Hello guys,

I’m confused about the oil to use in the F60 1.5, 3 Cylinders.

BMW on owner manual says LL-01 FE, if I don’t want use the OEM oil what is the compatibility one?

In my R61 I use Castrol 5W-40 US, can i use the same for the F60, I believe not a problem as we live in South Florida with no winter.

Thanks in advance.

I hope is not a repeating thread, but I was looking for but nothing come out.

 

My F60 calls for LL-14fe+ 0w20 oil. I use Fuchs TITAN GT1 as an alternative brand or Motul specific LL-14fe+. Both are still cheaper than OEM in my area.

 

Hello Blu_lite,

basically using a simple 5w-40 Castrol Edge and replacing it very 5000 / 7000 Miles is not a good solution? As mentioned living in South Florida the temperature here are always above 75 F or 25 C, so I'm not worried about cold starts, also Castrol Edge 5W - 40 US is LL-01 rated.

 

Well there are many opinions regarding thicker oil providing better protection.

I myself believe that using factory recommend grade is the best. The engine is designed with the 0W20 spec for a reason. Only under extreme conditions would I use a higher grade such as 100 F ambient temp or track use. If you choose to use a different grade as long as it is BMW Longlife rated then it is pretty much a descent or good oil.

From the information that I have gathered, the "xx" in the BMW recommend oil is just the year that spec was implemented. BMW Longlife approved is what you want to look for due to the long oil change intervals.

 

A heavier oil may not offer the same engine protection. A heavier oil generates more molecular friction which means more heat. In the confines of the main and rod bearings where the oil film may be just 0.001 of an inch thick oil friction heating is a real concern. Additionally because of the small/tight clearances the heavier oil may not flow as readily into and out of the bearing. The oil must flow continuously to force out oil that has been heated so it is replaced by cooler oil.

Additionally there are some hydraulic systems in the engine that can be affected by the wrong weight of oil. In some other vehicles with which I'm a bit more familiar when the owner decided to use something other than the 0w-20 oil instead using a 0w-30 oil the variable camshaft timing feature no longer worked right and this triggered a check engine light.

My 2018 JCW requires 0w.20 and that's what I use and it gets plenty hot here where I live. Friday's forecast calls for a high 100F. (A few weeks back the highs were even higher.) But I can tell you even at a lower ambient temperature in my other car just driving in town for a few miles can have the oil temperature up to 230F. While my JCW has no oil temperature gauge I would not be surprised if its oil temperature didn't get that high or possibly even higher.

Best advice I can give you is the only authority on what engine oil to use in your car's engine is the car/engine manufacturer. Use the oil it recommends and at least change it on schedule. In recognition of how tightly "wound" these engines are -- my JCW engine puts out 228hp; if the 2.0l engine were scaled up to the same size at the engine my my Hellcat (6.2l) and if the HP output remained constant the hypothetical 6.2l JCW engine would put out 706hp which is just 1hp shy of the 707hp my Hellcat engine produces -- I change or have changed the oil every 5K miles rather than 10K miles.

 

Thanks RockC,

“My 2018 JCW requires 0w.20 and that's what I use” - This is exactly where i’m getting confused, if i don’t use OEM 0w-20 can i use any other 0w-20 full synthetic brand (Castrol, Pennzoil, Mobil 1, Valvoline, Amazon, Super Tech) or i must use only BMW/MINI approved / compatibility 0w-20 oil?

Thanks in advance

 

Hello @Salvese D.O.C. As long as it is a Synthetic Oil (0w-20 recommended) that means the API SL FE-01 spec then it's OK.
Happy Motoring!!

 

Thanks @Mini Mania,

sorry I'm hard but, I preferred to be called "stupid" than to don't understand.

I don't want create a thread about witch oil is better or compare the oils brands ecc...

I want just to clarify that, all the below oils are perfectly fine to be used in a F60 _ 1.5L 3 Cylinder, because are viscosity grade is Full Synthetic SAE 0W-20,
and I will not damage the engine?

 

Hello @Salvese D.O.C.

We understand the concern. Feel free to contact our expert team directly at 800-946-2642
They are ready and able to help answer all of your technical questions and concerns and will help you make the very best decision for your motor.
Happy Motoring!!

