Every 4000-5000 miles is very much overkill

 

If you go to the Castrol site:
http://www.castrol.com/castrol/gener...tentId=6006933
Then Search for A3 you will find 5 of the oils are A3 approved.

 

Mini CAN NOT void your warranty if you do not use Mini branded oil! There is a law against this exact type of practice. It is called Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

 

I have the Dealer do Molly's Oil Changes every 6 months, that's about 6,000 miles give or take. I don't mind paying for the Mid-Year one, it's piece of mind knowing that I'm taking care of my girl!!

I made trip to AZ in March and had Mini North Scottsdale change the oil when I took her in to get the Rear License Plate Bulb replaced, they topped off all fluids and checked the tires.
Great Service and NOT my Local Dealer!!

 

Depends on type of driving, how long it takes to put those miles on the car, and environmental conditions. From oil analysis, about 8,000 is good for my MCS.


Yea, but I wouldn't use 5W-50, or 20W-50 on a MINI. Only the 0W-30 meets BMW LL–01.

They probably could if you used an oil that didn't meet the requirements in the manual, such as a synthetic that doesn't have "extended life" and you went for 15,000 miles with it.

However, I'm not sure how they'd know, and the problem would have to be caused by inadequate oil.

 

I am not saying anything about the viscosity of the oil but they can not tell you want brand to use or that you have to use Mini branded oil. There are synth oils out there that are not Mini brand oil that meet the requirements of grade and viscosity.

 

For me the driving conditions are very important.

In my case where ambient temps range from lows in the 70s and highs in the 100+, and the car is driven hard in moderately dusty conditions the 0W-30 viscosity and 8,000 miles does not make the most sense.

 

You need to return that Castro. It's not the same stuff at the dealer. It's not ACEA3 or LL-01 certified.

Another option would be Mobil 1 0W-40. It's imported for German cars since the usual crap isn't ACEA3 or LL-01 certified.

 

I agree about the law, if you meet the requirements. However, do you really want to spend the $$ on a lawyer to argue that in court? The MINI branded oil meets even the European standards, is the least expensive A3 oil I've found, and gives you a very strong argument if a dealer ever questions it.

There are quite a few synthetic oils that don't meet the requirements, and many more that may meet what the USA manual calls for, but not what the UK manual requires. IMO, it is better for the long life of the engine if you stay as close as possible to the UK recommendation.

The Castrol 5W-30 the OP chose doesn't come close to the UK requirement, and may not even meet the more lax USA requirement. In re-reading the USA manul I see that what it says about API SH oils is that you can add small quantities between oil changes. That doesn't mean you can use any SH oil for a full oil change. It says you have to contact your dealer about what oils are acceptable.

 

Robin,

You know how we all look to you for suggestions.

I found an oil today that was A3/B3 and some BMW LL spec (I think it had a 25 intead of a 01) in 0W40. Would this be a good candidate oil or would something like Castrol Edge 5W30 make more sense?

R

 

Why not talk to your service manager at the dealership? At my dealership he is knowledgeable and thought the Castrol Syntec 5-40 or 5-50 would be good choices for my mini.

 

Mobil 1 0w-40 has the spec Mini calls for. I was wondering if th new castrol Edge 5w-30 meets spec for A3?

 

Castrol Edge 5W-30 only has an A5 rating (lower viscosity at temp than A3). I'd go for the 0W-40 A3 oil instead. If you don't want to go to your dealer for MINI 5W-30, 0W-40 seems to be the easiest to find. However, Valvoline SynPower MST 5W-30 (make sure it has the MST) meets A3 and claims to be designed for Mercedes and BMW engines.

Some A3 0W-40 oils are:
Castrol EDGE Sport 0W-40
Mobil 1 0W-40 (other Mobil 1 grades aren't A3)
Royal Purple 0W-40

 

Thats for the info! I have a lot of Mobil 1 0w-40 because I use that in my Porsche too. I will just stick with the Mobil 1 0w-40. I've never seen the Castrol Edge Sport 0w-40 for sale here in the USA.

 

Thanks, Robin.

