The Motul Oil Line...

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Help me understand the Motul Oil line. I know its boutique and in this case "designer" oil. From reviewing their website for 5W30 here is what I see.

Eco-Lite- MidSaps Has some OEM approvals. If you truly want to stay within OEM spec this might be the oil to look at. Looks like the audience for this oil is USA. GF5


X-Clean EFE Midsaps Has some European OEM approvals. Basically this is the thickest possible 5W30 out there. Looks targeted to Europe. C3

X-Clean+ Midsaps Has some European OEM approvals. A little thinner than EFE. Not certain why they have Xclean EFE and Xclean+. Maybe they could go with just EFE versus 2 products here. C3


Specific- It says specifically designed for BMW.


EcoClean+ Lowsaps. Thinner than other oils in the lineup. Targeted for fuel economy minded customers.

EcoEnergy Mid to High Saps. Thinnest of the lineup. Targeted for fuel economy.

In the 5W40 lineup Xcess vs Xclean. Xcess has higher saps and TBN whereas Xclean lower saps and TBN.

Please feel free to add more information. Im not planning on using Motul but just browsing and looking...
 
I wouldn't call Motul a "boutique" as they have a reasonably solid presence in Europe, though others may perhaps disagree.

Your summary is reasonable, although most of their products except the 300V series have OEM, API and ACEA approvals.
 
Originally Posted by Navi
Help me understand the Motul Oil line. I know its boutique and in this case "designer" oil. From reviewing their website for 5W30 here is what I see.

Eco-Lite- MidSaps Has some OEM approvals. If you truly want to stay within OEM spec this might be the oil to look at. Looks like the audience for this oil is USA. GF5


X-Clean EFE Midsaps Has some European OEM approvals. Basically this is the thickest possible 5W30 out there. Looks targeted to Europe. C3

X-Clean+ Midsaps Has some European OEM approvals. A little thinner than EFE. Not certain why they have Xclean EFE and Xclean+. Maybe they could go with just EFE versus 2 products here. C3


Specific- It says specifically designed for BMW.


EcoClean+ Lowsaps. Thinner than other oils in the lineup. Targeted for fuel economy minded customers.

EcoEnergy Mid to High Saps. Thinnest of the lineup. Targeted for fuel economy.

In the 5W40 lineup Xcess vs Xclean. Xcess has higher saps and TBN whereas Xclean lower saps and TBN.

Please feel free to add more information. Im not planning on using Motul but just browsing and looking...

Motul "boutique oil?" LOL. Motul is present forever in Europe. It is French company. I am not sure are they still sponsoring Subaru in WRC but if they do, that is probably one of the longest sponsorship relationships.
In addition, it is very good oil that has all necessary approvals for category they target their product.
 
I wonder to myself why have a specific oil? Some of the other oils in the lineup can go into the BMW. How is the specific oil formulated for BMW? Are there exacting specifications or is Motul formulating it based on known issues?

Or why have the Xclean and Xclean EFE? The Xlcean is slightly thinner otherwise both seem the same.

It is boutique to me in the USA. Its not the $22 for 5 quarts deal at Walmart. They have exacting products for certain situations. Here in the USA most guys would grab Mobil 1 5W30 and be done. They wouldnt care about high saps or low saps or any of that.
 
Originally Posted by Navi
I wonder to myself why have a specific oil? Some of the other oils in the lineup can go into the BMW. How is the specific oil formulated for BMW? Are there exacting specifications or is Motul formulating it based on known issues?

Or why have the Xclean and Xclean EFE? The Xlcean is slightly thinner otherwise both seem the same.

It is boutique to me in the USA. Its not the $22 for 5 quarts deal at Walmart. They have exacting products for certain situations. Here in the USA most guys would grab Mobil 1 5W30 and be done. They wouldnt care about high saps or low saps or any of that.

