N52 Engine Oil - Castrol Pro vs Castrol vs BMW

B

BMW_User

Member
Hi all,

I've read some posts in the forum on the Engine Oil and I'm focusing on Castrol and/or BMW oils for a N52 engine.

As of today, this is what I've found compatible:

BMW

  • BMW TwinPower Turbo 5W30 Synthetic Engine Oil

Castrol Professional

  • Castrol EDGE Professional LL04 5W-30

  • Castrol EDGE Professional A5 0W-30

  • Castrol EDGE 5W-40 A3/B4

Castrol

  • Castrol EDGE 5W-30 M

  • Castrol Magnatec Stop-Start 5W-30 C3

  • Castrol Magnatec 5W-40 C3


All of them are BMW approved BMW Longlife-04 (LL-04).

For now, I've been using the Castrol EDGE Professional LL04 5W-30 and the BMW TwinPower.
They both also follow the suggested specs from the BMW manual:
API SN
ACEA C3
LL-04
MB 229.51/ 229.52
Full Synthetic

Recently, while abroad, I've had to buy some Castrol, but as I couldn't find the one marked LL-04, I've used the following:
Castrol EDGE Professional 0W-30 with the same specs minus the LL-04.

I'm trying to understand how this would affect the engine (if at all, what LL-04 actually implies in practice?) and I'm trying to see if with a vehicle of 90000 miles it might be appropriate to choose something that consumes less oil.

Currently:
1 litre / 700-800 miles - urban
1 litre / 800-900 miles - motorway

Are these numbers similar to yours?

Thanks.
 
My 2nd E86 3.0Si used about 2 litres in 6,000 miles when mileage was in the 80K range so yours seems quite high, but I think it is within BMW tolerances.

My current leggy 330i with the same N52 also uses quite a bit more, but that is mainly because it has a leak around the oil filter housing! It might be worth checking that area for leaks as well as the cam-cover - if neither is leaking you may have a CCV issue.

So far as what you use is concerned BMW switched to Shell Helix Ultra a few years ago, but anything that is LL04 should be OK. My Tesco stocks an own-brand oil that is LL04 accredited and my nephew is using an Asda own-brand that says it is LL04 compliant.

Although personally I'd rather use a product branded by an oil company than a supermarket. :lol:
 
Non sure about the CCV issue. I don't see any anomaly, high idle or loss of power and it's basically been always like that for the last 30000 miles.
1 litre per 3000 miles like in your case sounds definintely good. I read that it should/could be around 1L/1500 miles usually.
This is why I thought about the density of the oil.

The only oil I've seen in the past has been on top of the engine block, close to the ignition coil plugs (on the side there are some holes) as a result of some oil spill while adding 1 litre (it had been accumulated underneath the engine cover). At least, this is what I thought it was.
Periodical checks by the BMW mechanics haven't found anomalies yet. I will check again.
 
BMW_User said:
Currently:
1 litre / 700-800 miles - urban
1 litre / 800-900 miles - motorway

Are these numbers similar to yours?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

For a N52 those numbers of oil consumption would concern me :cry:
I can't see it being the oil choice ( though i wouldn't use any of them / its always Millers for me )
Ive had 8-9 N52s from 60k to 130k , none of them consumed oil like that so maybe look into the reason why as opposed to which oil ? :?
 
I'm another advocate of miller's oils. Their nanotech oils are absolutely fantastic.
I did actually see my oil consumption greatly reduce when switching from an inferior oil (such as castrols offerings) to miller's nanotech.
 
Use the BMW branded 5w30 or Castrol Edge 5w30 as you have been.

Nothing wrong with 0w30 as such, but it is thinner and so will offer less protection.

In regards to your oil consumption, seems quite excessive. My N52 didn’t drop any oil inbetween services (however it was a 30,000 mile example).

Best thing to do would be to check for leaks, however if you cannot find any then you will need to do a compression test or better yet a leak down test.
 
R60BBA said:
Use the BMW branded 5w30 or Castrol Edge 5w30 as you have been.

Nothing wrong with 0w30 as such, but it is thinner and so will offer less protection at higher temperatures / higher revs.

In regards to your oil consumption, seems quite excessive. My N52 didn’t drop any oil inbetween services (however it was a 30,000 mile example).

Best thing to do would be to check for leaks, however if you cannot find any then you will need to do a compression test or better yet a leak down test.
Click to expand...