 

If you are changing the oil as often as you state there is no reason not to use the 5-30 oils.

 

Robin,

Where do you send your oil for analysis and what is the cost?

 

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/standard_analysis.html

I had the Standard Analysis + TBN done. With the cost of shipping it there Priority Mail, I paid about $37.50. TBN measures how much additive remains to neutralize acids in the oil. It is helpful in determining the proper oil change interval.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/tests_price_list.html

 

Thanks. I think I might do one soon.

 

Robin,
I thought you were using Dyson. No?

 

OK...I looked in my 2009 Cooper S owners manual again today and it says nothing about a AC3 oil. It only states to use a high performance Synthetic oil with the SM designation or higher with the follwoing grades: 0w-40 0w-30 5w-40 5w-30. The sticker on the engine says the factory full is 5w-30.

Certain Grade of Castrol Syntech meet SL or higher and AC3
http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp...syntec_usa.pdf

Castrol Edge 5w-30 which is supposed to be Castrol best says nothing about AC3 but it meets and exceeds Mini's SL requirement.

Mobil 1 5w-30 does not have the AC3 designation but the Mobil 1 0w-40 does. Both meet the SM designation.

Mobil 1 0w-40 spec sheet:
http://www.mobil.com/USA-English/Lub...il_1_0W-40.asp



So it seems that Castrol Syntech or Edge 5w-30 or Mobil 1 0w-40 are the oils that would work the best.


So off I go to the dealer to buy a oil filter and I asked them... beside the Mini branded oil what could I use. They said they do not even use the Mini oil and they use Castrol Synth 5w-30 but off the record one of the guys said Mobil 1 0w-40 in Florida would be his choice.

I have been useing Mobil 1 products in my race boats and Porsche's for years with out a single glitch. I will be useing Mobil 1 0w-40 in the Mini Cooper S.

 

Does anyone know how this works? My '08 Copper S has 8,500 miles on the odometer and the service counter says I'm due for service in another 9,000 miles.

The counter said 15,000 mile until I took it to the dealer for a "low mileage" oil change. Now It says 9,000 miles, but it doesn't change. I would expect to see it going down as the car gets more miles.

If I rely on the counter, I won't be due for service until the car has 17,500 miles. This seems rather extreme considering that I use the car for auto crossing and I drive rather agressively on the street.

 

Actually, if you trust that counter you will probably have your first oil change in the 20,000 to 22,500 range (counter adjust, and it doesn't work in your favor), or 1 year whatever comes first.

Some people don't like to wait that long for an oil change, so we just change oil by ourselves. Obviously, we gotta pay for that out of our own pocket, but hey an extra oil change hasn't killed an engine yet. Has it?

Now that I have typed this, there will be other people posting and saying that you can just drive forever, and get your annual oil changes from MINI. But it's your car, so you decide.

 

+1

 

The countdown odometer bases its estimate on some aspects of your driving recorded by the onboard computer (OBC). From what I've heard, it measures number of starts, length of trips, average speed, etc. The miles remaining can adjust as it goes. It is impossible to determine the number it will end up at the point your's is at.

You get a free oil change at the anniversary of delivery. The countdown odometer is for oil change, brake fluid flush, fresh air filter, and a few other things.

I did an oil change at around 1,600 miles because I wanted to get the initial break-in oil out of the engine. I did another about 5,000 miless later and had the oil analyzed at that time. It indicated that I could have gone another K miles, but it wouldn't have been wise to go much further.

There was a post here recently with oil test results of going 12,500 miles from delivery before the first change. His oil had so much metal in it that it had become abrasive.

My recommendation is to have your oil changed now. It may be due for its annual oil change anyway. Ask your dealer about it. If it is not time, doing it yourself is not difficult. Use a BMW LL-01 (or ACEA A3) rated oil, such as Castrol Syntech 0W-30 European Formula, or MINI branded 5W-30. There are other brands available that meet LL-01. To avoid warranty issues, I'd use an OEM filter. You can get them for $10-15. There are some DIY threads with photos that are helpful (and endless threads about what oil should or should not be used that are less helpful).