Mobil 1, Royal Purple, Castrol, and AMSOIL are the only ones I would recommend. I use Royal Purple. I did try Valvoline to see the different recently. I hated it. Made my gas mileage suck and car didn't respond well to the oil. I tried Mobil 1 too, so my top two is Mobil 1 and Royal Purple. Probably the few you would want in your engine besides the factory oil.

 

Uh Oh, you opened a can of worms with these. RP will get tore apart and Amsoil will get all the praise.Ug

 

Well my buddy loves himself some Amsoil but I haven't tried it. But from the consensus those four are the best IMO. If someone wants to show me actual data from oil tested in the lab then prove it of Royal Purple is so bad hahaha. As long as its a rational discussion but by now Braminator you should know half the people on this forum don't know what that is:-).

 

LMAO. I always use Mobil or Castrol in every car I have ever owned. So I agree with you on them. RP gets big marks by the V8 world but low marks in MINI's, go figure. Like I said be prepared for the comments. I say use what you are comfortable or happy with.

 

I think any LL-01 oil will be fine to go to 15k. The RP is a good oil, but it has shown that it is not a long OCI oil (I'm sure 10k is fine). Lots of oil reports on "Bob is the Oil guy." Amsoil is probably one of the better ones I'd trust for a real long OCI. I think they all "protect" about the same within a reasonable amount of distance. Pennzoil Ultra makes an LL-01, then there's Motul, Mag 1, Ardeca, Lubro-Moly, and MPT.


Someone else mentioned Valvoline....I don't think they make an LL-01 oil, just LL-04 which is for Diesels and Low-sulfur fuels (not that it will necessarily hurt anything).

 

As we used to say at Green Valley Raceway... "I love the smell of Castrol in the morning!"

 

Valvoline Synpower HST 5W30 and 5W40 both have BMW LL-01 certification.

 

Where is the HST available? I dont see it at Walmart or Amazon. All I've seen is the "European" 5w-40.

 

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-0W-40-1qt/17034373
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-0W...ndingMethod=rr

 

Mobil 1 is the easiest choice, always available at Walmart, and pretty cheap in the 5 quart jug. No one can question using Mobile 1 in anything, they have something for everything with wheels.

 

On my 2013 R56N at 6,851 miles it notified me that in 340 miles the engine oil needed to be serviced.

 

After the very first oil service I am currently at 7,277 mile with the next oil service in 8,000 miles.

 

I'm not real sure. That is what Valvoline listed it as on their data sheet. I'm guessing for marketing purposes it may be the "European" labeled stuff you saw. Of course, one would have to check the labeling to verify that. All of the images I can find on the 'net are for the MST version or the LL-04 certified version.

Kind of surprising Valvoline hasn't made it a little easier to find their LL-01 certified oil considering it is one of the options BMW and MINI specifically list.

 

I have an easy access to Valvoline in my auto parts area, but I didn't like it. Like I said, for ME, I like Mobil 1 and Royal Purple.

 

Only time I've even heard mention of it is a Mecedes owner saw it listed on his invoice for an oil change at a dealer.

 

-

 

Thanks for the link. Ordered. 68 dollars sent to my house vs 188 from dealer lol.

 

Interesting points made by many... :D

I had always thought seasons had a lot to do with it - as a result I have always tried to change late fall to a 0-30 for the winter then go back to a 5-30 for the summer... Mini still does one of the changes for me. It ends up being $60 - 70 to get an engine that starts better on those miserable -10C mmornings we get sometimes... Worth it for me!

A question though... over and over I hear of 0-40 oil. Why use that vs 0-30? Does the oil temp vary enough above the preferred operating temp to justify a heavier 'hot' oil?
Tks,
E

 

In a turbo, under hard long driving... yes it does.

 

Hmmm.... in other words the oil to coolant heat exchanger is a little small, or is that a general rule? Have you watched the temps climb?

Curiosity killed the cat...
E

 

I think it (how long you go between changes) is a factor of may things including how long you want to keep the car. two years or twenty years. Other factors need consideration as well. If you don't drive the car you need to change the oil every year. So you may have to change the oil at very low mileage intervals. If you flog the car at redline then you should change the oil more often. Turbo, think about it. And don't forget that Mini R56s are not know to have zero timing change issues.