synthetic.....BMW vs Castrol oil

[shatzbot10]

Any difference between these two products (besides cost & inaccessability)? Can they be mixed? The back of the owners manual recommends Castrol. [15w50]

 

Thanks

[Boffin]

Any motor oil can be mixed with any other.

 

Any oil that meets the API spec and viscosity rating called up in your owners manual will work fine in your bike.

 

My bike runs nicely on diesel oil.

 

Andy

[Tango]

In the USA, BMW oil is repackaged "Spectro" oil. The book states to use "Castrol" as they are the supplier in Europe for BMW. If it's the same weight, and classification you can mix oils. You can also mix synthetic and dino oil. I have read that a lot of people use Rotella diesel engine oil with no problems. I myself wouldn't do that if my bike was under warranty. No need to give them a reason to hassle you. Tom

[ShovelStrokeEd]

They can't hassle you over a warranty issue unless they can PROVE the oil was the proximate cause of the failure.

[Redbrick]

Bought any BMW 15-50 synthetic lately?.....Around here it's almost $20 a quart now....Last time for me....Amsoil, Redline or something else next change..............Both of those brands exceed the BMW brand oil specs, I believe, at about half the price...

[shatzbot10]

Thank you for all your responses. I'm past the warranty. No concerns there. It's Castrol from now on (for me) because of it's price & availablity.

[pokorskij]

Castrol synthetic doesn't come in 15w50. So what are you going to use the 5w50 or 20w50?

[JayW]

..If it's the same weight, and classification you can mix oils...

 

You can safely mix different weights and classifications too, though the end result will be a composite of the different oils.

 

Jay

[chaparral]

I have used Rotella since my first oil change 15w-40w. I switched to Rotella synthetic 15w-40w 6K miles ago. I now have 32K miles $.02 worth.

[Dave_in_TX]

I have used Rotella since my first oil change 15w-40w. I switched to Rotella synthetic 15w-40w 6K miles ago. I now have 32K miles $.02 worth.

The Rotella synthetic is 5W40, not 15W40. Rotella 15W40 is dino oil.

[lvnvbiker]

The manual says 20/50 so why not use the Castrol Actevo xtra 20/50 syn blend? I get it at Cyclegear for 21 a gallon, or you can go full syn at around 30 for the castrol or 40 for the spectro..

[Don_Eilenberger]

They can't hassle you over a warranty issue unless they can PROVE the oil was the proximate cause of the failure.

Sure they can. They can refuse warranty coverage, and then you have to fight them. That can get expensive.. and can be futile since they have lots of experts and you don't. You *might* win - but you won't get your expenses repaid.

 

If the oil manufacturer specifies that the oil meets the specifications BMW calls for (which are SG/SH rated) - then you have about 1 leg to stand on.. having 2 legs would be better achieved by sucking it up and buying BMW oil during warranty.

[rglassma]

Just changed mine with Castrol 4T 20w/50 from Pep Boys. Cost me about 14.00 for the gallon. Used the Purelator filter for 6.00 which made my 20.00 oil change... That will last me about 5 - 6K miles and i'll do it all over again.

[Boffin]

They can't hassle you over a warranty issue unless they can PROVE the oil was the proximate cause of the failure.

Sure they can. They can refuse warranty coverage, and then you have to fight them. That can get expensive.. and can be futile since they have lots of experts and you don't. You *might* win - but you won't get your expenses repaid.

 

If the oil manufacturer specifies that the oil meets the specifications BMW calls for (which are SG/SH rated) - then you have about 1 leg to stand on.. having 2 legs would be better achieved by sucking it up and buying BMW oil during warranty.

 

I couldn't do that. BMW branded oil is not sold in the UK. The manual lists a specification and grade and requires it be "branded". Notwithstanding that I have never hear of an oil-related failure on a modern BMW, I cannot see how BMW could object to the use of an oil - any oil - that meets the specification called up in the manual. The manual does not call for BMW branded oil, it only "reccommends" Castrol oil. It Specifies Branded oil to specifiaction API... etc.

 

Andy

 

 

[Don_Eilenberger]

Andy - in the US - BMW sent a SIB (Service Information Bulletin) around to their dealers when "energy savings" oil was introduced on the market. The SIB stated that warranty would be denied for engine problems that occurred on engines where it could be shown the "energy savings" oil was used. The reason being - certain additives that provide "last-chance" lubrication protection had been greatly reduced in the new oils.

 

BMW basically called for the use of an oil specification no GREATER than SF-SG I believe (or SG-SH.. have to find the SIB..) These oils were formulated with the full protection package. While later formulations are supposed to meet the specifications of all prior formulations - that wasn't the case. The additives were removed to help protect catalytic converters and low viscosity oil was used to reduce oil pumping power loss.

 

So - what BMW requires for the bikes in the US - is oil only made by a few manufacturers. Some of the "V-Twin" oils have these specifications. The BMW branded oil has the specifications. And perhaps the supplier of the BMW branded oil (Golden-Spectro) may have oil that meets the specifications.

 

Other than that - I know of no other sources. Some heavier viscosity oils are exempt from the reduced additive package requirements, but that doesn't mean they necessarily have the package as part of their formulation.