Well, I am writing from the USA, and no it is not boutique oil. There is life outside Walmart, and I buy my oils, for the most part in Walmart. On top of that, hundreds of thousands of cars require these approvals.
No, they do not have BMW based on "issues." BMW has specific requirements and they formulate oil based on that and then they have to obtain approval from BMW.
X-Clean EFE carries MB 229.52, X-clean 5W30 carries MB229.51.
 
There is a chain in BC called Lordco Auto Parts. Here is part of the lineup.

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Originally Posted by Navi
I wonder to myself why have a specific oil? Some of the other oils in the lineup can go into the BMW. How is the specific oil formulated for BMW? Are there exacting specifications or is Motul formulating it based on known issues?

Or why have the Xclean and Xclean EFE? The Xlcean is slightly thinner otherwise both seem the same.

It is boutique to me in the USA. Its not the $22 for 5 quarts deal at Walmart. They have exacting products for certain situations. Here in the USA most guys would grab Mobil 1 5W30 and be done. They wouldnt care about high saps or low saps or any of that.

What individuals ("most guys") should do is pick an appropriately rated oil (specifications, approvals or licenses) within a recommended grade, and a winter rating that is appropriate for the expected starting conditions. After that who cares where it comes from or whether it is boutique or thoroughly Walmart.

Within the confines of that garden I couldn't care less what Motul markets or what their product differentiation happens to be.
 
If it was guaranteed that using Motul with all those mfg specific certs translated to longer engine life, I'd chase it but as it stands vehicles in N. America running mostly API, ILSAC lube do just fine.. you'd think the avg age of a vehicle on the road in N. America would be lower than Europe but that's not the case. Last I checked it was something like 12'ish years for N.A. and 9'ish for Euro's - so what gives? Seems to me that either the Europeans make crappy cars or all those certs don't mean diddly squat or both? (fwiw, I think using a quality lube and changing it on time is more important than a laundry list of certs and approvals.. barring any mechanical defect, you could put +200k miles on lowly Jiffy Lube bulk as long as you change it on time.. shame to spend all that money on fancy oils just to have your car totaled by some teen or distracted driver ...)


Flame 🔥 suit on.....‚
 
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I run motul oils exclusively and buy them by the case. The cars love them and they run very quietly. I'm just getting into UOA's now so it'll be interesting what comes out of that. The ones that I have used are:

Xcess 5w-40 - This was my introduction to Motul. I bought it specifically for use in my stage 2+ tuned 2015 STI. Lots of track use, never let me down yet. Oil temps are very good, Oil pressure stays very consistent right to oil change although I've never gone over 5k kms on it. Very robust TBN at 8.8 and a CST of 13.1 puts it at pretty much dead center viscosity for a 5w-40. Usually change this once a year unless it is tracked as it's a weekend driver.

Xclean EFE 5w-30- I use this I'm my 2006 Pontiac vibe DD and my wifes 2013 Hyundai Santa fe XL 3.3L. Neither of them have burned a drop. The Santa fe is on a 6000km/6month OCI and the vibe I run to 10k kms usually takes me about 4 months. I just changed it in December and when it hits 10K this time I'm going to pull an oil sample through the stick for analysis. Depending on results I'll run it out another 5k and retest. Probably change it around this time. I can't fined a UOA on this one. So I'll be sending in a VOA in the next week. As per the Motul literature TBN sits at 7.8 and the cSt is a 12.1 putting this one at the boarder of a light 40 weight oil.

