Oil Choices: A Discussion

[oil_burner]

Hey yall’s. Just wanted some thoughts on oil choice. I know the recommended spec for oils on the 35d is LL-04, but have seen various data sheets and other forum posts that would lead me to believe that an LL-01 oil would be kinder to the engine than an LL-04 oil, but at the sacrifice of potentially clogging up my emissions system. I’m currently at 110k miles with no issues. Knowing that the DPF is going to die anyways, would it be worth it long-term?

[analbumcover]

LL01 is for gas engines, LL04 is normally for diesels. I don't think there's a huge difference in protection between the two standards but a big difference in how LL01 may clog your emissions systems. If you're concerned about engine wear, more frequent oil changes will do more to protect your engine than using LL01.

[Attacking Mid]

It's a valid question. LL04 oils are lean on/missing some of the excellent anti-wear additives present in LL01 oils. Unfortunately, such additives are not DPF-friendly.

My observations on the various BMW boards indicate that the M57 is holding up quite well with numerous reports of owners well over 200K miles. Also DPF's seem to be lasting longer that BMW guessed when programming in their DTC warning of impending doom. Depending on how you drive, it is entirely possible the DPF will last well beyond 200K also. I don't know how much shorter the DPF's life would be if using LL01 oil, but I'm guessing it would be significant. So, most of us have a decent chance of never dealing with a worn-out engine or DPF using LL04. I'm guessing we WOULD encounter DPF failure well under 200K miles using LL01. I'll stick with LL04 for my money.

AM.

[Cnoro]

Originally Posted by oil_burner

Hey yall’s. Just wanted some thoughts on oil choice. I know the recommended spec for oils on the 35d is LL-04, but have seen various data sheets and other forum posts that would lead me to believe that an LL-01 oil would be kinder to the engine than an LL-04 oil, but at the sacrifice of potentially clogging up my emissions system. I’m currently at 110k miles with no issues. Knowing that the DPF is going to die anyways, would it be worth it long-term?

for my bmw e70 4.0xdrive lci, with over 200k miles i used 5w-40 DPF Castrol edge ( is higly recommended for engine with high milleage over 150k)