Castrol Edge 5W30 M oil for E89 30iSDrive

Varixto · Post by **Varixto** » Wed Jul 02, 2025 11:53 pm

As per the post's subject. Has anyone tried this oil (Edge 5w30 M)?
BMW Longlife-04, ACEA C3, API SN PLUS.
I have never used Castrol before. I have almost always used Shell Helix Ultra in most of the cars I have had but it's on offer now at Halfords and cheaper than at Autodoc and eBay.
My car is an E89 with the 3ltr N52 engine.

Mr Tidy · Post by **Mr Tidy** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 12:05 am

BMW used to always use Castrol Edge, until they swapped to Shell Helix Ultra maybe 10 or so years ago.

You might even find your handbook recommends Castrol, or find stickers under the bonnet saying the same. So any Castrol that is LL04 rated should be fine!

Varixto · Post by **Varixto** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 12:15 am

Mr Tidy wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 12:05 am BMW used to always use Castrol Edge, until they swapped to Shell Helix Ultra maybe 10 or so years ago.
You might even find your handbook recommends Castrol, or find stickers under the bonnet saying the same. So any Castrol that is LL04 rated should be fine!

Thanks for the reply. Indeed, both my user manual and oil filler cap have a reference to Castrol oils. It's a shame that the user manual's references to fluids are either non-existent or very vague, compared to other car brands.
I think that I'll get it tomorrow. The car has done around 4k+ miles already with the current oil but it's the one I bought the car with and I don't really know what they used (they only assured me that it was the correct spec). My intention is to do an oil change every 5k miles or so.

Busterboo · Post by **Busterboo** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 12:26 am

Varixto wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 12:15 am My intention is to do an oil change every 5k miles or so.

A waste of good oil.

Just keep a litre of Edge in the boot and, when the car tells you, put it in.

flybobbie · Post by **flybobbie** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:00 am

I do 5k oil changes Mobil 1, car at 107k miles, all good.
So works out about annually.
Cheaper than new cam chains, etc.

Busterboo · Post by **Busterboo** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 9:33 am

flybobbie wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 7:00 am I do 5k oil changes Mobil 1, car at 107k miles, all good.
So works out about annually.
Cheaper than new cam chains, etc.

I do what BMW says. Car at 116k miles. Had it since 21k. All good. (Well, apart from some of the things that usually go wrong with an E89. But then what can you expect from German engineering?)

B21 · Post by **B21** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 11:11 am

Varixto wrote: Wed Jul 02, 2025 11:53 pm As per the post's subject. Has anyone tried this oil (Edge 5w30 M)?
BMW Longlife-04, ACEA C3, API SN PLUS.
I have never used Castrol before. I have almost always used Shell Helix Ultra in most of the cars I have had but it's on offer now at Halfords and cheaper than at Autodoc and eBay.
My car is an E89 with the 3ltr N52 engine.

Excellent choice…latest spec ..almost ..way ahead of original LL04 spec..good strategy on oil changes,,,

That engine will just get better and better..

Rockhopper · Post by **Rockhopper** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 11:54 am

BMW recommend Castrol products simply because Castrol paid them a huge amount of money to do so.

The.Analyst · Post by **The.Analyst** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 11:59 am

API SN+ addresses lots of issues that came to light long after bmw mandated LL04

Whether it’s Castrol or a n other SN+ or SP are the best spec oils for modern engines

Varixto · Post by **Varixto** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 12:54 pm

: 20250703_124817.jpg (140.86 KiB) Viewed 186 times

B21 wrote: Thu Jul 03, 2025 11:11 am
Varixto wrote: Wed Jul 02, 2025 11:53 pm As per the post's subject. Has anyone tried this oil (Edge 5w30 M)?
BMW Longlife-04, ACEA C3, API SN PLUS.
I have never used Castrol before. I have almost always used Shell Helix Ultra in most of the cars I have had but it's on offer now at Halfords and cheaper than at Autodoc and eBay.
My car is an E89 with the 3ltr N52 engine.
Excellent choice…latest spec ..almost ..way ahead of original LL04 spec..good strategy on oil changes,,,
That engine will just get better and better..

In the end I bought the oil and it's actually SP spec, not SN+. I might have either misread or read the wrong oil 's specs, as I had many tabs opened in my browser at the same time while doing the research.
Luckily I also got a Bluelight discount so I got 7 LTRs for £70 which is not too bad, I think. I just need the filter now.

Busterboo · Post by **Busterboo** » Thu Jul 03, 2025 8:59 pm

Face it, fellers, opportunities for 'sporting' driving on British public roads are so limited you could put olive oil in the engine. All this talk about ABC123 vs XYZ456 is fun, but just shooting the breeze.

flybobbie · Post by **flybobbie** » Sat Jul 05, 2025 5:25 pm

New Daz...whiter than white better than the old..

What again?

B21 · Post by **B21** » Sat Jul 05, 2025 5:37 pm

flybobbie wrote: Sat Jul 05, 2025 5:25 pm New Daz...whiter than white better than the old..

What again?

Later oils have better detergent properties, better support for cam chains, for turbo engines much better support to avoid LSPI…

So…using a better / later oil will not only protect the engine better going forward it will help clean the crap / sludge / varnish out of the engine…simples

The irony is that more you drive like Miss Daisy and the more you use it for short journeys the better the enhanced protection offered by later oil specs..

Busterboo · Post by **Busterboo** » Sun Jul 06, 2025 10:59 am

B21 wrote: Sat Jul 05, 2025 5:37 pm Later oils have better detergent properties, better support for cam chains, for turbo engines much better support to avoid LSPI…

Ah, I wondered when you'd mention LSPI! Having done so, shouldn't you also invoke DHP and CVD(4)?

Z4-forum.com

Z4-forum.com