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      03-22-2018, 01:31 AM   #1
KevM2
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So from my research thus far this is a short list of what I would consider the best oils for our cars:

1. Motul 300v 5w40
2. Motul x-cess/Xmax/sport 5w40
3. Total Quartz 9000 energy 5w40
4. Redline 5w30
5. LiquiMoly 5w40 Leichtlauf High Tech

The order of these can be debated as can some of the weights. What oil do you use?
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      03-22-2018, 07:18 AM   #2
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      03-23-2018, 03:38 PM   #3
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Did the break-n on manufacturer's 5w30 oil. After that I changed it to Millers CFS 5w40 NT+. I sleep better now.
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      03-25-2018, 08:14 PM   #4
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I'm a redline fan - 0W-30

Although, no substitute for changing fluids regularly.
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      03-26-2018, 07:00 PM   #5
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2 OIL Traits to Consider

N55 Variant in the M2 needs: (IMO)
.
A. Meets LL-01: BMW SPEC & Maintain Warranty

B. Low NOACK to help minimize Carbon I-Valve Deposits

.
Keeping this in mind, I would not go with Redline or Motul 300V because it they do not have the LL-01 Spec. Not that they are not great oils - they really are excellent.
.
The other Motul and LM products are good but in my search & including the video in this THREAD; the PP EURO 5W-40 is a really excellent choice when ambient temps are above 60F. In Canada a 0W-40 or 0W-30 would be needed for winter usage - IMO.

The PP EURO 5W-40 has a NOACK below 7%.

If you find a LL-01 Oil that has a lower NOACK then that's your winner.
.
The BMW 0W-30 oil for Canadian Winters
The PP EURO 5W-40 for summers and or track days.
.
OCI less than 10k miles is another good suggestion
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      03-26-2018, 10:38 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 123Britt View Post
N55 Variant in the M2 needs: (IMO)
.
A. Meets LL-01: BMW SPEC & Maintain Warranty

B. Low NOACK to help minimize Carbon I-Valve Deposits

.
Keeping this in mind, I would not go with Redline or Motul 300V because it they do not have the LL-01 Spec. Not that they are not great oils - they really are excellent.
.
The other Motul and LM products are good but in my search & including the video in this THREAD; the PP EURO 5W-40 is a really excellent choice when ambient temps are above 60F. In Canada a 0W-40 or 0W-30 would be needed for winter usage - IMO.

The PP EURO 5W-40 has a NOACK below 7%.

If you find a LL-01 Oil that has a lower NOACK then that's your winner.
.
The BMW 0W-30 oil for Canadian Winters
The PP EURO 5W-40 for summers and or track days.
.
OCI less than 10k miles is another good suggestion
Quote:
Originally Posted by 123Britt View Post
N55 Variant in the M2 needs: (IMO)
.
A. Meets LL-01: BMW SPEC & Maintain Warranty

B. Low NOACK to help minimize Carbon I-Valve Deposits

.
Keeping this in mind, I would not go with Redline or Motul 300V because it they do not have the LL-01 Spec. Not that they are not great oils - they really are excellent.
.
The other Motul and LM products are good but in my search & including the video in this THREAD; the PP EURO 5W-40 is a really excellent choice when ambient temps are above 60F. In Canada a 0W-40 or 0W-30 would be needed for winter usage - IMO.

The PP EURO 5W-40 has a NOACK below 7%.

If you find a LL-01 Oil that has a lower NOACK then that's your winner.
.
The BMW 0W-30 oil for Canadian Winters
The PP EURO 5W-40 for summers and or track days.
.
OCI less than 10k miles is another good suggestion
Can you tell me why Redline wouldn't be a good choice? I've been putting Redline in my 128i and it says LL01 approved on it. And it has a NOACK of 6%
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      03-26-2018, 10:53 PM   #7
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I personally would run Xcess 8100 5W40 for californian weathers, 300V for track work, or PP Euro 5W40 again for californian weathers for the budget conscious.

These cars target such a high oil temp in comfort and also still goes up to 90-95C in sport with regular driving, I would not want to run any thinner of an oil.
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      03-26-2018, 10:57 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cookiesowns View Post
I personally would run Xcess 8100 5W40 for californian weathers, 300V for track work, or PP Euro 5W40 again for californian weathers for the budget conscious.

These cars target such a high oil temp in comfort and also still goes up to 90-95C in sport with regular driving, I would not want to run any thinner of an oil.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cookiesowns View Post
I personally would run Xcess 8100 5W40 for californian weathers, 300V for track work, or PP Euro 5W40 again for californian weathers for the budget conscious.

These cars target such a high oil temp in comfort and also still goes up to 90-95C in sport with regular driving, I would not want to run any thinner of an oil.

I'm also thinking of going with Xcess 5w40. Is it's noack score of 9-10% anything to worry about?
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      03-26-2018, 11:01 PM   #9
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I find it interesting that Amsoil has 0w30 oil recommended for all temperatures...
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      03-28-2018, 04:30 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevM2 View Post
I'm also thinking of going with Xcess 5w40. Is it's noack score of 9-10% anything to worry about?
I was going to go with X-Cess 5w-40 as well, but I think the PP Euro 5w40 with the low NOACK is the better choice. I'll try it out for the up coming track season and will most likely do a UOA just to see how it holds up to track abuse after a few track days (I'm a novice and not too aggressive so I'd say will hold up fine).
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      03-28-2018, 04:42 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JTPitsch View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevM2 View Post
I'm also thinking of going with Xcess 5w40. Is it's noack score of 9-10% anything to worry about?
I was going to go with X-Cess 5w-40 as well, but I think the PP Euro 5w40 with the low NOACK is the better choice. I'll try it out for the up coming track season and will most likely do a UOA just to see how it holds up to track abuse after a few track days (I'm a novice and not too aggressive so I'd say will hold up fine).
Quote:
Originally Posted by JTPitsch View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevM2 View Post
I'm also thinking of going with Xcess 5w40. Is it's noack score of 9-10% anything to worry about?
I was going to go with X-Cess 5w-40 as well, but I think the PP Euro 5w40 with the low NOACK is the better choice. I'll try it out for the up coming track season and will most likely do a UOA just to see how it holds up to track abuse after a few track days (I'm a novice and not too aggressive so I'd say will hold up fine).
Do you know what it's NOACK score is? Couldn't find it anywhere
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      03-28-2018, 07:06 PM   #12
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After some digging these are the NOACK values I've found for all these LL01 approved oils:

