Book, engine, and service manager at dealership all suggest Mini Brand oil for changes. A local Mini Specialty shop uses Mobil 1 for their cars and service. Does anyone know of any specific reason NOT to use Mobil 1? I have had great luck with it in past cars so I'm tempted to try it. Any advice would be appreciated. Only had the car a little over a month and this is my first maintenance. Want to set a good standard/habbit from the start.

Thanks in advance
Nate

 

Oil is like religion . Lots of opinions.So I would give up on the Mobil One notion and just believe in MINI. I have faith in the MINI Owners Book as wriiten .

 

My search found the following thread.

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...of-choice.html

In short, there are several engine oils that meet BMW/MINI's LL-01 or LL-01FE requirement, including Mobil 1 0w-40 European Formula.

 

I have been using Mobil 1 5w30 Extended performance at every oil change for almost 100k miles with no issues.

 

The Owner's Lounge lists "acceptable" oils, though I have found the oils listed to be kind of out of date. Mobil 1 0w40 is on the list. Pennzoil, Castrol and Valvoline are also on the list. The MINI brand is a relabeled Castrol formulation. You can also look for oils that are certified ACEA A3/B3 and LL01 (latter may only be necessary if following an extended interval).

 

You can use any oil that meets MINI's specs ( also not all dealers use MINI oil for their oil changes , so ask what they use ).

And yes, oil is like religion --- good luck....

 

Just curious why you consider those oils to be out of date?

Also, Braminator, Curious why you chose Mobil1 5W-30 over the recommended 0W-40?

 

The oil companies have rebranded their oil products. For instance, Castrol no longer carries a Syntec line iirc. It is now Edge with Syntec or Synerlac or something. The Pennzoil is the same - Platinum and Ultra are different lines. And Pennzoil 5w40 is now the oil that meets the MINI specs, not the 5w30. Mobil1 is still the same as far as I can tell. I think the Valvoline may be as well, but haven't researched it in depth.

 

Appreciate the reply and thanks for the info! oil branding tends to be the one thing I seem to pay little attention to (rightly or wrongly) and we all know oil is probably the most important thing in maintaining a car. As you guys have said in this thread the debate can be endless and it seems oil companies will do all they can in the marketing arena compared to slight changes in the lab. It can get confusing.

I do my own oil changes and picked a brand and type from day one and have stuck with it. The car performs great but I doubt it's because of the Particular brand I chose. Personally I think if you pick any of the oils that meet the correct specs your MINI should last a long time. More importantly, change your oil at sane intervals no matter what brand it is.

 

Now with SN ratings that is almost as important as or more important than the brand.
Choose a major brand, keep the low rating to 0 or 5 and make sure it is SN and you will likely never have a problem.
You will almost never find a engine failure with today's oils IF the level is keep to the correct amount and changed regular.
Whole different discussion about OCI. I say 5,000 just to keep it easy. Always change at the interval on the odo without even needing records.

 

Completely agree! I've never hurt an engine by changing more frequently. Even if the MINI change intervals are "ok" there is no way I'm paying that much for a car and waiting 10,000 miles to change oil.

 

Mongoos, consider this.....as long as you use MINI oil and a factory oil filter, you'll never have a hassle with them over an oil related warranty claim. Once you're out of warranty, it's up to you.....

I find the MINI oil and filter to be cost effective, so that's what I use.

 

I actually asked the service manager at Mini because I did not want to wait on the 10,000 mile oil change. He told me I could change the oil at the 3,000 mile or seasonally for us (we're motor heads) using Mobil 1 as long as we used only the factory Mini filter. They said not to use the filters that fit Mini because they had many disintegrate when they came in for service at the dealership. I am new to the Mini world, but Mobil 1 is fine by our dealer's standards.

 

There are lots of opinions on oils for sure. Over the last 20 years I have never heard of a warranty claim being denied over the brand of oil you use. Provided it meets or exceeds the specs, you should be fine. I have used Mobile 1 for years, but I did find that MINI tended to burn it faster than some of the other brands. I have since switched to Amsoil and don't burn oil as fast now (I might put a quart in between changes of 15K). Some will argue that it doesn't meet the spec, but in actuality it exceeds the specifications. So, any oil that meets or exceeds LL-01 will be fine and your warranty will be fine.