BMW high performance 5w30

[stuntboy79]

I have used the search,but I can't find the answer. I know that the BMW high performance 5w30 is not Castrol SLX Professional OE. The OE oil is a low ash oil for the new BMW diesel's. Is the BMW high performance 5w30 actually Castrol SLX Professional? I was told it was Castrol TXT and they discontinued it and replaced it with the SLX Professional. I would appreciate if someone has a definite answer thanks.

 

[Doug Hillary]

Hi,
stuntboy79 - I can confirm that Castrol do manufacture some lubricants unique to the BMW branding. I can't answer your question however

 

[Audi Junkie]

That sounds right. TXT is an old formula and the new SLX line is now "specific OE".

 

[jaj]

I have a contrarian viewpoint on this whole issue: Most Castrol products that BMW sells come in branded Castrol containers, or at least have the Castrol name somewhere (TWS, SAF-XO and SAF-XJ, etc). This is the only BMW engine oil that doesn't carry any Castrol identity. It's been reasonably well established that other non-engine oil products like the MTF-LTx gear lubes and other ATF's and so on are NOT made by Castrol.

Isn't it a reasonable conclusion that it's not a Castrol product? Valvoline was BMWNA's supplier of lubes for decades before the BMW/Castrol marketing partnership.

Is BMW HPSO 5w-30 a Valvoline product?

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I have no idea, and TBH I wouldn't put too much effort into finding out what it is simply because it's a very good oil for their naturally aspirated non-M engines and it's fairly cheap to buy.

It's NOT SLX-OE Prof. BMW dealerships which have the SLX-OE have it Castrol labeled bottles.

The dealerships also sell a BMW branded xW-40 weight oil as well but I believe thats for late model cars (LL98).

 

[Kyk noord en]

Originally Posted By: jaj
I have a contrarian viewpoint on this whole issue: Most Castrol products that BMW sells come in branded Castrol containers, or at least have the Castrol name somewhere (TWS, SAF-XO and SAF-XJ, etc). This is the only BMW engine oil that doesn't carry any Castrol identity. It's been reasonably well established that other non-engine oil products like the MTF-LTx gear lubes and other ATF's and so on are NOT made by Castrol.

Isn't it a reasonable conclusion that it's not a Castrol product? Valvoline was BMWNA's supplier of lubes for decades before the BMW/Castrol marketing partnership.

Is BMW HPSO 5w-30 a Valvoline product?
For what it's worth, what Audi Junkie posted is considered gospel on the BMW boards, and some of those guys spend a lot of time looking into the subject.

As far as I know, he's right.

 

[Craig in Canada]

My oil cap says "Castrol" on it.

The BMW LL 0W40 smells like Castrol (hardly definitive, I know, but I've found a number of Castrol products have a distinct smell to them).

I too thought BMW 5W30 was TXT, at least at one time. I've never used it except possibly for the factory fill. My dad has, though, until a couple of years ago and it left what I believe to be characteristic Castrol red staining.

 

[Kyk noord en]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
It's NOT SLX-OE Prof. BMW dealerships which have the SLX-OE have it Castrol labeled bottles.
It's possible BMW keeps both on the shelves to remain well stocked, or as part of their marketing agreement with Castrol -- I don't think it necessarily means they're different products.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: fokvoort
Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
It's NOT SLX-OE Prof. BMW dealerships which have the SLX-OE have it Castrol labeled bottles.
It's possible BMW keeps both on the shelves to remain well stocked, or as part of their marketing agreement with Castrol -- I don't think it necessarily means they're different products.


Well here's the rub. SLX-OE Prof is LL04 and BMW requires LL01 for all gassers in the U.S. SLX-OE didn't show up in BMW dealerships until they started selling diesels which require a Low-SAPS (LL04) oil. Make sense?

 

[Kyk noord en]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
Well here's the rub. SLX-OE Prof is LL04 and BMW requires LL01 for all gassers in the U.S. SLX-OE didn't show up in BMW dealerships until they started selling diesels which require a Low-SAPS (LL04) oil. Make sense?
Sense indeed. TXT is/was an LL01. Possible Castrol continues to produce it for the BMW brand?

 

[Kyk noord en]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
Originally Posted By: fokvoort
Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
It's NOT SLX-OE Prof. BMW dealerships which have the SLX-OE have it Castrol labeled bottles.
It's possible BMW keeps both on the shelves to remain well stocked, or as part of their marketing agreement with Castrol -- I don't think it necessarily means they're different products.


Well here's the rub. SLX-OE Prof is LL04 and BMW requires LL01 for all gassers in the U.S. SLX-OE didn't show up in BMW dealerships until they started selling diesels which require a Low-SAPS (LL04) oil. Make sense?
To bring either more clarity or less, Castrol Australia currently lists two SLX Professional 5W-30 products. One is SLX Professional
BMW LL01 5W-30 (dubbed "Longtec" in some markets), the second is SLX Professional BMW LL04 Powerflow 5W-30.

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/multipleproductsection.do?categoryId=9012266&contentId=7024136

 

[Kyk noord en]

Originally Posted By: BMWTurboDzl
The dealerships also sell a BMW branded xW-40 weight oil as well but I believe thats for late model cars (LL98).
That might be SLX Professional Longtec 0W-40; it's LL-01.

http://www.castrol.com/castrol/liveasset...onalLongtec.pdf

 

[sprintman]

LL04 not for U.S or Australian/N.Z petrol/gasoline engines.

 

[Kyk noord en]

Originally Posted By: sprintman
LL04 not for U.S or Australian/N.Z petrol/gasoline engines.
True. In the open question of what BMW High Performance 5W-30 actually is, I posted those two products as examples of the SLX product -- one that might be what in the U.S. is SLX Professional OE 5W-30 (the LL-04 diesel approved formula seen at the dealership), the other, an LL-01 BMW approved oil, what might be in BMW HP.

 

[stuntboy79]

I spoke with BMW/Mini parts today and they stated they were two totally different oils. Both the Mini and BMW oil were the same,but the SLX is diesel Low Ash oil.

BMW high performance 07 51 0 017 866 $6.50
Mini High performance 07 51 0 143 829 $6.50
BMW Castrol SLX OE Professional Low Ash Diesel 07 51 0 037 195 $6.86

 

[jaj]

Originally Posted By: Kyk noord en
For what it's worth, what Audi Junkie posted is considered gospel on the BMW boards, and some of those guys spend a lot of time looking into the subject.

As far as I know, he's right.


I spend far more time on the BMW forums than I do here, and of all the folks on those boards, there would be very few who've wasted more time than I have on trying to figure this out.

The biggest clue I ever found was on the API licensee website back around 2003 or 2004. The API issued a license for a product called "High Performance Synthetic Oil", which coincidentally, is what BMW's product is actually called. Those are the words on the bottle.

And who, you might ask, owned said license? Wait for it... Valvoline. And, not only that, which oil company, other than Castrol, first advertised BMW LL-01 OEM spec approval - by a margin of years? Valvoline.

Just because we all accept that BMW HPSO 5w-30 is made by Castrol doesn't make it so. There's just enough evidence to cast a "reasonable doubt".

 

[sprintman]

Dealers here don't use 5W30, they use 0W40. I wouldn't have 5W30 in my BMW, it's a CAFE viscosity.