my local shop suggested i use Total Oil for me next oil change. Anyone heard of this brand before? he mentioned "it exceeds all north american and european standards" for synthetic oils..

any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

 

Yes good stuff, probably not cheap. Don't see why it would be better than Mobil 1 or Castrol Synthetic though...

 

cool thanks for the reply. his price is actually pretty reasonable. it's about a $20 difference if I were to do it myself and use mobil1, but at the end of the day it saves me a little time.

well, i guess as long as it's on par with mobil1 or castrol syntec and won't hurt the vehicle it might be worth a shot..

 

Total, Fina, Elf Combined = Total Oil.

Good product, if you can find it in your town check out the properties versus Mobil 1 or another top notch synthetic.

I stay with the MINI factory oil on my 07, my pref...

Don

 

I'd rather save that extra $20 and do the oil change myself. But that's just me.

 

Anyone ever heard of AGIP?
Supposedly a synthetic like Mobil 1.
Any comments?

 

Also European oil.

The Europeans have a much tighter defination of synthetic oil than the US. The European defination for synthetic is full Polyol Ester bonds (which is the most stable man made oil) and the US defination allows highly refined dinosaur oil to be called synthetic. Polyol Ester oil is engineered to have a "natural" viscosity so it does not break down that easily in high heat while highly refined mineral oil uses more additives to get their viscosities.

 

As long as it meets the spec's of the Mobil 1 0w-40 it should be fine.

 

Mobil 0W40 and Castrol 0W30 are European Spec oils.

A lot more oils do meet Mini's recommendations but are not European synthetic compliant.

 

Seen Total in Euro BMW Magazine ad, they are BMW approved, they are French I think. Agip is either French or Italian. But yes they are Polyol Ester, on par with RedLine Oil.

 

Now Redline, thats the good stuff, the stuff that racers use. They recommend their 5W30 for the Mini.

 

If you really want the very best oil possible, go with Amsoil. (And, no, I'm not an Amsoil dealer and I don't use it in everything I own.) Amsoil really is the best out there. It's just their marketing/sales scheme that's weird. But don't let that put you off. And many shops are selling it locally, now. And with the internet, Amsoil makes it real easy to buy online. Ship right to your door if you plan ahead.

In my motorcycle, I use Redline. Another really top oil.

And in my Murano, I use Mobil 1. Also top notch.

 

I use Total (elf) and so far so good. 27k and no issues. top end of the engine still looks new.

 

Great thanks for sharing. I'll be trying it out on Wednesday.

Thanks to everyone who posted as well. I've done a lot more research based on everyone's comments and feel pretty comfortable with the product. I've even found a local supplier.

 

Why?

Why is amsoil better than elf, or redline?

I use redline. Personally I think any of the above mentioned synthetics are all outstanding. I'd be hard pressed to say one is "better" than the rest though.

 

Amsoil just comes out at the very top any time a comparitive oil test is done. It's simply that good.

That said, the differences between the top oils are small and as long as you use a quality synthetic and change it out fairly frequently, you're good to go. As I mentioned earlier, I use Amsoil, Redline and Mobil 1.

 

If you have some links for these comparisons, that would be good for all of us to see it.

I believe that this is more personal preference than anything else especially if the synthetic oil is polyol ester based. I just have not tried Amsoil because of the crazy way they sell their products. I do not want to pay to be one of their distributors. I can say I have used Redline since 1981 and I would highly recommend it.

 

Please don't take my query the wrong way martinb but your statements leave me scratching my head wondering and begs me to ask, if Amsoil is so good (the very best oil) why do you not use it in your motorcycle and in your Nissan?

Is there a reason as to why you alter your choice of oil in your vehicles?

 

I tried Googling "Total Oil" and it seems to be a major oil company from France. Mostly what I got was about the company, and political stuff. I didn't find anything about a synthetic oil.

Do you have specs for the stuff? Does it meet ACEA A3, or BMW LL-01? If not, I wouldn't bother.

I'm looking for a good local source for Castrol Syntec 0W-30 that is marked "Made in Germany". Here is some info from the Bob is the Oil Guy web site.

 

I just called Castrol Customer Svc this morning. They said they would not suggest any Castrol product because Mini recommends using only Mini oil.

The BMW/Mini aftermarket shop that did my last oil change for about $85 used Total.

 

What's your experience so far?

 

I think Mini does recommend Castrol 0W30.

 

I found the info on Google the specs were under the materials section and BMW info was a few lines down on Google search.

 

I was in Paris a few days ago and am in Asia right now. All the synthetic oil is rated ACEA A3 including unknown brands like Carlube.