I've been thinking about using the ESP (Emissions system protection) version of the M1 synthetic 5w30 instead of the standard M1 synthetic or M1 extended perf 5w30. The reason is not for the better protection of the emissions controls (cats, 02 sensors) as advertised by M1 but more due to the ESP formulation holding an HTHS rating of ACEA A3 which is higher than on the other synthetic formulations.

Its approved for some new Mercedes cars. I own a japanese made car, but it runs higher oil temps and was wondering if anyone saw any issues with running the ESP over the others. I suppose its possible that it would clear the japanese and american mfg standards as well but maybe they didnt subject that oil to the tests because only Mercedes required an oil that was compliant with their sensitive emission controls. I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

It does have a lower TBN so OCIs may need to be kept lower. So goes the discussions here anyway.

I have been confused about ESP 5W-30 having a lower TBN, read it in the VOA's forum, although it meets BMW LL-04 spec? or this spec is not related to an oil's TBN?

It's my understanding that some oils have better TBN retention than others. Some may start out with a lower TBN but after equal miles may end up with a higher TBN than the other. Is this right or wrong?

This type of oil along with it's so called claimed advertising gives me an impression that the oil/synthetic version I've used are considered bad for my emissions.

Tell me why they need to have such a different formula assuming I'm wrong????

Durango

Metals can be bad for catalytic surfaces. So if you use an oil with high metal conc. (Zn, P, Ca, Mg etc) there is a higher chance of fouling your Cats. It's really only an issue if you are burning oil though.

So do you think there would be issues running it in a Japanese car? The oil is approved for MB and some other German cars.