0w30 is only thinner than 5w30 at cold temperatures, at normal operating temps there’s no difference between them :thumbsup:
Rob
 
Ahh yes my M logic got the better of me there.

The 5w30 still offers better protection though and my points in relation to checking for oil leaks and potentially conducting a compression or leak down test still stand however.
 
I agree that sounds like high consumption.
My coupe on 106k, does about 9k a year and often doesn't need a top-up between services - if it does then only a litre.
So, at maximum mine must be consuming just under a litre every 4k or 5k miles.
 
Given that I'm going to have the CCV checked soon, what could be the consequences of that apart from using more oil than petrol..? :D
 
BMW_User said:
Given that I'm going to have the CCV checked soon, what could be the consequences of that apart from using more oil than petrol..? :D
Click to expand...

Burning oil is bad news for catalytic converters, it’s also not good for the top end of the engine where it gums up piston rings & valves.
If you remove the disa valve it’s easy to see if the manifold is coated in oil internally, the ccv vents into here.
Rob
 
I'm in the process of replacing my increasingly leaky oil sump (see my other posts). Still averages out as having to "Add 1L Oil" every two and a half thousand miles though. The Zed leaves a noticable stain on the car park though at the end of a day's work to give you some idea. As an economical consideration, I started using Millers 5w40 XF Longlife, having seen the recommendations for it on the forum, but I think I will keep using it after I've had my new sump fitted.
Robert.
 
Tonight I checked the engine and removed the silver cover. Just that, nothing else.

I noticed that there is an oil stain on the front (see picture below). I don't know why there is oil there?

No stains on the ground usually, just A/C water that fades away when it dries up.
I will ask the mechanic to check the CCV and make sure that it's okay.

BMW Z4 Engine N52.jpg
 
That’s your oil filter housing and oil cooler. I had a pretty big leak from there on my n52 3.0si. The gaskets turn brittle. Mine then dripped on the aux belt and was flung all over the engine bay.
 
Have a look at my YouTube vid below to give you an idea if the ccv is healthy or not....
https://youtu.be/VhcqVSkhIeA
 
Millers oils get my vote too. My 3.0si doesn't use any oil which I find strange, I would almost rather it did a little as it proves it is doing its job :? I use Millers nanodrive in all the cars.
 
I had a modified N55 135i for 5 1/2 years and I'm on my 2nd N52. In my experience, using slightly higher viscosity oil does reduce oil consumption a little. Consequently, my 135i used more oil for the 1st 5000 to 6000 miles after a BMW dealership service (5W30), then I changed the oil to my choice of 5W40 each time.

These engines all run quite hot, so I also found that running 5w40 reduced the slight valve gear chatter at idle.

BMW dealerships sell their BMW branded 'magic smoke and mirrors' oil for 3 times the price of the same product from Opie Oils. I had an apology £100 voucher from the service manager at Specialist Cars Tring, for a breakdown caused by one of their sloppy mechanics. I thought, I'll get engine oil and a filter. £172! I decided to decline that offer...

I'd recommend Millers too.
 
Toed64 said:
I had an apology £100 voucher from the service manager at Specialist Cars Tring, for a breakdown caused by one of their sloppy mechanics. I thought, I'll get engine oil and a filter. £172! I decided to decline that offer...

I'd recommend Millers too.
Click to expand...
What did the techs do to cause you to break down?
 
R60BBA said:
Toed64 said:
I had an apology £100 voucher from the service manager at Specialist Cars Tring, for a breakdown caused by one of their sloppy mechanics...
Click to expand...
What did the techs do to cause you to break down?
Click to expand...

He couldn't get the bulkhead panel to locate properly, so he forced it and crushed a vacuum pipe that he'd routed wrongly. It detached itself at a union (2010 pneumatic wastegate) on my way home. I stopped when the dash lit up. They then spent 2 days 'investigating' the fault, but didn't find it and returned the car having just cleared the faults. The dash lit up again as I left the forecourt, so they had it for more days while I had the service manager's car.

They didn't 'find' the fault. I took it to BW Chiptune who discovered the loose pipe in just under 3 minutes...

I felt a bit stupid for not looking at it myself! Oddly enough, I did look at it a few weeks later when it started to misfire...and I discovered that they had also damaged a coil pack when changing the plugs.
 
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