Redline 5w30: 6%
Redline 5w40: 6%
Pennzoil ultra Euro 5w40: ?3.6%-7%
AMSOIL 5w40: 8.7%
Motul xcess 5w40/ xmax 0w40: 9.9/9.8%
Castrol edge: 10.5%
LiquiMoly High Tech 5w40: 10%
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      03-28-2018, 10:45 PM   #13
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my 2018 manual says to use LL-01FE oil and only UP TO 1QT of regular LL-01 if no FE oil is available.

does anyone know what oils meet the LL-01FE requirement?
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      03-28-2018, 11:24 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nioh_lbbm2 View Post
my 2018 manual says to use LL-01FE oil and only UP TO 1QT of regular LL-01 if no FE oil is available.

does anyone know what oils meet the LL-01FE requirement?
My guess is that for Fuel Efficiency it should have an HTHS value of less than 4 but higher than 3.5 for protection... so 3.5-4 range is my guess.... most oils that are LL01 do fall within this range but check each oil individually
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      03-29-2018, 05:48 AM   #15
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Does Mobil 1 not meet the std's anymore? It used to be the go-to oil
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      03-29-2018, 08:30 AM   #16
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Did some more digging and it looks like in order to meet epa guidelines bmw is moving towards lower HSHT values which may improve fuel efficiency but likely at a cost of decreased engine lives. That's why they're abandoning their 5w30 and 40 oils and moving towards the thinner 0w20 and 30 oils... I'm just going to stick with what's been working for bmw engines all these years and that's heavier oils with HSHT numbers in the 3.5 and above range... I wouldn't bother with the "FE" designation as long as it's LL01... I don't even know of any brands available in North America that have the "FE" designation. Pretty sure even the BMW brand oils thus far have not had this and their engines haven't changed and have been doing great on the LL01
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      03-31-2018, 02:13 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevM2 View Post
I'm also thinking of going with Xcess 5w40. Is it's noack score of 9-10% anything to worry about?
It shouldn't but that's a good point. I'll have to compare to PP. I might try running PP Euro in the M2. I run it on a tuned X3 N55 rn.


Quote:
Originally Posted by KevM2 View Post
Did some more digging and it looks like in order to meet epa guidelines bmw is moving towards lower HSHT values which may improve fuel efficiency but likely at a cost of decreased engine lives. That's why they're abandoning their 5w30 and 40 oils and moving towards the thinner 0w20 and 30 oils... I'm just going to stick with what's been working for bmw engines all these years and that's heavier oils with HSHT numbers in the 3.5 and above range... I wouldn't bother with the "FE" designation as long as it's LL01... I don't even know of any brands available in North America that have the "FE" designation. Pretty sure even the BMW brand oils thus far have not had this and their engines haven't changed and have been doing great on the LL01
LL01FE i wouldn't bother.
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      04-02-2018, 03:10 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevM2 View Post
Do you know what it's NOACK score is? Couldn't find it anywhere
I'd say that there really isn't any good info aside from forums on the actual NOACK of the Motul X-Cess. I do know that my Subaru EJ257 drank a lot less X-Cess over the M1 0w-40 and the X-Cess is cheaper than PP Euro 5w-40. So really I think this is a situation of just choose whatever is easiest to obtain.
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      04-03-2018, 03:52 AM   #19
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Pennzoil platinum euro 5w40 is only a little more than $6/qt on Amazon right now, after coupon and rebate.
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      04-03-2018, 08:03 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KevM2 View Post
So from my research thus far this is a short list of what I would consider the best oils for our cars:

1. Motul 300v 5w40
2. Motul x-cess/Xmax/sport 5w40
3. Total Quartz 9000 energy 5w40
4. Redline 5w30
5. LiquiMoly 5w40 Leichtlauf High Tech

The order of these can be debated as can some of the weights. What oil do you use?
Total Quartz and LiquiMoly have been the go-to oils for M motors for ages. Maybe not the most popular on the forums but a very common choice among specialists/mechanics. Not sure about Redline or Motul.. seem to be more popular in the domestic crowd but these oils really are not that different. Are you changing it every 5,000km? Then it isn't really that big a deal. Any quality synthetic will be fine. I'll probably run 0W40 if I'm near winter or 5W40 in summer.
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      04-03-2018, 11:52 AM   #21
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Thanks for your input. Yes I will be changing it every 5000. I guess it doesn't really matter but I just want an oil with the lowest volatility possible while it meets the LL01 rating since under warranty. For my first oil change after break in, lll probably use Redline 5w30 since it's thinner but still at the upper range of 30 in terms of viscosity and it has higher ZDDP for more protection. But for my subsequent oil changes I will likely go with Pennzoil Euro 5W40 (summer driven only).

I'll be sending all my oil changes to Blackstone so I'll post the analysis.
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      04-04-2018, 05:56 PM   #22
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so ive got some Castrol edge bottles at home to do the intermittent oil changes its a 'Titanium fst, 5w-30 A3/B4.. is this suitable for not losing warranty?
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