Originally Posted By: peterski
Originally Posted By: edyvw
Originally Posted By: peterski
I used to buy the BMW stuff but then they raised the price so I put this list together to find some alternatives...all approved LL-01 oils except the Liqui Moly Top Tec 4200 that's marked as 'recommended'.
Just quick replay:
There is only one Redline 5W30 that is approved. No 0W30, 5W40 or 0W40 is approved. Redline is ONLY recommending them.
Pennzoil Euro PurePlus is approved LL-04, NOT LL-01.
I'm not sure if we're getting the information from the same source but to get technical having a look at the Red Line website and their
Product Data Sheets all their 'High Performance' line of oils (5w30, 5w40, 0w30, and 0w40) are LL-01 'Suitable' and 'Recommended' which is a sly way of saying that they are not actually 'Approved'.
In regards to the Pennzoils, looking at their
Technical Data Sheets all their Platinum Euro Pure Plus oils list LL-01 under the category of 'Approvals and Recommendations' but unfortunately they don't specify which LL-01 falls into...so probably also a sly way of getting around the fact they are not actually 'Approved' oils either.
The question remains which oils are actually 'certified' LL-01 oils...only ones that have the specific wording of 'approved' or are 'suitable' or 'recommended' oils also possibly certified.
Recommended and approved are two different things.
That is discussed here numerous times.
So, take Redline as an example. Many people were thinking that they are best thing after sliced bread. Their Euro 5W30 has NOACK 6%, HTHS 3.7, 11.9cst, recommended for LL04 (just making case for my car). Great! Well, recommendation is different then approval. I cannot say to BMW warranty department: hey, Redline is recommending it. They will say: well, then send warranty claim to them.
So, I personally said numerous times here that I would consider buying Redline if they were approved.
So, few months back, Redline actually gets out some oils that are approved. Technical data? Average at best. NOACK of 11%, lower HTHS, etc. So Redline was recommending me oil saying: sure, it is good for BMW. Once they decided to actually meet requirements and get approval, they had reformulate oil.
So, that list that you complied is not accurate. Guy cooking oil in his garage can claim recommendation or meets and exceeds requirements. Approval is completely different thing. Approval means that car manufacturer is standing behind that oil and will honor warranty.