 

What this is all getting to - there is an posting in this forum about an engine where some internal damage occurred at 17,000 miles. I'm sure BMW will be inquiring into the oil used in the engine and the frequency of change of the oil. They have done this before when engine problems occurred. IMHO the simplest way to end the question of oil used is to use their oil. It's not the cheapest way, but for me - the money spent while the bike is under warranty isn't a major lifechanging sum to me. Once the bike is out of warranty, I'll likely change to Mobil-1 15W-50 oil (which by analysis I've had done on used M1 oil HAS the higher levels of extreme pressure additives.) Until the warranty is up - it just makes sense to me to use BMW's stuff.

 

As is usual - things differ between the US and Europe, so undoubtably the oils you may use probably have different approvals and are manufacturered with different oil ratings.

[rglassma]

Why do we have to over complicate the issue. Under warranty, just follow the manufacturers requirement. There are a number of dino and non-dino solutions for motor oil. Some dino oils are not that expensive and synthetic is usually twice as much or more. With a manufacturer recommended oil change interval of 6K, even with dino oil, that is more then enough mileage for a cost savings. I choose dino oil because I have seen no benefit for synthetic. In the states, you can usually pick it up at most auto parts stores. If you go to a MS accessories shop or dealer, you are going to pay inflated prices and see no benefit.

 

In the past I have used expensive synthetic all and had seal problems on my LT that cost me a fortune to have repaired. Those problems mysteriously started showing up about 10K after I changed to syn. I then traded the bike. So, it is dino for me. The manufacturer doesn't specifically say "SYNTHETIC OIL". So, why spend twice as much when you can do the job for the cost of dino oil. Most BMW dealers will not even use synthetic unless you ask for it and pay extra for it. If you must use the BMW filter to feel better, then so be it...

[SageRider]

The manual says 20/50

My manual also says 20W-50 until I turn the page. There I read the following:

5W-30 use between -4 and 68 degrees (Farenheit)

10W-40 use between 14 and 86 degrees (Farenheit)

15W-40 use > 32 degrees (Farenheit)

20W-40 use > 32 degrees (Farenheit)

5W-50 Synthetic use > -4 degrees (Farenheit)

10W-50 Synthetic use > -4 degrees (Farenheit)

 

So why wouldn't anyone use 5W-50 or 10W-50 synthetics???

 

 

[marcopolo]

There's no such thing as BMW-branded oil in Canada either. Dealers use a variety of oil brands. In Montreal, where I bought my bike, they used Motul. Here in Ottawa they use Spectro. My independent tech used Castrol until very recently, then switched to bulk Spectro.

 

My manual ('06 R12RT) says: "20W-50, API classification SF or better". The manual goes on to list permissible viscosities, depending on temperature ranges at which bike will be operated.

 

Obviously to BMW Motorrad, there's no such thing as BMW oil, and as many have noted, the bike manuals say "BMW recommends Castrol". This BMW oil thing is an invention of BMW USA, it would seem.

[shatzbot10]

Castrol Syntec 20w50. Here in Houston, the summers sometimes last 9 months.

[Ricoshay]

Does BMW change the oil specs with each passing year?

Page 138 of my 05-R1200RT manual says:

"Brand-name HD oil of API classification SL or higher; CD or CE amendments are permissable."

 

And at the bottom of the same page it says:

"BMW recommends Castrol "

 

On the next page it says "SAE 20W-50 for temperature ranges of 14°F to over 86 °F"

 

For me that has meant Castrol GTX 20W-50 for the past 35k miles.

Both in, and now, out of Warranty.

 

My manual is a "1st edition US/RF" RF? Do ya suppose that matters?

[SageRider]

John,

That is interesting.

Mine is 2nd editition, 08.2005 (for an '06 RT)

The only common oil viscocity for which no temperature range is provided in my manual is 20w-50.

It would appear that I would not want to use 20w-50 for temps below freezing, which covers a lot of the year around here...

But 5W-50 or 10W-50 synthetics are approved from >-4 with no upper limit provided.

 

[Ricoshay]

Michael,

 

My "1st edition" is dated 06.2004

 

My Castrol GTX, 20W-50 is labeled API SH, SJ, SL & SM

Do you think they consulted with BMW before listing compliance with all four ratings? According to the manuals cited in this thread, Castrol should be in compliance with BMW's current standards and, in my manual, "BMW recommends Castrol".

 

I believe the SIB that Don E. refers to calls for SF, SG or SH ratings, which would also appear to covered by the current Castrol GTX. There's an old discussion of oils on the IBMWR website that references that SIB.

< http://ibmwr.org/otech/oilreport.html >

 

I'm certainly not trying to sell anyone on the use of Castrol GTX. I use it because according to my manual, BMW recommends it and it's relatively inexpensive. My warranty expired last February, so I can use anything I want now.

 

What API spec does your 2nd edition manual cite?

 

 

 

[SageRider]

API: SF or better.

ACEA: A2 or better

 

[Ricoshay]

I'm going to guess that they backed up to API SF or better (from SL) to accommodate the motorcycle specific oils which I believe are all rated SF, SG and/or SH.

 

With the SJ and later ratings came "energy saving" additives that are "more slippery" and sometimes detrimental to wet clutches. Not a factor on Hexheads.