Well, I haven't been impressed with the performance of the Castrol at all, so I'm going to try the LiquiMoly 5w-30 this next round and see what I get. I'll report findings once I have some experience with it over months.

 

Great! Let us know.
I have not experience with LiquiMoly (only Castrol & Motul).

 

Well quite frankly, unless someone is willing to run every oil brand under the sun in their car for 5000 miles each, then send a sample of each oil to Blackstone for testing, all we really have to go on is anecdotal evidence. I can understand that color really has no bearing on oil performance (I've heard of super clean oil being **** and black oil being totally fine in the same car).

That being said, what a lot of people neglect to mention about oil is the quality of base stock. Group III oils don't hold up as well as Group IVs which don't hold up as well as Group Vs. Simple as that. Buy good oil, you'll have good performance. Liqui Moly is a good oil. Mobil 1 isn't.

 

Schaeffer's makes good stuff. I used to use their fuel stabilizer years ago and it did a great job keeping the top end of those big block motors clean. Liqui-Moly does still use MoS2 in a few of their oils but not in Leichtlauf. Seems they sell moly primarily as an additive these days. To be honest I've never been too crazy about pouring particulate additives into my oils. It just seems wrong, plus some additives don't play well with the intense heat encountered in a turbo. I did note from the data sheets that Schaeffer's recommends it for BMW LL01 applications but also noted that it has a lower viscosity and flashpoint that's more in line with Mobil 1, which kind of surprised me. Always looking for better solutions though so keep us up to date on how the Scheaffer's performs.

 

Read this thread... https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...y-repairs.html

 

I've heard bad about Fram (and some OEM filters) for years, especially in long change interval vehicles. I always use Wix, due to being told that they were better for extended interval applications. However, after reading this I see that they are simply a glued seam paper media :(. I've been lied to.

 

My N18 is creeping up on 100k km(60,00miles) and oil consumption hasn't seemed to change with oil viscosities or brands. I generally have to add a 1/2 liter near the end of the 6 month or about 12,000km interval. Colour - well it's dark when it comes out at the end of the interval...

What has had an effect is viscosity: 0W40, 0W40, 0W40!

When the temps drop to -5C or lower (about 20f or lower) on Mini recommended 5W30, the engine sounds like it's suffering the death rattle - perhaps I exaggerate, but it sounds TERRIBLE on 5W30. That '5' makes for a miserable cold start that is dramatically improved on the 0 weight oil.

The 40 end of the oil apparently, is recommended for those of us with turbos (in particular), to reduce breakdown of the oil due heat stresses - per another post somewhere here on NAM... I dunno - I find 0W anything hard to find, and 0W40 is always there if any LL01 oils are on hand.

I will continue using 0W40 for those cold winter mornings, and keep the same oil for summer for simplicity...
E

 

You surely have an oil leak.
It's not good to lose 1/2 lt of oil every 6 months.
I have 120k kms and the amount of oil is the same between each change service done at an indy shop.
Also, I recommend changing the oil before reaching the 10k kms (6k miles).
I agree with the oil 0w40 (better than 5w30 for all the year).

 

Liqui Moly full Syn 5w - 30 - One of the least mentioned brands (At least to me), harder to find and more expensive I decided to give it a try before switching back to Castrol. Let me tell you... When I opened up my hood to check my oil 500 miles later I had the biggest grin on my face. It didn't move at all and the oil was still a light brown color (Where the Mobil 1 was black). Since then I won't run anything else in my and am a strong believer in this oil.

