New 10W60 oil from BMW

[szatras]

Hi there.
BMW's default 10W60 came from Castrol. It has changed a while ago - now Shell is a supplier.

New "part no.":
83212365944
http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2817516/

And it's called.... wait for it... M TwinPower Turbo 10W-60. Although it's recommended for our N/A S54 engine...

So now I have one question. I've changed oil at BMW Garage 1 month ago. On a bill there is just "10W60 Oil". I've also ordered 1L of old good TWS 10W60 for emengercy top-ups (from my favourite BMW-Parts Supplier). And I've received a new one - M TwinPow... (#@#&##!) oil. Previous one won't be delivered anymore. Do You think that possible oil mixing won't do any harm? In case when BMW garage says that still Castrol was used for oil change...

[AndyBeech]

Castrol 10-60 can be brought anywhere, buy some off the net if you can't find any in the shops. I doubt it would do any major harm to mix but why risk it?

[WLH]

Just a few weeks ago I did an oil change to the new Shell 10W-60 and was told no problem topping off with the Castrol 10W-60.

[DPG]

My last service was this stuff. I had to ask if it was the correct oil.

The invoice gives nothing away and I just saw the twin power turbo reference

[Argenta]

Seems Castrol had a name change to "Castrol Edge 10w-60"... Or did I buy the wrong one?

[Beedub]

its the same specs as the castrol...

bmw have just changed supplier, you may actually find, the castrol may come down in price.

[Mikey_Boy]

Folks - I can assure you that this new oil is better than the old Castrol stuff - I also know that it's Ok for our S54 engines. I also know that it's compatible with the Castrol stuff if you top up with either. Just trust me on this one...

BMW have changed all their global oil supply to Shell recently from Castrol - don't be misled by the TwinPower branding - that's just marketers gone a bit mad...

[rossonr]

What about the older engines 2003 etc is it same oil
Thanks

[mr wilks]

Folks - I can assure you that this new oil is better than the old Castrol stuff - I also know that it's Ok for our S54 engines. I also know that it's compatible with the Castrol stuff if you top up with either.

Interesting , , , , how do you define "better than the old Castrol stuff" In what way ?

[DPG]

Maybe has some new additives that are better for our engines.

[Mikey_Boy]

No oil formulation stays the same for very long, regardless of oil manufacturer - that's just a fact of the lubricants market - additive suppliers change, base oil types change and evolve as well as optimising the economics of making the oil package. Without giving too much away, I know that the Shell supply to BMW was hard fought and took a lot of technical sign off before the deal was completed and I mean a LOT - I can't go into specifics as that is commercially sensitive. Like I said, just take it at face value that your oil supply is OK with Shell products and worry about your VANOS bolts instead!!

[PerryGunn]

I thought that competition laws prevented manufacturers specifying that a particular brand of oil must be used in any particular engine - they can endorse a brand if they have a commercial tie-up with a manufacturer but they have to publish a spec that the oil (or range of oils) should meet e.g. SAE 10w60 Fully-Synthetic LL4 and any oil that meets that spec is suitable for use in that engine

Lets be sensible, BMW's switch from endorsing/recommending Castrol to endorsing/recommending Shell has got nothing whatsoever to do with one of them being a 'better oil', it's all about commercial tie-ups and generating revenue on both sides.

[DNK]

Probably racing related

[Mikey_Boy]

I thought that competition laws prevented manufacturers specifying that a particular brand of oil must be used in any particular engine - they can endorse a brand if they have a commercial tie-up with a manufacturer but they have to publish a spec that the oil (or range of oils) should meet e.g. SAE 10w60 Fully-Synthetic LL4 and any oil that meets that spec is suitable for use in that engine

Lets be sensible, BMW's switch from endorsing/recommending Castrol to endorsing/recommending Shell has got nothing whatsoever to do with one of them being a 'better oil', it's all about commercial tie-ups and generating revenue on both sides.

Yes of course there are commercial motivators for any supply deal but I'm pretty sure the technology played a part (like I said, trust me on this).

I think you are confusing lubricants standards (like SAE 10w60 Fully-Synthetic LL4) with commercially sensitive information (such as the supply chain, base oil chemistry, additive pack dose rates etc) and how companies use those differentiators to meet those (very necessary) standards (there is more than one way to make a 10W60). The applicability of an oil to a particular engine is normally a technical decision and not a commercial one - there's a heap of Intellectual Property in there but pretty sure no competition law issues.

Have a look at the below to see if all oils are the same:

http://www.shell.com/global/products-se ... /cars.html

The Pureplus video is a good illustration.

But please do crack on and use your *Any Brand* 5W30 oil in your M engine, I'm sure they're all the same.

[mmm-five]

Mikey_Boy,

Not a dig at you, rather at BMW and their 'commercial partners' whether that be Shell/Castrol/Continental/Michelin and the crap they spout to gullible customers.

I do understand that oil technology changes and a newer oil may be 'better' for a newer engine, and BMW may have spent lots of time & money getting the best from Shell for their newest turbo-charged engines. Newer engines will have different tolerances and technical specs than an S54 (or any of the NA M engines for that matter), and I'd take their 'oil advice' with a pinch of salt.

What's 'better' for a new turbocharged engine may not be 'better' for an older S54 engine - unless BMW are now saying that Castrol 10w60 was crap and any engine issues I have on my 140,000 mile car will be repaired under some 'oil warranty' as BMW are now saying the Castrol oil was crap

If BMW state that the car MUST HAVE 10w60 that meets a technical specification, then that's fine. If they demand a specific brand then they need to show some valid reason why (commercially-sensitive or not), rather than some marketing bullshit.

If BMW 'really' cared about their customers' cars, then they wouldn't be charging £15/litre for something they get for less than £5/litre.

Personally, if my Z4 used as much oil as my e34 M5 did, then I'd have switched away from Shell/Castrol anyway, and put Fuchs/Silkolene Pro-S or something in.

I do hope Shell aren't using their 'pureplus' technology in their new ///M oils, as these will produce the (class III) base stocks that everyone was moaning about years ago where the manufacturer was calling them 'fully synthetic' (i.e. class IV/V base stock) and charging as such, when they were actually just 'cracked' hydrocarbons. Proper ester synthetics they are not.

We're not suggesting everyone go out and buy the cheapest dino-oil they can find, but you can't seriously be saying a 10W60 (that had BMW approval) is now useless as a new commercial partnership is in place.

If BMW wanted the 'best' oil, then surely they'd be doing the deal with whoever gave them the best oil for the purpose they need (and there'd probably be a different oil for each engine/model ) - rather than just jumping ship to a new supplier because the old one doesn't want to pay to continue their commercial agreement?