Motul ecolite 0w-20- Use this in my cousin's 2019 Subaru crosstrek with 56k kms on it. At 1500kms per week I'm changing it every 8 weeks around the 10-12k kms mark. Doesn't use a drop. Oil analysis will be done in the coming year in an effort to push out the OCI on that one after the warranty has expired. I expect to be closer to the 15-20k kms OCI with this one as it's a highway driver exclusively. Will post results when I do. This one has a TBN of 6.2 and a cSt of 8.61

In November I changed the Santa fe to the XCESS 5w-40 to Address a timing chain rattle at idle. I found after the fact that it wasn't really the best choice for the GDI because of its higher calcium rating @ 2447. I'm debating right now what my next move is on that one. I'd like to run it to the spring and take a sample to send off for analysis to see what the insolubles and "dreaded" fuel dilutions are. If it's OK, I might just string it out another 5k. I won't be putting that one back in. Looks like the xclean 5w-40 is much lower in calcium so I'll either try that or go back to the EFE.

From what I've found, looks like xclean is being phased out for the xclean efe 5w-30. Xclean+ will probably stick around as it is the only one in their lineup that carries the
VW 507 approval for the 09+ TDI common rail systems that I've found. I haven't seen anything in my travels by Motul that covers BMW past the LL04 specs.

Watch for my VO/UOAS coming soon!
 
Originally Posted by Navi
Here in the USA most guys would grab Mobil 1 5W30 and be done.

Not this guy. And I would say, most drivers that do their own OC - the ones you described in your post - care to read the manual.
 
I'd agree that it's a boutique oil in the US. Doesn't matter if it's Walmart-style oil in Europe either. Looking at their website, the only places I can buy it "locally" is a shop that specializes in German cars and the next closest is called "Just BMW". Price-wise, it ain't terrible.... I see a 5-liter jug on Amazon for just $34. You can pay that much for Castrol, Valvoline, etc at O'Reilly (when not on sale).
 
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Flame 🔥 suit on.....‚


Does the suit have a Toyota Logo on it?
thumbsup2.gif
 
Originally Posted by hallstevenson
I'd agree that it's a boutique oil in the US. Doesn't matter if it's Walmart-style oil in Europe either. Looking at their website, the only places I can buy it "locally" is a shop that specializes in German cars and the next closest is called "Just BMW". Price-wise, it ain't terrible.... I see a 5-liter jug on Amazon for just $34. You can pay that much for Castrol, Valvoline, etc at O'Reilly (when not on sale).


Of the 8 oils posted, 7 were approved by Mercedes Benz. I can see the German car connection.
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Originally Posted by OilReport99
Originally Posted by Mad_Hatter
Flame 🔥 suit on.....‚


Does the suit have a Toyota Logo on it?
thumbsup2.gif


At one point it was, i put over 300k on my Camry before i sold the engine and tranny off. Now I'm a Kia guy pushing 200k miles...all I've ever used was the appropriate API/ILSAC lube called for in the owners manual.
 
Originally Posted by OilReport99
Originally Posted by Navi
Here in the USA most guys would grab Mobil 1 5W30 and be done.

Not this guy. And I would say, most drivers that do their own OC - the ones you described in your post - care to read the manual.


Not this guy either, sorry I'd personally run Motul oil before Mobil 1 any day of the week
 
Originally Posted by RazorsEdge
Originally Posted by OilReport99
Originally Posted by Navi
Here in the USA most guys would grab Mobil 1 5W30 and be done.

Not this guy. And I would say, most drivers that do their own OC - the ones you described in your post - care to read the manual.


Not this guy either, sorry I'd personally run Motul oil before Mobil 1 any day of the week


^^^This. Even in Canada I buy a 5L jug @ $45 cash. [censored] QSUD at Canadian Tire is $65 reg price!
 
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Originally Posted by hallstevenson
I'd agree that it's a boutique oil in the US. Doesn't matter if it's Walmart-style oil in Europe either. Looking at their website, the only places I can buy it "locally" is a shop that specializes in German cars and the next closest is called "Just BMW". Price-wise, it ain't terrible.... I see a 5-liter jug on Amazon for just $34. You can pay that much for Castrol, Valvoline, etc at O'Reilly (when not on sale).


Even in Canada we can get it on Amazon, typically quite cheaply. I have bought several cases of their 0w-30 when it is a good deal.
 
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