I am a new member here and joined several months ago after I bought my wife a 2009 coupe. I have mostly been a lurker ever since.

To give a little background, I have wrenched on my cars and motorcycles for nearly 30 years. I am not a mechanic but no one but me has EVER changed the oil on one of my vehicles. I currently ride a 2007 BMW R1200GS Adventure motorcycle and it has a lot of the same type of quirks that MINI's have.

Anyway, here is a transcript of my recent correspondence with the online chat guy on Castrols website:

Please wait for a site operator to respond. You are now chatting with 'AL'
AL: Thank you for contacting Castrol. How may we assist you today?
Steve: Hi,
Steve: I recently bought my wife a new 2009 MINI Cooper and there is a tag by the dipstick that reads "MINI recommends Castrol oil". So, I checked the Castrol website on "which oil to buy" and was told that Castrol did not have an oil for my application!! WTF? I was expecting 0w-30. What gives?
Steve: Hello?
AL: For a 2009 Mini Cooper, as per our lubrication guide, a special engine oil that can be obtained through your local Mini or BMW dealer is required. Castrol manufacturers oils that are specific to BMW and these oils are different than those Castrol products that are available for purchase through retail.
Steve: OK. I guess your marketing guys should get on the same page with your engineers.
AL: Is there anything else we can assist you with today?
Steve: Nope. Thanks.
AL: You're welcome.
AL: Have a great day! Castrol appreciates your business!

 

Wonder what the difference is between "Street" Castrol and the stuff you buy at your MINI dealer?

I buy Mobil 1 at Walmart for $22 for 5 quarts, BTW. Works just fine......

BTW, don't overtighten the oil filter housing, it's made of plastic! It uses an o-ring seal, so "just tight enough" is just right....

 

look carfully at the front of the Castrol Syntec oil containers: if it says European forumla in a little graphic on the front, you got the exact same oil as MINI uses. Also, you can buy oil from a MINI dealer, which surprisingly is not much more expensive than a Pep Boys or Autozone.

 

For my '03 S my MINI dealer advised me to use any synthetic oil.

 

Any top tier full synthetic should be perfectly fine. Royal Purple is my mainstay so far...

 

I have used both Castrol Syntec 0W-30 and Mobil 1 0W-40. Both are great oils which are on the BMW/MINI approved oils list.

 

I feel sorry for AL.

 

Yes, I've heard of this, but I still wonder what the difference is between "European" Castrol oil and "rest of the world" Castrol......

 

I have already changed the oil with "MINI" oil, which is only rated SL and not the latest SM by API. I will continue to use "MINI" oil until the car is out of warranty.
I have been a Castrol guy for many years and drove a 1988 Toyota pickup from new to 335,000 miles and was still running strong using only Castrol GTX but I think that once the warranty period runs out, I will go with Mobil 1 0W-40.

Was I too hard on Al?

 

There is a list of acceptable oils somewhere in the MINI Owners Lounge. What they have in common is that they are all BMW LL-01 and ACEA A3 rated. This rating has a certain shear and viscosity rating at operating temps, and is rated for long oil change intervals.

The BMW and MINI branded 5W-30 is specially formulated for BMW by Castrol. The MINI version (probably just a label change from BMW branded) is often the cheapest oil that meets MINI specs. Price varies from dealer to dealer. I've paid $5.40 per qt. for it.

There are grades of Castrol and Mobil 1 that meet this spec., and there are grades that don't.

Mobil 1 5W-30 does not meet this spec. Also note that not all Mobil 1 is designed for long oil change intervals. There is a Mobil 1 Extended Performance for that. However, Mobil 1 Extended Performance 5W-30 does not meet LL-01 or A3 specs.

Mobil 1 0W-40 does meet the specs, but IMO it would be better to use a 0W-30, especially in cold weather. The 0W-40 would probably be good for very hot weather.

Store bought Castrol 5W-30 does not meet either the LL-01 or A3 spec.

Castrol 0W-30 European Formula does meet LL-01 and A3 specs. This is probably what I'll use when I next do my own oil change.

There are other brands that have ACEA A3, BMW LL-01 rated oils, but you have to check the specific grade to make sure it meets these specs.

 

jmo, but no need to throw a wtf or make sarcastic comments to AL about engineers and marketers. He's just some poor guy trying to do his job and provide support to customers. No need to take out on him your frustrations with how MINI and Castrol have decided to market their products. He has zero to do with that.

 

I changed oil (and Mini filter) at 5,000 mile in my '09. I used Castrol's new "Edge" (5W-30) which is guaranteed for 15,000 miles. It is API rated SM/CF for what that's worth. Castrol says, "Edge exceeds the world's toughest industry standards" At $8.00/qt. I figure it's probably good oil.

 

Since they both act like a cold 0W when cold... the outside temps should cause no adverse affect with either choice. When the engine warms up, the viscosity modifiers come into play, making the 0W-40 a relatively higher viscosity than the warmed up 0W-30... the difference then may only be a slight affect on fuel economy and maybe an advantage in extremely hot conditions.

I'm using the Euro Castrol 0W-30 unless I'm getting the "free" dealer oil change.

 

Unfortunately, Edge 5W-30 does not meet BMW LL-01 nor ACEA A3. I believe there is an Edge in Europe that does meet those specs, but not available in the USA, last time I checked.

 

From what I've read, The zero in 0W-40 is not the same the zero in 0W-30. 0W-30 is thinner when cold than 0W-40. I know this to be true because I read it on the internet.