I'm no rocket scientist but I think it's clear which oil I've had the best luck with. I'm sure others have had luck with different brands. Just my two sense! Hope it helps someone. Car currently has 110,000 miles on it[/QUOTE]

Hi...I've read the posts here. My girlfriend has an older BMW and her mechanic added Liqui Moly on her last oil change. She said that she noticed a difference in the way the car ran.
I've got a 2008 MCS N14 engine with 129K. I burn at least a quart every 1K miles. I check and fill it quite often as I can hear when it is lower than a 1/2 quart. I just had the timing chain and tensioner replaced (again) as well as both O2 sensors. My mechanic told me that both camshafts were out of round. He doesn't think I should put anymore money into the engine. The oil consumption is a big issue for me as the O2 sensor was really fouled. My spark plugs are clean and show normal wear, but they fire so hot that if there is any oil in the cylinder it get burned off.
I've always used Castor Oil 5w-30 per specifications, but I'm considering using Liqui Moly 5W-30 or even 5W-40. I think the wear on the camshafts is from low oil. It is frustrating to drive 250 miles in one trip and check the oil but that is what I do, fill the oil and check the gas....lol. I just wonder if the 5W-40 is too heavy for this engine? I've seen some posts here that it is used successfully. My next job is a walnut cleaning of the intake ports. I was hoping to get 200K miles out of this engine, but I highly doubt that. I do a good job of maintaining it and I don't drive it like a maniac.

Any thoughts on the 5W-40 Liqui Moly? Thanks! Peter

 

Here's what you need (fully synthetic Longtime High Tech)

 

I can't believe that you have 230K miles on your R53. That is great! I've got an 2008 MCS R56 N14 engine with 129K and it sounds like a diesel. Just had the second timing chain tensioner replaced. Mechanic said that my camshafts are out of round. probably due to a lack of oil. This engine consumes 1 quart every 800-1000 miles. I was hoping to get 200K miles out of this engine, but that is highly doubtful. I do maintain the car well, so that isn't the issue. Turbo's are just hard on engines.

 

Hi...I've read the posts here. My girlfriend has an older BMW and her mechanic added Liqui Moly on her last oil change. She said that she noticed a difference in the way the car ran.
I've got a 2008 MCS N14 engine with 129K. I burn at least a quart every 1K miles. I check and fill it quite often as I can hear when it is lower than a 1/2 quart. I just had the timing chain and tensioner replaced (again) as well as both O2 sensors. My mechanic told me that both camshafts were out of round. He doesn't think I should put anymore money into the engine. The oil consumption is a big issue for me as the O2 sensor was really fouled. My spark plugs are clean and show normal wear, but they fire so hot that if there is any oil in the cylinder it get burned off.
I've always used Castor Oil 5w-30 per specifications, but I'm considering using Liqui Moly 5W-30 or even 5W-40. I think the wear on the camshafts is from low oil. It is frustrating to drive 250 miles in one trip and check the oil but that is what I do, fill the oil and check the gas....lol. I just wonder if the 5W-40 is too heavy for this engine? I've seen some posts here that it is used successfully. My next job is a walnut cleaning of the intake ports. I was hoping to get 200K miles out of this engine, but I highly doubt that. I do a good job of maintaining it and I don't drive it like a maniac.

Any thoughts on the 5W-40 Liqui Moly? Thanks! Peter[/QUOTE]




I put the 5w40 Liqui Moly in my JCW however I have not driven it enough to make any recommendations. My thought was the base 5W is the same in both 5w30 and 5w30,but the 5w40 does not thin out as much in high heat situations , I thought maybe that would help in ring seal/blowby.

 

I think I'll take some decibel readings with the 5W-30 oil and then change out to the Liqui Moly 5W-40 and see if there is a noticeable difference... My engine runs at 220F so a little heavier oil as you say may help with the ring seal blow by. I'll keep you posted. Thanks!

 

Been reading some of these posts and wanted to chime in on a few things.

I have a friend with a 07 RMW Tuned highly modified R56-s....Last I knew he was not that far behind me in mileage....I have over 230K miles on the odometer. He changes his oil every 3,000 miles and has always used MINI brand oil and oil filter. Never had any engine problems, just usual bolt up parts due to age/wear.

Secondly, I read where folks are deviating from manufacturer recommended viscosity. While back in the day, that was commonplace and possible I want you to consider a few things such as what year MINI you have and whether or not it has force induction ( Turbo ) and read up on engine oil "flow rates" when you have a chance.

