Last saturday I made an engine oil change to my MINI at an indy shop.
I always used Motul X-cess 8100 and Castrol Edge, both with BMW-LL01 approval (always).
The main reason for use these, is that they are the only ones available with the BMW approval.

This time I was expecting to move to Liqui Moly, and I could see that for my engine, the Liqui Moly approved engine oil (BMW-LL01) are:

a) Leichtlauf High Tech 5w40
b) Special Tech LL 5w30
c) Molygen New Generation MFC 5w40

Option a) an b) not found in my city but Molygen NG MFC.

The bottle is 4L, so I buyed 4L bottle plus 1L bottle to fill the engine and what I have left over I kept for emergencies, leaks or engine consumption (until now I never needed to do it).
My surprise was when checking the bottle: Molygen New Generation MFC 5w30 is NOT approved for BMW-LL01 as the 5w40 version.

Since I'm thinking in change the oil ASAP to Motul, Castrol Edge or to the right Liqui Moly if I can find it (less than 30 miles with it) my questions are:

1) is it as critical as I think to continue using this engine oil in my R56 base (N16)?
2) If not, what would be the change interval for it (I know that a BMW-LL01 must be always changed before 6,000 miles)


Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

Not sure about the answers to most of your questions, but just to be on the safe side, if you have already done the oil change, I suppose I probably would change it ASAP for piece of mind, if nothing else. If availability is an issue, I have usually ordered the Liquid Moly Leichtlauf High Tech 5w-40 from Amazon. But I have recently discovered that my local NAPA carries it too, so I have a local source now as well. If you have a NAPA nearby, give them a call, if not stocked, they can get it for you.
I am very happy with it since I started using it. The engine noise seems to be quieter with it, and I don’t seem to burn/lose as much in between oil changes either. It’s good stuff according to my research and the recommendations of several Mini enthusiasts and mechanics.

 

Honestly people...

LL-01 (LONG LIFE-01) is simply BMW's way of extending service intervals. E.G on my X5 diesel (with LL-04 oil) the service interval for warranty is 10,000 Miles. That is ridiculous, so I change it after every 5K on my own and take it to the dealer for the "scheduled service". It is the same for Mini (I own 2, both out of warranty and have had several others), the LL-01 is just so they don't have to change your oil for free as often (since it is included in the original warranty).
You will be fine with the 5W30, since you change your oil much more frequently than factory service interval. If your concerned, change it after 4-5K. Any decent synthetic oil will go that long with no issues and the ones you have chosen are better than most oils on the market.

Cheers

 

I understand your point: BMW-LL01 means that I could expect for the service alert without dangers about the engine oil properties.
My doubt is about if BMW-LL01 (as all the approvals) are not related too to engine compression, low and high temp properties, oil pump function, etc?

In that way (as MrGrumpy said) peace of mind is important.
If it just an interval difference, I can wait 3K to change it again to the right one Liqui Moly

 

Your making way too much out of this LL-01 thing....any good quality oil will be fine, as long as you change it at the proper interval. It's NOT UNDER WARRANTY.

 

++1

 

Go for peace of mind. Only Castrol Edge Full Synthetic 5W30 meets the full BMW specs and change at 5K with ONLY OEM filters.

This is what I do after 57K and I don't even have to top up at interval change.