Quote:
Originally Posted by Carbon.F30
Hello everyone,
This is just a general question. BMW has four options for engine oil and I'm sure as many of us are aware, you have to top up your engine oil occasionally between oil changes. BMW recommends Castrol engine oil (according to the knob in the engine bay). So my question is: What oil do you prefer for your BMW, and what would be best for an F30 335i when it comes to topping up? (ie: do you have a brand/viscosity preference and why?)
|
I dedicated over 110,000 kms experimenting with various oil batches, and learned that only the top, Approved (BMW Approved, letter stamped) oils really work well with our engines. therefore, what works exceptionalyl well, as in feather smooth engine RPm over the entire powerband, smoother gear changes as a result etc is
- FUCHS DEU 0W-40 and 30
- Liqui Molly Leightlauf High Tech Liqui Molly 5W-40, DEU made
- Approved Motul DEU
Take Molygem says BMW LL-01 on it. is it so? no.. December 2020 discovered that that it is NOT approved nor certified by BMW, and it is a bit of a ..marketing thing? became aware vis communication with Liqui Molly DEU and North America after a 20,000 kms experiment with two Molygen batches, and a broader 80,000 km trial of several oils in my cars, and the occasional BMW lower shipped with DEU factory oil.
Molygen is piss poor for a BMW. Safe, yes, but a performance edge killer, sedating the top 10-15% of any inline six. You may get to the eventual Pmax output, but how you get there, the engine's torque along the RPM powerband per gear, is a different story. My mechanic, a V12 BMW rebuilder, also cautioned me that North American oils and most variation are different than the EU versions. An oil may be Made in Germany but with NA additives, thus altering its properties ever so slightly. "If you can tell, you will find the DEU version far smoother" he told me...
In the two Molygen batches I ran, the engine felt sedated when cold, and iffyiish when warmed up. Course esp when cold. Had to push the throttle on the highway. 10-15% hesitant at the very top of the power band per gear? And esp when 5C, 0C -10C cold really sedated and slightly hesitant, fighting internal resistance. It was ok when warmed, but it felt leagues below when new, and less than in 2017 when i ran Liqui Molly Showing Leichtlauf.
Dec 2020, I had my Molygen observations memorized, Blackstone results to confirm no issues, and switched to DEU Fuchs. It was like getting a new engine, a refined smoothness, feather like pedal responsiveness that I had only felt with DEU stock oil (2014), Leightlauff in 2017, and now, Dec 2020. Although 111,000 kms, my car responded as I knew it at its best. Each gear change smoother. Cold, all the way to -20C, smooth! No hesitancy, no resistance, no pressure. Turbos? Whiirrrr responsive.
No, not all oils are created equals. I would not trust Castrol for performance. I am sure it protects but not necessarily deliver the goodies in torque..