indie shop put Mobil 10W-30 in my car. thoughts?

[webster]

so last week i got my oil changed at my trusted local indie shop. they've always provided great service. but after the last visit, i noticed my receipt said Mobil 1 10W-30 was used. I sent them the following message and got the subsequent response. What do you guys think? worth making a stink about?

I am just back in the office today to follow up on this. I have done plenty of research and know 100% for a fact that 10W30 is NOT an approved LL-01 oil to use. Please see below guidelines from BMW and note especially the last point in bold:

· The BMW Synthetic 5W-30 is a version of Castrol TXT Softect sold overseas. It is a Group III hydro-cracked oil which cannot be called synthetic in Europe, is a heavy 30 weight oil, and is a ACEA A3 oil which means that it is approved for longer change intervals.

· In the US, the only Group IV PAO Synthetics that are available are Mobil-1, Amsoil (but not the Xl-7500), Royal Purple, and German Castrol 0W-30 (it has the red label and says on the back, "Made in Germany). Redline is a Group V PolyEster based oil. All other Castrol, Quaker State, Pennzoil, Valvoline "synthetics" are Group III hydro-cracked oil. There is a significant amount of debated over how much better Group IV base oils are than Group III, but generally they are considered better.

· When looking for oil for any BMW that does not require Castrol TWS 10W-60, find oil that has either/both of the following ratings ACEA A-3 and BMW LL-98/LL-01.

· Mobil-1 0W-30, 5W-30, and 10W-30 are NOT ACEA A3 or BMW LL approved oils. This is because they all are thin 30 weight oils. Mobil-1 0W-40 and 15W-50 are ACEA A-3 rated and the OW-40 is BMW LL-01 approved. For 99% of climates and drivers 0W-40 will work great (This is what I used to use). Look for the ACEA A-3 rating, if the oil doesn't have it keep looking.


I know for a fact that when I have personally sat through an oil change that I confirmed the BMW 5W30 was used in the past. I did however look at the invoice from the work I had done in October 2013 and see that 10W30 was used there as well; I guess I just didn’t catch it.



Please let me know your thoughts. Not trying to be unreasonable about this, but obviously having the correct oil in my car is a major priority. Thanks for your cooperation.

response:

Hi Wesley,



For years and years we have used oils and some other fluids from time to time that goes away from what BMW says. We use 10W30 for that engine, period. We will use whatever a customer asks us too however, we usually use the 10W30.

We do this for several reasons I guess but, with our climate – this is what is recommended. We arrived at this years ago when we started sending oil samples to the lab and over time, the results showed a more favorable wear with this oil, in this climate.

I use 10W30 in my own car, we always have, and we do this type of thing for all cars here. We do not always agree with BMW, much like most independent shops.

We also don’t change the oil at the longer mileage time period as BMW has people do. We do it every 5k. There is so much information and debate about this on the internet, people could argue in a room endlessly. That said, we do it this way for those reasons. If you want us to use something different, that is ok too. Heck, for some customers with this engine we use 20W50 if they have high oil consumption.

Many oils can be used for many reasons in most engines.

Take care-


John Blevins

Director of Customer Service

Bavarian Machine Specialties

[derbo]

If they truly believe with oil samples analysis that 10W-30 is the oil of choice, I don't see any issues with that! If anything you can just change out your oil at 5k and call it a day.

[wsmeyer]

I was planning on going 10-30 at my next change. There's a chart in TIS and 0-40 is the default recommended for all temp ranges but for where I live 10-30 is fine and I'm in the camp of thicker is better long term. Unless someone gets to it first I'll take a screen shot of the chart later this evening after the Kings win.

[derbo]

The oil is thinner at 30 wt vs 40?

[ELCID86]

If they truly believe with oil samples analysis that 10W-30 is the oil of choice, I don't see any issues with that! If anything you can just change out your oil at 5k and call it a day.

+1

[Tnhl1989]

Yeah I have a independent shop here that was telling me I could run 5w30 which would be fine as well since I am on the higher mileage. Really good reputation shop around the area with the latest equipment straight from Germany. http://zbylut.com/

The owner is a great guy and came into my dealership to test drive the m235. Overall he was impress by the car as his friend who wanted a m235 couldn't wait and ended up getting a TT which he kinda regretting after the drive.

[wsmeyer]

The oil is thinner at 30 wt vs 40?

No the higher the number the thicker. They are all rated at a specific starting temp because they all thin out as they heat up. In multi weight oil the second number is its thickness at 100 C. You want an oil to be thin at startup so the oil pump can generate sufficient pressure to properly lubricate. But it's all relative to the starting temp.

[onepercent]

Frankly I wouldn't worry about it too much. Just be specific next time you have it changed, or better yet DIY.

[mimalmo]

BMW approved oil or forget it.

I have a hard time believing that a local guy, even an extremely competent guy has even a fraction of the engineering experience, test equipment, data analysis, etc, etc as the BMW factory guys in Germany to make a decision that goes against what we already know.

[az3579]

BMW approved oil or forget it.

I have a hard time believing that a local guy, even an extremely competent guy has even a fraction of the engineering experience, test equipment, data analysis, etc, etc as the BMW factory guys in Germany to make a decision that goes against what we already know.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter which oil you use, as long as you use the proper weight for your climate and driving conditions, the engines will look and operate identically at 200-300k miles.

There is absolutely NOTHING you have to worry about regarding them switching to this oil, Wes.


The BMW LL-01 spec only exists so you know which oil is approved for BMWs extended oil service schedule. If you change your oil more frequently than that, following the LL-01 spec is unnecessary.