toyota\Lexus master mechanic of no more than 5K on NA and 3-4K on Turbos .
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Sure, both have a 5W winter rating.
Besides they both had the same approval which dictates the minimum HT/HS. In this case the difference in grade is mostly irrelevant. The grades can overlap and still meet the approval requirement. That’s why approvals are paramount. They allow grades but require an HT/HS.
People often focus on grade when that’s very secondary to an approval like Longlife.
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
LL-01 can have the following grades: 0w-30, 0w-40, 5w-30, 5w-40. The approval is vastly more important the the viscosity grade. If you follow the approval, the viscosity grade will be appropriate for the application.
Yes, I am aware of this HT/HS of the min 3.5 that LL-01 certified oils at the time of E46's exists should only be used however after speaking with a licensed oil engineer, it would seem these matter the most with extended oil drain intervals, those 7K and over that BMW pushes. Just so everone understands, the "LL" in BMW oil specifications stands for "Longlife" longer intervals between oil changes. If doing 5K or less oil changes I am quite comfortable with running even regular Quaker state 5W30 synthetic or any other brand on a unstressed naturally aspirated M54 2.5L engine. I've taken one apart and there is nothing special about the materials, clearances or cooling that would warrant anything special on these older engines. I'd be more picky in a newer turbo of course but I won't have to worry about that because I cannot get behind a car company that deletes the ever reliable $3 oil dipstick in favor of an electronic only that works when it wants to so after my E46 goes, that's it for BMW's, or any newer German cars for that matter as most all have made the same insane move. I am not going to try and change anyone's mind on this of course. Run what you like. The funny part about these debates is no one has yet to address the OE standard oil filter paper element that now a days are seen to only be good for 5K before they start to break down.
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f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
f355spider
$50 Site Donor 2025
Doesn't apply. BMW approved oils are considerably different (more stringent requirements) than Toyota oils. But carry on...
BTW, I have been running 6,000 to 7,500 mile oil change intervals on my Toyota Tundra using whatever synthetic oil is on sale...again since new. The truck passed 383,000 miles not long ago. Never been rebuilt, no sludging or varnish issues. Barely uses much oil between changes...perhaps 1/2 quart?
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That’s good because from your posts it didn’t seem as though you understood what the approval brought you.
And your filters are breaking down after 5000 miles? I’d suggest better filters.
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