You are correct. It is important to enjoy the car and you are the one who gets to decide when you want to change your oil. Some want peace of mind others want to save more dollars. It is up to yu. Enjoy your car. Seize the Day!

 

I saw Royal Purple Oil mentioned. Is that oil up to all the applicable specs for use in the MINI? I couldnt find anything on their site that answered that question. I also had my local parts maven tell me that it would not meet the required specs and that using it would void my warranty.... I see alot of people that swear by it and I do know its a TRUE synthetic not some cracked down wannabe.....

 

There was a court case with Castrol/bp -exxon/mobil a few years back....in the end, the US court system rules that syenthic oil could be made from Dino base oils.?! They basicly said that through hi-tech refineing and cracking techniques, the oil was broken down, then reassembled....so it could be called man made.
Now the oil indrusrty realizes that it is not the same, and calls ours us Dino base syenthic base oils a different group than true syenthic oils....that is why so many folks check the bottles of oil to see where it is made...euro syenthic oils are in fact superior most qualities, and higher in price. In the us, the only mainstream oils that would be called a syenthic in Europe according to their rules....and we have a euro car, from a euro manfacturer, is oils like Amsol, Ryoal purple, and redline...plus the euro mobil 1, euro castrol syentic (some mass market auto shops sell German made castrol for this reason).
Mobil 1 was once a true syenthic oil...but that was quietly changed a while back....most likely to compete on cost with castrol after they won the court case ( refinery dammage after a storm also is said to have played a part).
Now folks...ever wonder why syenthic oil once cost 7x more than Dino....but suddenly the "mainstream" full syenthic suddenly became only 4x the price, but the premimum oils stayed $$?
Now you know the rest of the story!!

 

It really depends on what the Mini requires. Does it require a LL-01 oil or just a API SM/CF? I know that the LL04 is an updated LL-01 and is also recommended for diesel engines. I know the AMsoil Euro oil is a LL-04 API SM/CF ACEA C3 plus it meets other specs for Mercedes, Porsche, Saab, Volve, and VW. I don't know what the Spec is on Royal Purple. I looked on thier web site but don't see the API rating . They say they are API rated but don't say in what classification. You would have to look at the bottle to see. If it does not have a rating that meets Mini spec then it would void your warranty. Hope this helps.

I also know that Amsoil has three other products that meet the API sm/CF spec that are not necessary "Euro oils" Check your Mini spec it should be located under the hood on a circle much like and API cert circle on an oil can

 

Good job you really explained that well. It is true that some synthetic pricing has come down especially the ones that you can buy at Walmart. Probably though the ones you need for the Mini or the Bimmer are still at a higher price. I can tell you that Amsoil's Euro is under $9.00 per qt retail.

We have not discussed in all of this the need for a good filter I know that Mann makes a really good filter for Mini.

Thanks for the good info

 

Blended synthetics do not meet MINI warranty requirements. It must be a "full synthetic". To make this confusing, in the USA dino oil can be called "full synthetic" if it is refined to certain criteria. Castrol established this in a legal battle with Mobil. Castrol convinced the judge that highly refined dino oil was equivalent to true synthetic. Mobil disagreed, but since Castrol won, cost has forced Mobil to do the same thing.

Many grades of Mobil 1 do not meed the BMW LL-01 that MINI lists as a warranty requirement in the online Owner's Lounge. I believe their 0W-40 is the only one available in the USA that does meet the requirements. However, since the engine was designed for 5W-30, I'd only use 0W-40 in a very hot climate. BTW, the "0W" in 0W-40 is a different viscosity than the "0W" in 0W-30. Don't ask me why.

The only Castrol in the USA (that I'm aware of) that meets LL-01 is the 0W-30 European Formula made in Germany, and the MINI or BMW branded 5W-30. The MINI/BMW branded oil is probably a dino based "full synthetic" made for them by Castrol. MINI 5W-30 is about $2 per qt. cheaper from my MINI dealer than European 0W-30 I found at AutoZone.

 

Thanks for the helpful info. That answers several questions.

 

You realize there hasn't been an LT1 vette since '96 right?

Please don't claim hp/liter, you can claim hp/engine's exterior size or hp/lb because those actually mean something and Minis can boast in those categories. Hp/liter is a meaningless number that does nothing more than prove physics, engines in general will have a better hp/displacement ratio as they get smaller due to less moving weight. Look at typical rc car engines.
Just a random quick lookup: 2.5hp from 4.11 cc. that's 608hp/liter! Do you think that comes from better engineering than BMW/Peugeot or lots more stress? Imagine the Mini with half that hp/liter, still over 480hp! I don't think it would last long making that kind of power.
Sorry for the rant but hp/liter is a pet peeve of mine. I'm used to hearing it from honda guys who still have to say something after getting beat by family sedans.

 

If you are going to change your oil every 5000 mile, the brand of synthetic does not really matter. NO fully synthetic oil will break down in 5k miles.

 

If you are going to change your oil every 5000 mile, the brand of synthetic does not really matter. NO fully synthetic oil will break down in 5k miles.

 

Just got back from my oil, lube, filter change at 4600 Miles on new cooper S.

I asked if they have mobil one. He said the European synthetic oil is superior so he put Total synthetic SAE 5W30.

I may be early changing oil, but better than late.

Any thought on the oil chosen?

 

Since this was the first oil change, I don't think it was too early. Depending on your driving and conditions, you could probably wait 5-8K miles for the next change. Short trips with city driving shorter interval. 5 mile or greater trips the majority with a fair amount of highway or freeway driving, longer intervals.

[quote]I asked if they have mobil one. He said the European synthetic oil is superior so he put Total synthetic SAE 5W30.

There are many varieties of Mobil 1 oil. Most in the USA are not ideal for your MINI. Many don't meet warranty requirements.

If you had this done at a MINI dealership, they probably used MINI branded 5W-30 oil made for BMW by Castrol. It is one of the few 5W-30 oils in the USA that meets BMW LL-01 and ACEA A3 specs. Your MINI's engine was probably designed with this oil in mind.

However, my choice would be Castrol Syntec 0W-30 European Formula (Made in Germany). This is probably a somewhat higher quality synthetic than the MINI brand (0W-30 costs about $2 per qt. more than MINI oil in my area). The 0W-30 is a true synthetic and will be thinner when cold than 5W-30 so will get to engine parts faster at a cold start. The majority of engine wear is at cold start, unless you drive more than 500 miles between starts.

 

As Robin mentioned, European synthetics use polyol ester base stocks which are man made to viscosity specs. In the US, many so called synthetics are super refined dino oils but they use mineral oil as base stock. Polyol Ester based oils are more stable at high operating temperatures because they are engineered to be at a specific viscosity versus using of additives which can break down in heat.

For the Mini,
The better polyol ester based synthetic oils are Mobil1 0W40 and Castrol 0W30.
The premium polyol ester based synthetic oil is Redline 5w30. However, Redline does not have the A3 European rating since it is a US based oil.

I have used them all on the Mini and have to say the Redline seems to be best at really high operating temperatures such as for track use (It is a racer's oil). Both Mobil1 and Castrol are really good as well.

 

It is in the cost of manufacturing. Super refined dino oil is a lot cheaper to make than polyol ester based real synthetic. But everyone wants their oil to be synthetic to get a higher price for it.