Killaduce

Hi there,
I know this had definitely been asked and I’m sorry for reposting but I couldn’t find a single proper answer with my google searches
So.. Canadian Tire has a really good sale here in Ottawa/Canada! The Pennzoil Synthetic Euro 5w30 and 5w40 are on sale for almost half price!

I have a ‘07 530xi with a little over 250,000km on it right now and still running beautifully thank god -_- (Minus the tstat basically starting to fail lol)... The actual Pennzoil website says Euro 5w30 Or Euro 5w40 is for my car... Canadian tire has two options.. Euro L or Euro XL.. Apparently 5w30 Euro L is what I’m supposed to use but it’s longlife 04 and I can’t seem to find longlife 01 in 30.. only the 40s meet that requirement... any ideas? Thoughts/suggestions plz? I tried going with the default oil for our old models(e60) which was Castrol at the time and I put 5w40 but didn’t really like it that much tbh..

anyways thanks for ur time guys!

FormerE30Owner

Get the Pennzoil Euro 5W40 LL01. You will be fine, especially since you have 250 000 + kms. .And thanks for the heads up. I am due for my oil change and I shall also get the Penzoil. I usually get the Castrol 5W40, but the Penzoil at that price will do fine. I have 334 750 kms on my N62. I hope Hawkesbury CDN Tire has the same offer.

Killaduce

thank you!!! I actually put Castrol 5w40 in the last oil change I had done(which is still the oil in my car rn until I change it this week) and I’m gonna be honest with you man, I did not like the way things went. I even started noticing little bits of oil leaks getting as far as into my third cylinder/coil

i always had a pretty miner leak since I bought the car a year and a half ago but the castrol is either really thin and slips through more? Or I’m looking at a bigger problem.

the thing I’ve been told tho, is that 5w40 is meant more towards summer am I right? Or have I been b.s’ed lol? I bought the Pennzoil Euro L 5w30 bcuz it said BMW LL-04 and the dudes at Canadian tire said it’s better to use 04 than 01 which I highly doubt is “completely” true now... especially since I’m reading the euro L and XL are mainly designed for Diesel engines smh
when I go on pennzoil’s website tho and search my car it tells me Euro 5w30 or euro 5w40 but strangely I can’t find the normal Euro 5w30 man only the Euro L and XL and i visited sooooo many diff Canadian tires and Walmart’s

Killaduce

but if ur saying the Pennzoil Euro 5w40 is good enough for my 530xi 07 with high mileage then I’ll go for it!

Btw you mentioned the N62 engine but what model/year do u have if u don’t mind me asking?

tttomttt

I thought the LL-04 was for turbo engines and the LL-01 was for normally aspirated.

FormerE30Owner

Mine is a 2005 545 N62, with 345,750 kms. CDN Tire is only good for selling stuff and their advice on oil is based on selling. LL01 is spec'd for our engines. I usually go for 0W40 LL01 of any brand, but 5W40 and 5W30 of any brand showing LL01 are fine also. There is no need to change oil for the seasons, more Cdn T BS. CDN Tire also has their own brand that meets the LL01 as does Walmart.

Also, if you can't find the LL01, but you find the Porsche A40 spec oil, it is equivalent.

Now I am off to the CDN Tire to pick up 8 litres of the cheapest 5W40 LL01/A40 oil I can find.

Killaduce

as did I lmao until more and more bs from diff people

sounds good so I’ll stick to the 5w40 then? I’ll try to get them exchanged today thank you for the help man! You seem to know your stuff so I’ll go with it I hope ur cdn tide have the special too, and if they do, it’s the last day today! Good luck man lmk how it goes?

Oh and one one last thing, u prefer 0w30-40 over the 5w?
does ur car tell u specifically to go for 0?

FormerE30Owner

My car calls for 5W30 or 40, but I prefer the cold start protection of the 0W. I have been using synthetic lubricants since 1973. Started with Mobil 1 5W20. In the early '80s, BMW contacted me about my experience with using synthetics since I kept meticulous notes on my car's performance. I have owned 8 BMWs over 48 yrs and put over 1.6 million kms on them and have never had an oil related engine problem with any of them. BMW didn't start using synthetics until the mid 80s.

I am a chemical engineer by profession and one of the plants that I have operated made the esters that go into some synthetic oils, in our case it was for Castrol for their aircraft engine.
lubricants.

BTW, I did find the Penzoil 5W40 LL01 on sale. 30$ cdn is almost half price.

Salut

Killaduce

Wow you sir a TRUE Bmw lover! I’m amazed at the fact you’ve owned 8 different bimmers man!!!!!! This ‘07 530xi is the reason I fell in love with bmw’s.. I used to laugh at my brother whenever he’d tell me his 2010 535x is better than the “brand new American cars” that I used to love renting... and I knew that you weren’t just any ordinary dude just talking out of his a** haha.. you definitely not only have person experience knowledge, but you actually understand all these things better than any average person like myself! These oil choices have had me going crazy since the day I got my baby(e60) haha.. I’m glad that I decided to post my stupid problem on here to get other ppl’s opinions after all, so thank you man!

I got my car just went it started to hit a little above 190km.. that was about a year and a half ago, and now it’s rolling on a bit more than 255km’s I learned the hard way, as to why lots of people say to sell your car just before it hits the 200km mark.. (or maybe not all cars, but Germans?).. I’ve basically repaired almost everything on this e60 and it doesn’t stop like Jesus man lol.. it’s like every time I fix a problem another one just pops right up and says “hey what about me? Fix me too dude..” lmao! But yeah anyways very cool that your a die hard bimmer guy! Out of all those 8 different bimmers you owned, is this current one you (that u own)your fav one? Am I crazy for loving just a basic 530xi lmao? I can’t imagine driving a monster like your car, or steps above yours even... *cough cough* M3-M5’s ��������
and they say my car (530xi) has waaaaay “less” issues/problems and that it doesn’t need as much repairs done on it, compared to turbo engines and so on.. but man like now I have a tstat problem, maybe water pump too I believe, radiator, SMB and ofc a miner leak (or so I think it’s “minor” so let’s hope lol smh) oil to get into my cylinders which is ruining the coils/spark plugs causing misfires.. they just don’t stop haha And honestly if I didn’t own Carly for BMW, ProTools or Inpa/Ista, idk what I would do !!!! Maybe we can chat sometime whenever your free? Have you ever tuned out any of your previous Bimmer’s btw?

But back to my original question/thread.. I’m going to try and go back to CND Tire to swap out these two 5L Pennzoil Euro L 5w30 for what u said.. 5w40 as long as it meets LL-01 requirement correct? Glad you got to make it on time for the CND sale too since today’s the last day!

FormerE30Owner

Some of the problems that you have had might just be "normal" maintenance issues for a 200K performance automobile, or due to poor maintenance by the previous owner.


Of the 8 BMWs I have owned, my favourite is the 1988 325is that I put 666,000 kms on over 20 yrs. Only reliability problem I had with it was its fuel pump (twice). My 2nd favourite is my present 2005 545, mostly for its superb V8 and super handling abilities and comfort. The 1973 2002tii is my 3rd favourite.

If there is a trick to longevity on BMWs (or any other car IMO) it is really two things beyond normal maintenance: 1. Take care of the fluids (lubricating oils, coolant and brake and steering hydraulics) 2. Don't modify, except, perhaps the tires.

Get those oil leaks fixed because they wont get better and could lead to other problems like getting oil onto the alternator and belts causing other problems.