I personally do not recommend changing the viscosity of your engine oil from what the engineers have prescribed. There are critical components in some MINI engines such as solenoid valves in the 2nd gen MINI which have "micro-screens to pass oil through to make them function and do their job properly. Thicker oil means less flow through these components, especially at start up....some of them also have oil feed lines for the turbo, as well as oil channels in the block to move oil to other critical components for lubrication. Too thick of an oil and now that oil doesn't move to where it should as it should. Typically its the second number you should be concerned with. And remember, 90% of your engines wear occurs when it's cold at start up....

Few weeks back while picking up some things at local Walmart, there was a guy on the check out line next to me who owned a 10yr old Pontiac. He had no shopping cart, and arms were full of two types of oil and an oil filter. Some of the oil was synthetic and some of it was dyno oil...

I gave him my cart after it was empty before he dropped everything on the floor, and we got into an discussion on car maintenance. As it turns out, he creates his own personal "blend" of oil because he says the synthetic oil recommended is "too thin" as he has to keep adding it....But when asked about oil leaks on engine valve cover ect, he responded to the affirmative....

Can't fix stupid, so I just nodded politely and took my bags....

Read up on THIS when you have a few minutes.

Part II is relevant to engine wear at start up.
Part III relevant to how how syn is better than dyno oil at start up ( friend at Walmart would do best to read this..lol )
Part VII discusses thicker viscosity ( going to a 40 weight ) and what happens when you do that.

* last I knew before leaving MINI, the weight of some MINI recommended oils was to change to 0W-20 Syn for F56's engines...

 

very interesting reading thanks, I have to update my mineral based thoughts on oil

 

This is the one you want, with the BMW LL-01 Certification

 

R56in and cguss, I just picked up 5L of the Lonetime High Tech at my local NAPA store. Same price as Amazon and no shipping charges or wait. The Liqui Moly comes in 2 5w-30 or 5w-40 containers. I had 4 sales guys at NAPA look at both containers and tell me what the difference was. None of them could find it. Both had BMW certification on the label with the difference of one had the BMW LL-01 cert., and the other BMW LL-04 cert... I took a wild guess thinking that the LL-01 was for engines with less wear than the LL-04. I'm going to try it next oil change.

 

And for those still going to Jiffy Lube places and alike....I offer up this video.

 

Been seeing these ads on TV lately so figured I bring this up.

Mobil 1 Annual Protection - Their TV ad states by using this brands newly designed synthetic oil allows one to cut back on their oil changes to once a year. Seriously ?

2016 U.S. Government statistics show the average person drives almost 14,000 miles a year and the average male driver racks up 16,500 miles per year. For a male driver that equates to 6 oil changes in 100,000 miles ! Heck, I even used to drive 26,000 + miles year.

Secondly, there is NO oil filter known to man to effectively last longer than 10,000 miles....by 12,000 miles the signs of sludge begins to show up in the oil filter and housing eventually leading up to the damaging effects of the engine.

I cry foul to MOBIL 1 ! And shame on them for purporting such bull **** nonsense and personally would not give them dime one for any of their snake oils.

 

So, while we're talking lubricants, if I wasn't buying Redline MTL, will I hurt anything to run Schaeffer's 75w90 high Moly gear oil in my R50?

 

Should be fine unless you have an LSD installed. If you do have one installed though steer clear of any gear oil with friction modifiers.

 

My catch can had about 10cc of a very dark solvent like, solvent smelling solution when checked today. I believe some of the the EPR evaporated out of the oil when ran through. Then condensed down into the catch can. I do not know what that means but it could be that's its working? Maybe if I didn't catch it, it would have helped the carbon on the valves?The car seems like it is running very well. I will post a photo of the catch can stuff.

 

Purflux makes the MINI filter. Usually you can get it for less than the MINI brand.

 

I see a lot of people here using Mobil1 or Mobil Super, but if you go the Mobil website, you will see that they specifically do NOT have a LL-01 or LL-04 recommendation from BMW. Considering the wide range of choices out there (I'd say Liqui-Moly is the best, followed by Castrol full syn euro blend), I wouldn't use it myself.

But considering that this is probably the touchiest subject on the forums, please feel free to ignore my comment.

 

heres a photo of the EPR residue that was removed from my CC