HI GUYS, NEW MEMBER MARCEL HERE.

I SAW SEVERAL OLDER POSTS ABOUT OIL BUT THOUGHT I WOULD STILL POST ABOUT IT.

JUST BOUGHT AN '05 S. THIS IS THE 4th IN THE FAMILY BUT MY FIRST MINI.

THE GUY I BOUGHT IT FROM ALWAYS HAD THE OIL CHANGED AT THE DEALER. ONLY THING IS, THERE IS NOTHING IN THE PAPERWORK I CAN FIND THAT TELLS ME WHAT OIL WAS PUT IN IT. WE HAVE ALWAYS CHANGED OIL OURSELVES BECAUSE OUR NEAREST DEALER IS 250 MILES AWAY IN NASHVILLE. SO FAR OUR OTHER 3 MINIS ALWAYS RAN 5w-20 CASTROL NON SYN. AND HAVE BEEN DOING FINE. I WAS JUST WONDERING IF THE MINI COMES WITH SYN. OIL FROM THE FACTORY & WOULD IT HURT IT IF I DIDN'T GO BACK WITH SYN. OIL. I HAVE NOTHING AGAINST SYN. OIL, JUST WANT TO STICK WITH THE OIL THAT WAS DESIGNED FOR IT.

THANKS, MARCEL (sorry about the all caps, use that on another board)

 

Why are you shouting?
I dont care if you use it on another board... This is not that one.

And to reply to your question its a euro brand castrol oil. You can buy it from them. (the mini s is suppose to run synthetic)
I have mobil one in my car right now seems to be ok.
Your also gonna need some specialised tools to get the oil changed correctly.

Colin

 

I meant that I wrote out the message before I realized I typed it in all caps. I do that on another board I am on alot and forget when I switch to other boards.

Real polite way of welcoming a new member to the board, lmao !

As far as the oil changing goes, we bought the tools it takes to change the oil properly and haven't had an incident.... yet

I've ran castrol and mb 1 for years with little to no pan sludge and zero problems. Just wondered what the factory ordered up for them.

thanks, marcel

 

CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL.

 

I just hate hanging that pinkie out there everytime I need to capitalize, lol !!

 

Yeah, and for us old f@rts, it's easier to read. But keep the caps down and we can all just lean in a little closer to the screen.
Welcome to NAM!

 

Colin - relax about the caps! Btw, what specialized tools do we need to change the oil?

Marcel - where do you live? What's the climate like? Your climate will also determine which grade of oil to use.

 

The main thing is a 36mm socket to get the oil filter canister off. I'm able to do it with a Craftsman 1/2" drive wrench and standard 36mm socket. It goes one click at a time (there's not much room).

As stated earlier, BMW and MINI use a Castrol 5w-30. Analysis has shown it to be a very good oil, much better than standard USA Syntec.

 

I am in Tennessee, where the weather is as unpredictable as al "global" gore !! last week 95-100 , last night it got down to 55 or so. gotta love the south.

So from what I understand I need to be running 5w-30 castrol full synthetic ? if that's what comes in it that's what i will run.

thanks for the help guys

 

buy the BMW branded 5W--30 Castrol oil. (From the dealership. It's a good oil). Do not buy the USA 5W-30 Castrol off the shelf from Walmart, or any other store. It's not the same! It doesn't meet the Oil spec called out by MINI/BMW. (ACEA A3/B3 and BMW-LL01). At a min. I'd use the dealer supplied 5W-30. Use the search feature, plenty of info on oil. German Castrol 0W-30, Mobil 1 0W-40 meet the specs. Folks around here have had good luck with RP, Amsoil, etc..... the search feature is your friend.

 

If you can give about where in Tennessee we may be able to meet and I can give you a hand on the oil change, I live in Chattanooga (btw I also am a transplant and love Tennessee).

 

Personally, if I lived where the weather was that hot I would use 15w-50 in the summer and then switch to 5w-50 during the winter.