I just started using RedLine, getting about 2mpg better, with than without!! Still using OEM Oil Filter.

 

what weight? regardless, i noticed similar when I switched to Amsoil as well

 

5w30, I think this is the standard weight oil that is recommended for MINIs. Yep, just checked OutMotoring's website, that's where I ordered it from.

 

Don't forget about Mobil 1 0-40w. It is listed on MINIs website.

 

It varies by region but the most common is 5w-30. However, 0w-40 is also on the approved list for some years and models. Just look in your book.

 

We have the Genuine MINI Oil service kit Here:

Click on the images for the products.



Other Oil kits that we offer that meet the requirements:

Total Oil 5w40



Motul 5w40



Liquid Moly 5w30




All our kits have OEM genuine MINI filters , drain plugs, and drain plug washers.

 

My car is an EU car:
-OEM Oil Filter
-0w30 Castrol Edge (BMW LL05)

 

Molly is taken care of by a Certified MINI Mechanic and I get all of my recommendations from him.

I have Mobil 1 put in my Husband's 2010 Kia Soul Shadow Dragon SE#3 "SMAUG", for piece of mind if nothing else, don't see much of an mpg improvement, at least not the way he drives!!

Note: My Brother and I helped our Mom purchase a 2013 Honda Civic, she lives in AZ, I contacted the Dealer and had them make a note in her Service Record "Mobil 1 ONLY"...I will be paying for all of her Service work so I want to make sure that her car is well taken care of too, just like my MS MOLY!!

 

I don’t mean to dig up an old thread but I was just wondering what type of amsoil you use? I do track my car about twice a month in the summer and I was looking at switching to amsoil I have heard nothing but good things from lots of people and professional racers. On their website they have many different kinds of oil; should I use the European blend signature series? I'm able to get a good deal on it and it is local so I wouldn’t even have to pay for shipping so I figured I’d give them a try, and use the oem filter.

 

i think for tracking 5w40 euro or w/e is good. otherwise for normal driving i'd use 0w30

 

Signature Series is what you want. It is fully synthetic and will do you well. Running 5w-30 should be fine, but you may want to shorten the change interval when you do track the car.

 

i had posed a question on bitog about this - i think there's almost no reason at all not to run 0w30 on any car that needs a 30wt, regardless of the temperature conditions you live in. 90% of engine wear is during cold start, and even if your cold start is 75 deg F, your oil viscosity is too high to adequately lubricate the motor.

i think the sso 0w30 is the way to go, but maybe something thicker for tracking - though even at operating/hot temperatures i think it will run fine and doesn't lose a whole lot compared to a 5w40

 

That is your opinion, but there is no empirical proof to really support your comment. 5W-30 falls within the range of most of our climate here in the USA with the exception of a few so it should be fine. If it was an issue, we would be seeing engines seizing left and right and that is not the case.

 

it is NOT opinion, but you are entitled to whichever you want. as far as empirical proof, there are TONS - what I was saying does not mean engines seize left and right, it means engines sustain more wear during a cold start. the target operating viscosity for a 30wt is around 10 - no oil has that viscosity at 75 degrees, even 100 degrees. that includes 0w30.

it's not about "acceptable" temperature falling into the range of the climate. the lower the viscosity at "cold" temp, the better. no opinion there.

 

Thanks! ya i was thinking twice a year if i went with the 5w30 oil i can stock up because my tow vehical will use the same oil

I hope i didnt star a war here lol

 

You said "I think" therefore it is an opinion. I have not seen anything of proof and you have provided no links. If you are talking about blogs, they are opinion as well.

As for the war, nope. You can run as you please and so can Kyoo. He made a comment, I simply don't agree with him on it.

 

agreed - no war, always good to have discussion.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/motor-oil-101/

what it boils down to is that there's just no reason not to run 0w30. it's a fact that most of your motor wear is on cold start up when the oil is too thick, and a fact that 0w30 has lower cold viscosity than 5w30, and both have the same operating temp viscosity.. that's why it exists. 0w30 being for those in "freezing" climates is a misconception

 

But you are missing the point. 0w-30 and 5w-30 at say 32 degrees are at the same viscosity. The only thing the 0w buys you is the ability to go about 5 degrees colder over the 5w max limit and it will still maintain its cold level viscosity over the 5w. If this was such an issue, the manufacturers would simply tell everyone to use the coldest rating.

http://www.upmpg.com/tech_articles/motoroil_viscosity/

If you really want to get technical...


Castrol Edge 0W-30 (LL-01) (http://datasheets.bp.com/bpglis/lubt...7?OpenDocument) (DK)
Viscosity @ 40C: 72 mm2/s
Viscosity @ 100C: 12.2 mm2/s

Castrol Edge 5W-30 (LL-04) (http://datasheets.bp.com/bpglis/lubt...enDocument)(DK)
Viscosity @ 40C: 70 mm2/s
Viscosity @ 100C: 12.0 mm2/s

 

it doesn't just give you a lower cold temp for the same level of viscosity... every temperature above that as well, it has lower viscosity - aka it flows better whether you start at 50, 75, 100 degrees... aka less cold start wear on your motor.

i'm not sure what your point is? you don't "need" 0w30? You don't "need" synthetic oil either frankly. is 0w30 better than 5w30 in just about every scenario, ceteris paribus? yes.