 

Mini Mania sells the kits if you're looking for an alternative from your dealer: https://new.minimania.com/part/G3NMK...4-f57-F60-2016

 

Thanks ND40oz,

yes, I been looking at same page you linked, and is very easy to create your own kit, and probably I will purchase.

But my question is about the 0W-20 motor oil, sold in USA.

Can I simply use one of those mentioned above oil brands (oil & filter change every 5.000 miles), and the engine will work fine the way has been designed, even if the above oil brands are not been approved as 0W-20 LL-01 FE?

I'm not a oil chemistry, so from my ignorance if I read on the container SAE 0W-20, the oil has same basic properties doesn't matter the brand, but each brand play with their own additional additives / formulas, and than is up to the car owner to decide what brand to use.

Did anyone try to use a non OEM 0W-20 LL-01 FE? Or every one use OEM because other wise the engine will "die".

Sorry if i'm a bit hard, but before I do something I like to understand why i'm doing, not just because they told me to do.

Thanks for understanding, can some one explain what BMW / MINI trying to say on the F60 Owner Manual.

 

For some brands of cars there are a number of oils approved for use by the automaker. The bottles have some kind of symbol/code that indicates the oil in them meets the manufacturer's specifications for oil. For instance for Porsche sports cars "A40" is the code for Porsche approved oils. I know VW has a code -- although I can't recall it -- and I vaguely recall a few other automakers have their code as well though I can't recall the automakers or their codes.

I have not had the opportunity nor need to investigate if MINI/BMW has its approved oil code. If it does then I would expect -- but maybe you need to check with the dealer for the most up to date oil list -- you can use any brand of oil that has this approved code on its bottle and as long as it has the multi-viscosity grade required by MINI/BMW for your MINI's engine.

(As an aside while Porsche approved the use of a number of 0w-40, 5w-40 oils and one 5w-50 oil a restriction was in cold weather -- -25C -- only 0w-40 oil was approved for use. MINI/BMW might have something similar.)

There may be some restriction on mixing oils. That is if you use Brand X one oil change and Brand Y the next that may be ok. For Porsche approved oils the Porsche approved oils list states all oils are miscible. that in switching from one brand to another there is no need to do an engine "flush". Porsche does say that one should try to use the same oil to top up the oil level when the oil level is low but in a pinch any approved oil is ok.

But you need to check with MINI/BMW to be sure what its oil guidelines are.

Added: Just did a bit of research on the Castrol Edge oils. Not picking on Castrol it was just one of the oils mentioned by some owners they use.

Castrol 5w-30 oil has the BMW LongLife-01 approval. For your car maybe -- bu I know for sure mine -- 5w-30 is *not* approved for use even if it is BMW Longlife-01 oil.

The Castrol Edge 0w-20 oil does not have any BMW LongLife-01 approval.

A search for a BMW Longlife-01 0w-20 oil turned up this:

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...iABEgJOwPD_BwE

This is a genuine BMW oil that is approved for the B46 and B48 engines (to name 2 engines). I believe the engine in my 2018 JCW is the B48 (2.0l) engine.

 

You're not going to find a 0w-20 LL-01 approved oil, BMW didn't use that weight when they created that certification. When I did an oil change on my M40i it was the first time my dealer had seen the 0w-20 LL-14 oil and was surprised that they had switched over to using a 0w-20. If you do use an LL-01 approved oil, it's going to be 0w-30. I would not use any oil that doesn't have the LL-01 or LL-14 rating along with the appropriate 0w-20 or 0w-30 weights while you're under warranty.

 

We talked about the new oils and part numbers here when we say MINI changing the oil stickers in the engine bays.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ll-14fe-2.html

 

Per MINI (aka BMW), the B36/B46 engines require oils that meet the LL-01 FE or LL-14 FE+ standards in either 0w-20 or 0w-30 guise. I'm sure there are non-OE oils out there that meet these specs, but the non-OE oils must meet or exceed those specs. The bottles generally specify which manufacturer ratings they achieve, and if they don't, you can usually find it on the oil manufacturer's website.