Engine Oil

[t2ribena]

Where to buy Torcoand how much? At least its 5w-30. Scared to use Castrol 0W-30.

Wah, have to buy 2 x 4L tong.

bro...why u scared to use 0W-30 but not torco's 5w-30? both also 30 weight oil wat...the front number not significant coz we do not have winter here...:top:

 

[Guna]

yeah guys,anybody knows where to buy Torco and also what is the cost?

 

[ken]

Can't wait to pour the Castrol SLX Powerflow in my car.:top:

Nissan SC will complain la if all BMWs go there and buy.

heard from my regular workshop that there's fake castrol in the market ... hence he advise to use brands like motul. hence i guess its safer to pay little more n buy the oil from authorised dealer. peace of mind. i quite like castrol TXT 5w40. used it on my GTI. smooth n light

 

[viewfinder]

1. Torco official website does not claim that SR1-5w30 has BMW -LL04. Only the SR1-5w40 has BMW-LL04 according to the website. Which one is correct/up-to-date?

2. How much is the Castrol Professional Powerflow 0w-30? I suppose it's sold in Nissan SC. Is there an equivalent in 5w-40 (or even 10w-40)?

 

[astroboy]

1. Torco is after all an American oil, so their terms of 100% synthetic have raised dispute as opposed to the European fully synthetic standard. Some claim 100% synthetic means Semi Synthetic in Europe, which is a Group-3 (semi synthetic) oil instead of Group-4 (full synthetic). And some say its a Torco is racing oil, so it may lack cleansing additives. I can only confirm one thing, your engine gets real responsive. Some say 5hp gain, at not more than RM70/L. I know K&N sticker also gain 5hp.. I have a huge one on my Avanza.. :24:

2. Just walk in to Nissan, they will give u this 0w-30 at RM198/4L. If you need 5w-40, that's our "club oil" ~ Edge. By the way, buying oil in Nissan damn mafan, because they only sell to Nissan customer and the long wait. That's why one of our friend here bought in crates everytime he goes there. I also gasak 2 bottles from them, which last me 20k km. Nissan won't sell fake oil la. Go spare part shop ask, they too confirm they can't get this oil. Its specially packed for Nissan. Some say the oil is imported in bulk and not produced here.

 

[astroboy]

double posting..:26:

 

[Spaceman]

i got 2 bottles of 0w30 Castrol Powerflow from Nissan too. havent used it.

 

[E46Fanatic]

Expecting u to ask me this... I thought Schwepps will ask first but u beat him to it..

Hmmn... I am convinced.. Scientific? Its tested by this chap who is a member of our forum whom I last heard, is a nuclear scientist.

He's convinced, I'm convinced, and it doesn't matter if you are. Stay with Syntium LL if you think they are great.. I can't wait to drain out mine.. miss my light revving N46B20 so much!

My car has only been on dealer oil since new and I've probably done the most frequent oil changes among us E9x'ers here in the forum LOL. Overpriced if you ask me (~RM70+ per ltr?) compared to whats out there, but its unlikely to be fake oils. Thats the worse thing that you can do to your car is putting in some low grade fake oil. *gulp*. If the source is good (e.g. Nissan), then its all good and much better than the dealer oil option. Just beware when buying from 3rd party shops out there, even from places like Hypermarts.

Interesting thing is BMW recommends Castrol and its even on our oil caps, and Castrol didn't give a rats ass about getting BMW LL04 certification for the SLX Pro Powerflow 0-30W. They did get a higher level of certification for M Benz tho.. Talk about a lopsided partnership

 

[Schwepps]

Syntium 3000 LL is RM95/lit in IA and Helix Ultra AB is RM80/lit in C&C. Compare that to RM50/lit for the SLX in Nissan, which is the same price as the Helix Ultra in Shell stations (a GIII oil) But there's no harm in using a GIII if one changes every 10-12,000km.

LL-04 and MB229.51 are low ash oils to meet Euro 4M diesel particulate filter requirements. If one is driving a petrol car (and there are no DPFs in our diesels anyway, even in the latest BMW diesels) then why would one need those standards? Low ash oils have lower additive packages, eg friction modifiers. The target standard for petrol engines should be LL-01, MB229.5. Just because it's a higher number doesn't mean it's a 'better' standard. There's no harm in using LL-04, but don't pay more just to get it.

Whether 0W-30 or 5W-30, the viscosity is still 30 at operating temperature. 5W can start engines down to -20C, 0W can be started down to -40C. Our ambient temperature never drops below +24C even in the coldest morning. Why pay more for 0W? It just has more viscosity modifier additive that isn't needed.

 

[viewfinder]

LL04 covers wider area in the chart than LL01 (similarly MB229.51 over MB229.5). LL04 has higher rating in 'fuel economy' and 'soot thickness' in the chart while others are equal to LL01. So 'soot thickness' is meant to address 'low ash' requirement for diesel engine.

Then 'fuel economy' seems to be more than just satisfying 'low ash' requirement for diesel engine. Given a choice @ the same price (or lower in the case of Castrol pro SLX 0w30), it makes sense to choose one with latest certification.

The bottom line is maybe whether the data in the chart is credible or not, and over-generalize things or not.

Astroboy, if I simply quote a Nissan car plate number (from my relative's Nissan), I wonder if Nissan SC would sell me the oil? Or actually have to pull up at the service center with a Nissan.