::
i apologize if i painted a "horror" picture for people using 5w30 - not my intent. will anyone ever notice the difference? probably not. but is 0w30 going to cause less cold start up wear (which is the cause of 85-90% of engine wear) than the 5w30, regardless of what temperature you start the car at? yes.

 

Then we agree to disagree. My point is that the difference is negligible except on a really really cold day.

If the damage to an engine on start up was that significant, we would see failures and we simply do not. If you want to buy 0w for your car then go for it but in my opinion it is a false sense of security.

I'm moving on as we aren't going to see eye to eye on this.

 

not engine failures, engine wear. big difference.

i don't really get what there is to "disagree" about - this isn't a matter of opinion... 0w30 flows better at every temperature than 5w30. will your differences in wear be noticeable? probably not, only way to find out is doing a UOA. SO: to your point - is the difference negligible? yes. is there a difference, regardless of what temp you cold start your motor? yes.

ceteris paribus, 0w30 will have better protection from normal, every day engine wear due to it's capacity to flow better at every temperature - whether you live in Canada or Florida. it's simply not even a matter of dispute...

for anyone serious about actual data, please educate yourselves on bitog.


::
i guess again to be clear: your engine will not fail because you used 5w30, and will not be saved because you used 0w30 - that's a complete misunderstanding of this topic. your engine will, ceteris paribus, have more wear with 5w30 than with 0w30, due to differences in flow at non-operating temperatures. the difference in wear is basically negligible. you'd only notice or see anything on a UOA, i.e.

 

It still is a matter of opinion as you have not proven with empirical data that running 0w over 5w in a normal environment is going to make any difference. The only thing you have done is stated your opinion. My point by the numbers provided is that there is a difference of 2mm/s flow rate on Castrol Edge (will vary with different companies) and that is it. There is nothing substantial to say that the engine is being starved during start. I would also like to know where you got the 85 - 90% numbers as they are way high over anything I have ever read. Most claims I have ever seen go up to 40% and that is about it.

Nevertheless, as you pointed out, the engine will run fine on 5W-30 and by the time the wear you are talking about is an issue, the car will likely be several hundred thousand miles old. Oh, and running a lower rating means you will also have lower oil pressure.

Perhaps you should run a block heater as well if you are that concerned?

 

Please go through BITOG for much of that. As far as empirical evidence goes, running UOAs ceteris paribus is nearly impossible.. I could turn around and ask you for evidence that metal wear levels between 5w30 and 0w30 are negligible.. We both know it's true but there are too many factors at play to compare.. different motors, different times, different temperatures, different additives in the oil (possibly), on and on...

What you quoted from Castrol is only at 40 degrees C (which btw, the viscosity is much higher than that for the SSO series for Amsoil). It seems the industry standard is to take temperature readings at 40C and 100C.

There is no "concern," as there is no "need" to run a better oil. Better to pose the question like this - why wouldn't I run 0w30? And as far as manufacturers go with requiring weights, they are beginning to recommend 0w30, as they did with 5w30 once that became the standard. i.e., Subaru Outback and BRZ run 0w20 on the new FB engines

With your comment about lower rating = lower oil pressure... not at operating temp... and does it matter for non operating temp?? I don't want to rehash information here you could find for yourself on BITOG. There are a few other misconceptions with that comment as well...

Our disagreement is this - I'm saying for normal motor wear, ceteris paribus a 0w30 oil will always be (almost insignificantly) better than a 5w30, while you're saying it will only be better when the temperature crosses a certain threshold.. Maybe at 0 degrees.. okay lol

::
I didn't mean to be, but I'm getting a little frustrated with this conversation. I don't really get your inclination to 5w30, nor your aversion to getting more information on BITOG, etc. etc. All I wanted to do was present information I've learned when it comes to engine oil, particularly in terms of the commonly misconceived winter ratings. Don't want any bad blood with anyone on the forum, I'm new to Minis, don't even have one yet. I have an 06 Evo IX, and my experience with that is I have* run a variety of oils, but for the evo in particular I run 10w30 ZROD, trading off cold temp viscosity for higher amounts of zinc additive. If people don't want to "believe" me that's fine. Information is out there.

 

LOL, I have been reading BITOG probably longer than you. I remember when it came on-line. Like I said, we agree to disagree. There is simply no need to run that grade unless your climate requires it. If you can show me empirical data that shows wear rates between the two oils in identical conditions in a controlled environment then perhaps I will concede, otherwise it is simply your opinion.

We'll just leave it at that.

 

cool. your comments seem to indicate otherwise. have you gone through BITOG's motor oil 101? that's where the 85-90% of engine wear statistic is from..

I don't care what you use lol. I agree - I already said there is no "need" to run that grade. You can run as thick of an oil as you can until the motor has difficulty turning over, and that is actually how a lot of people approach it. That you can't accept 0w30 has lower viscosity at 0, 10, 20, 30, etc. degrees is beyond me.


::
BTW, I'm not exactly sure what your position is? Are you saying there will be negligible difference or no difference between 0w30 and 5w30 at non-freezing temps? If you are saying there is negligible difference, then we're actually in total agreement. If you are saying there is no difference, then there's really not much more to be said.