What do the specs MB 229.1, MB 229.3, & BMW Longlife-01 stand for?

[MinnesotaNole]

I noticed these specs on the back of a German Castrol 0W-30 bottle.

What do these mean and are they impressive specs?

Does any other OTC synthetic oil carry these specs?

 

[eldawg4100]

i believe those are tests the oil passes for the oil to deem whether it can do well under the certain conditions the cars require.

 

[moribundman]

I'm sure all longlife specs are only applicable to vehicles that have been prepared for extended drain (improved oil flow, cams with reduced friction, flexible oil life monitor, etc). Just because an oil has longlife approval doesn't mean it's superior for engines that are not properly equipped. Most (not all) of the longlife-approved oils have a lowered HTHS. Longlife oils must hold up longer than regular oil, but I don't think they are better per se.

M1 0W-40 meets BMW LL-01, Daimler Chrysler 229.3/229.5, and Opel Long Life Service Fill GM-LL-A-025.

Once again, M1 0W-40 shows to be an allround talent.

[ August 21, 2003, 11:24 PM: Message edited by: moribundman ]

 

[TSoA]

There are 2 tyes of LL oils. LL2 is the low HT/HS versin that they use for 60,000 kilometers in Europe. It is not sold here due to the fact it would harm our engines and no VSI cars are sold here anyway.
LL1 is an oil that meets the above specs plus VW 503 and 505.01 It can be used for the Audi and BMW recommended 10,000-15,000 miles.

German Castrol Syntec, M1 0w-40 and BMW synthetic are examples of LL1 oils.


http://www.valvolineeurope.com/english/products/lubricants/pcmo/synpower.html

 

[TooSlick]

These European OEM specs are generally based on the generic ACEA A3/B4 specification. In addition to this they include specific tests in that manufacturers engines. For example, VW 502 is based on ACEA A3, but includes testing in the 2.0L VW gas engine. The Mercedes spec includes testing in some of their engines and so forth. You will typically find that most ACEA A3/B4 oils meet these OEM specification, since that is their primary market.

TooSlick

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
MB have long had their own set of standards based on some of their individual engines or engine "families". I know this has gone back for well over 40 years or more that I can recall

MB 229.5 for instance includes bench tests on their M111+(ML), OM611 ( diesel ) and M166 engines. It includes field tests on A140, C230T Kompressor( supercarged ),E220T and A170CDi ( direct injected diesel). As well OM602A ( a diesel )is figured in the test
The M111E engoine is used too for sludge, cam wear and economy factors

In general terms the 229.1 includes the A3/A4 ratings and 229.3 for A1 etc.
MB have had rigid "approval" mechanisms for oils for over 50 years. This applies to individual oils

Regards

 

[sprintman]

0W40 M1 SS jug has GM LL A 025 and LL B 025, what are they?

 

[moribundman]

quote:

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0W40 M1 SS jug has GM LL A 025 and LL B 025, what are they?

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Those are for Opel (and probably Vauxhall?) cars.

 

[F1Crazy]

BMW Long Life 01 specs are based on ACEA A3/B3 profile plus there is additional test performed on their Valvetronic version of M44 engine (1.8 liter 4 cylinder). This is why neither 10W-60 TWS Motorsport nor 10W-60 Formula RS are not LL01 oils, even though they are the only oils approved for all S54 (M3 engines) and S62 (M5 engines) produced before 03/00 and are used for extended drain intervals. These oils were simply not tested on M44 engine and are on special oils list.