 

[Hezrin]

My E46 kuat minum black oil. Pomen says nothing wrong since i drive long distance alot. Izit true?

 

[Schwepps]

The bottom line is maybe whether the data in the chart is credible or not, and over-generalize things or not.

The Lubrizol chart I'd say is very generalized and anecdotal, not based on quantitive data. How many of those parameters are actually specified in the oil standards? Eg, is 'fuel economy'? Even soot thickness is not a correct description of the quantity of the ash elements sulphur, phosphorus, etc.

Were tests done and if so, on what oils representing each of those standards? BMW LL-01 by Shell, Castrol, Mobil, Petronas, etc all have slightly different characteristics. There is no 'generic' BMW LL-01 performance applicable to all oils.

BTW, BMW LL-04 is a subset of the main BMW LL-01 standard, and so is MB 229.51 a subset of the main MB229.5, just to cater for the 4M requirements introduced in Europe at the time. If you look at the LL-04 documentation, it even said "Not recommended for use outside Europe". (I read that as German-english for "Not necesarry for countries outside Europe")

 

[E46Fanatic]

 

[etquah]

LL04 covers wider area in the chart than LL01 (similarly MB229.51 over MB229.5). LL04 has higher rating in 'fuel economy' and 'soot thickness' in the chart while others are equal to LL01. So 'soot thickness' is meant to address 'low ash' requirement for diesel engine.

Then 'fuel economy' seems to be more than just satisfying 'low ash' requirement for diesel engine. Given a choice @ the same price (or lower in the case of Castrol pro SLX 0w30), it makes sense to choose one with latest certification.

The bottom line is maybe whether the data in the chart is credible or not, and over-generalize things or not.

Astroboy, if I simply quote a Nissan car plate number (from my relative's Nissan), I wonder if Nissan SC would sell me the oil? Or actually have to pull up at the service center with a Nissan.

Can give 1 Nissan made with the number plate. Then they have to do the registration. Then only they sell to you. Go to the Nissan SC that your relative service car la. Just quote the car number & buy la. easier , I think.

 

[etquah]

why they wan to complain la when we are giving them more business?

I thought they cater for Nissan Car only. Need to register your Nissan car , then only they sell to you.

 

[sillycarx]

I think the chart shows the requirement of each standard, not the test results of each standard. Lubrizol is not a engine oil maker, they are teh additive maker. I agree that, the LL04 and some of the "newer" MB229.x1 standards are basically adding new SAP requirements due to environment control, and might be useless. But after comparing a few oils which has different certification, I am convinced that the chart is actually quite accurate, in terms of the requirement. That said, it doesn't mean that 2 oil with the same certification performs the same, it just means that both oil are off a certain standard, one might still be higher as compared to the other. One more thing abotu the chart. There are some standards which doesn't have a requirement on afterthreatment / fuel economy ( shown as 0 in the chart), but that doesn't mean that oil that has those standard are useless in those fronts, it just means that, thoese standards doesn't care about those matrix.

Bottom line is: If your e90 isn't diesel (no particle filter) you should be fine with LL01 standard, or any oil which has standars which covers the "requirement" of the LL01 standard ( eg. LL04, MB 229.51).

 

[astroboy]

 

[astroboy]

... Low ash oils have lower additive packages, eg friction modifiers. The target standard for petrol engines should be LL-01, MB229.5. Just because it's a higher number doesn't mean it's a 'better' standard...

How true is the above statement? If its true, then they should not sell LL-04 higher price than LL-01, even same price also its not right, and SC should provide us non-diesel engine with LL-01 if its has 'better' additives than LL-04.

 

[racheltoh]

Astroboy, tmrw around 2pm u at home or not???? i need top up le.. forgot how to open the bonnet dy..

 

[Schwepps]

How true is the above statement? If its true, then they should not sell LL-04 higher price than LL-01, even same price also its not right, and SC should provide us non-diesel engine with LL-01 if its has 'better' additives than LL-04.

LL-04 has to have lower SAP (Sulphur, Ash, Phosphorus) content to pass Euro4M diesel filter requirements. One wouldn't be able to tell what additives a particular oil blender would reduce to achieve LL-04, but for eg, anti-wear additives like ZDDP would be removed or reduced.

Wiki: Zinc Dialkyldithiophosphate (ZDDP) additives, which typically also contain calcium sulfonates, are available to consumers for additional protection under extreme-pressure conditions or in heavy duty performance situations. ZDDP and calcium additives are also added to protect motor oil from oxidative breakdown and to prevent the formation of sludge and varnish deposits.

Another important additive is friction modifier, of which the most popular is molybdenum sulphide. That would also have to be reduced. Hydrocracked base oils have some inherent SAPs, but PAO base oils have none. The SAPs are in the additives, which typically make up 20% of modern oil blends by volume. The base oil used for LL-01 and LL-04 oils is the same stuff, so to meet LL-04 standards, the SAPs come out of the additive package.

I believe both Syntium 3000 LL and Helix Ultra AB are LL-01, so the SCs are giving us LL-01. Is LL-04 higher priced? I thought the Nissan SLX is about half the price of BMW Syntium and Merc Helix?

My point is, don't go blindly for LL-04 if you don't need it or in fact, don't even know what it is. Ask yourself: are you driving a diesel, with Euro 4M particulate filter, and using Euro 4M fuel, in a country with Euro 4M emission laws? If not, why do you need LL-04?