F30POST
F30POST
2012-2015 BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum
BMW Garage BMW Meets Register Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read
BMW 3-Series and 4-Series Forum (F30 / F32) | F30POST > Technical Forums > Mechanical Maintenance and TSBs: Break-in / Oil & Fluids / Servicing / TSBs and Service Bulletin > LL17FE 0w20 for N20/N26?
Extreme Powerhouse
Post Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
      01-18-2019, 11:51 AM   #1
bavarianride
Major General
1467
Rep
5,029
Posts

Drives: bimmer
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: northern california

iTrader: (0)

LL17FE 0w20 for N20/N26?

My car will be due for an oil change soon and apparently dealer is now using LL17FE 0w20 on 4-cylinder. Anyone has experience with this LL17FE oil?
Appreciate 0
      01-18-2019, 02:16 PM   #2
Billfitz
Lieutenant General
Billfitz's Avatar
United_States
8170
Rep
15,964
Posts

Drives: '15 328iX GT
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: New Hampshire

iTrader: (0)

LL= Long Life. That's a BMW trademark.
17= The first year BMW used it, 2017. It may or may not be appropriate for earlier model years.
FE= Fuel Economy. 0w-20 is thinner than, say, 5w-30, so drag between parts is lower, fuel economy is higher.
If you want to err on the side of caution see what grades are listed in your manual as acceptable for your engine.
I'd be leery of a dealer who's using 0w-20 in every car.
Appreciate 1
      01-18-2019, 02:41 PM   #3
bgalakazam
Private First Class
bgalakazam's Avatar
Germany
93
Rep
172
Posts

Drives: 2015 328i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Germany

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2015 BMW 328i  [0.00]
From TIS it shows N20/N26 as eligible for LL-17 FE+ so it's not technically wrong.



However, my manual doesn't list it (because car is 2015). Below are the oils I would use (my last change I did LL-04 only because I am in Europe and use the gas here).

83212365946 - BMW TwinPower Turbo 5W-30 LL-01 (all gas)
83212365949 - BMW TwinPower Turbo 5W-30 LL-04 (all diesel, EU gas only)
83212365954 - BMW TwinPower Turbo 0W-20 FE+ Engine Oil LL-14 FE+

And some more info from another place:

Quote:
For differentiation purposes, the oil specifications are designated according to the year in which they were first used as:
"BMW Longlife-01, -01 FE" (2001),
"BMW Longlife-04" (2004),
"BMW Longlife-12 FE" (2012)
and "BMW Longlife-14 FE+" (2014).

From a past thread https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ub..._stringent_Eur :

The categories "BMW Longlife-01", "BMW Longlife-01 FE" and "BMW Longlife-14 FE+" as well as "BMW Longlife-04," and "BMW Longlife-12 FE" are qualitatively comparable but differ with regard to minimum viscosity at high oil temperatures (HTHS viscosity).

BMW Longlife-01 / -01 FE / -14 FE+ oils are only suitable for gasoline engines, while BMW Longlife-04 / -12 FE oils are suitable for diesel engines with
particulate filters, due to the reduced sulphate ash content.

LL-01 (ACEA A3/B4 base) requires the N20 performance test, N20 Aeration test and N42 Valvetronic RNT test
LL-01 FE (ACEA A5/B5 base) requires all the LL-01 tests plus the N20 Fuel Economy Test and has lower limits on HTHS and specifies a minimum KV100 of 10.0 and a minimum TBN of 10.0
LL-04 (ACEA C3 base) requires the same testing as LL-01
LL-12 FE (ACEA C2 base) requires all the same tests as LL-01 FE plus the N47 AATL carbonisation test and the N47 Fuel economy test. It also has even lower limits on HTHS and requires a minimum KV100 of 8.8 and a minimum TBN of 6.0
LL-14 FE+ (ACEA A1/B1 base) requires all the same testing of LL-01 FE but at minimums of HTHS 2.6, KV 7.8 and TBN 9.5
Appreciate 1
      01-18-2019, 06:02 PM   #4
bavarianride
Major General
1467
Rep
5,029
Posts

Drives: bimmer
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: northern california

iTrader: (0)

Mine is 2013 so manual only lists LL01 and LL01FE, but dealer has been using LL14FE 0w30 for the last few oil changes.

My strategy is that, since 0w20 has reduced drag, it can help with N20/N26 TC, provided the car is not tracked(which can stress out HTHS 2.6-3.1 FE grade).
Appreciate 0
      06-19-2019, 01:40 PM   #5
doctor80
Private
27
Rep
54
Posts

Drives: F30, 328 Xdrive
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Canada

iTrader: (0)

I used Castrol 5W-40 which is LL01 on my F30, 2016.
Do not see a problem.
Appreciate 0
      06-19-2019, 03:35 PM   #6
Billfitz
Lieutenant General
Billfitz's Avatar
United_States
8170
Rep
15,964
Posts

Drives: '15 328iX GT
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: New Hampshire

iTrader: (0)

Maybe not in summer, I wouldn't use that in Canadian winter.
Appreciate 0
      10-10-2019, 09:42 PM   #7
IraHayes
First Lieutenant
United_States
154
Rep
387
Posts

Drives: 328i
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: CA

iTrader: (0)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Billfitz View Post
Maybe not in summer, I wouldn't use that in Canadian winter.
Any particular reason Bill? Even a 5w will flow in Temps of -40° F. I really don’t give it much thought since the coldest it ever usually gets where I live is low 40’s on a cold winter night, so I use a 5W-40 year round. Is it because a 0w just flows more readily when cold?

Last edited by IraHayes; 10-11-2019 at 12:03 AM..
Appreciate 0
      10-11-2019, 08:19 AM   #8
Billfitz
Lieutenant General
Billfitz's Avatar
United_States
8170
Rep
15,964
Posts

Drives: '15 328iX GT
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: New Hampshire

iTrader: (0)

It's not the 5w that's a problem, it's the 40. In really cold weather it takes a long time for the oil to get up to operating temperature. In short trips it might not get there at all. Winter up in the Great White North low 40s isn't a night time low, it's a day time high, on a really nice day.
Appreciate 1
fe7565528.50
      11-16-2019, 12:26 PM   #9
bgalakazam
Private First Class
bgalakazam's Avatar
Germany
93
Rep
172
Posts

Drives: 2015 328i
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Germany

iTrader: (0)

Garage List
2015 BMW 328i  [0.00]
Here is the updated info from TIS in case anybody needs it.



Part numbers have changed as well:

83212365946 -> 83212466454 BMW TwinPower Turbo 5W-30 LL-01 (all gas)
83212365949 -> 83212466457 BMW TwinPower Turbo 5W-30 LL-04 (all diesel, EU gas only)
83212365954 BMW TwinPower Turbo 0W-20 FE+ Engine Oil LL-14 FE+ (all gas US, Canada, EU)
83212461990 BMW TwinPower Turbo 0W-20 FE+ Engine Oil LL-17 FE+ (all gas)


I am still sticking to LL-04 in Europe and would use LL-01 when I get back to the states. The newer LL-14 and LL-17 oils came after the F30 was out, are 0W-20 instead and seem to focus on longer change intervals which I don't like.
Appreciate 0
Post Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:14 PM.




f30post
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
1Addicts.com, BIMMERPOST.com, E90Post.com, F30Post.com, M3Post.com, ZPost.com, 5Post.com, 6Post.com, 7Post.com, XBimmers.com logo and trademark are properties of BIMMERPOST