15K OCI R53 2006 Mini Cooper S 144k

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

dx92beater

Joined
Jan 11, 2007
Messages
670
Location
va
Bought this for the wife as a back and forth commuter. It runs great. Being that BMW's OCI is 15k, I'd like to attempt to enjoy that interval since I have like 6 other vehicles to take care of where I cannot get away with longer OCI(s).

What oil would you run? Vehicle is not run hard. Also, what oil filter would you run?

Thanks!
 
I would not do 15k OCI on a car that is known for bad timing chains and PCV valves and burning oil etc.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Kjmack
I would not do 15k OCI on a car that is known for bad timing chains and PCV valves and burning oil etc.


Ok then, what would you do? Expand please.
 
Originally Posted by Kjmack
5k at most


Ughhh....seems like a waste of $$$ oil and filter money but I am sure you know better. Thanks.
 
Let's step back for a moment.

What will the usual driving routine be for this car? Daily miles, city or highway, etc.

We need more info to give better recommendations.
 
Originally Posted by PimTac
Let's step back for a moment.

What will the usual driving routine be for this car? Daily miles, city or highway, etc.

We need more info to give better recommendations.


Hi....

Average of about 12 miles daily each way...6 miles "rural" driving then 6 miles of city driving. If the wife doesn't end up driving it then I will drive it 18 miles each way. 6 rural miles followed by about 11 miles of highway ending in 1 mile of city driving. This is a DC metro exurb, so definition of "highway" is somewhat unpredictable.

Thanks.
 
She's driving 10-11k a year. Pick a bmw approved oil for your mini and change it once a year. No problem and no brain damage. Just keep it topped up.
 
Originally Posted by dx92beater
Originally Posted by PimTac
Let's step back for a moment.

What will the usual driving routine be for this car? Daily miles, city or highway, etc.

We need more info to give better recommendations.


Hi....

Average of about 12 miles daily each way...6 miles "rural" driving then 6 miles of city driving. If the wife doesn't end up driving it then I will drive it 18 miles each way. 6 rural miles followed by about 11 miles of highway ending in 1 mile of city driving. This is a DC metro exurb, so definition of "highway" is somewhat unpredictable.

Thanks.




Okay thanks for that. With that info I have to agree that 15k oil changes might be stretching your luck. I would go no more than 10k and with the appropriate oil that meets the specs. Those I am not familiar with. If M1 EP meets those specs that would be a good choice.

Someone else with more experience in this engine will chime in and suggest some good oil.
 
M1EP does not meet the BMW LL-01 spec that these engines require. In fact Mobil does not have any oils that meet the spec. Your best and easiest to obtain oil is Castrol Edge 0w-40. Pick up some Mann HU 816/2 X filters from Amazon or RockAuto and change the oil every 10k miles at the most. Don't forget the 36mm oil filter socket, the Lisle 14500 works well for me.

I had a R53 for several years and the engine is a robust design that goes all the way back to the 90's as a joint development between Chrysler and BMW. It was used in the Neon as a 2.0l NA engine and specified 5w-30. In your supercharged MINI it's a 1.6l stressed engine so a Euro oil with 3.5HTHS viscosity is a must. Your wife's driving probably won't get the engine oil up to temp regularly so it best not to stretch the interval. I went 10k miles with a lot of highway miles and long trips.

I still take care of the car and it's short-tripped by my ex-wife so it gets 5k oil changes and 10k filter intervals.
 
My god, never ever go that far on 5 quarts, and never ever on that engine! 5k is the way to go, watch the consumption after the interval went that long. Try something thicker, 10/40 works well, or 15/40 in the summer. My rebuilder recommends 3k intervals after the motor was rebuilt, all he does is Mini engines. Ive had 8 timing jobs on these cars this year, 4 just needed chains and the others needed a full rebuild, it is not a great motor if its the N12/N14. The earlier supercharged Neon motors were better, but 15k will kill them.
 
ok, lots of info here and thanks again....

It is the 1.6 Supercharged Engine and no it is not the later N12/N14. I will not try the 15k OCI. Still reading through and thinking this out. Might drive some more questions.

Seems like there would have been some advantages to buying the 2.0 Mini Cooper. I mainly purchased this because at this price point it was nice/fun/interesting that it shares 6 speed Getrag transmissions with my Focus SVT. As she learns manual, she could drive either without needing to get used to the other.

I am a fan of lighter 0w-30 oils over xw-40 oils. I do sometimes take it on 60 mile one way drives and see how many miles a gallon I can get when there is nothing else to do.

However, I do not know what the consumption is. I have not measured it yet.

Appreciated!
 
Last edited:
1yr/10k will be fine on that car. Use a quality A3/B4 oil and Mann filters.

I would change the supercharger oil - a bit of work, but well worth it so you don't lunch the drive gears.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
1yr/10k will be fine on that car. Use a quality A3/B4 oil and Mann filters.

I would change the supercharger oil - a bit of work, but well worth it so you don't lunch the drive gears.


Will do. Probably a good time to get around to changing the supercharger oil. Front bumper is not seated properly anyway. Might as well!
 
Don't get hung up on the grade of LL01 oils as they all hover at the 30/40 grade switchover. If you like the lighter oils you should look into something that meets BMW LL-04(MB 229.51/VW 504 00/dexos 2), which is a low-SAPS oil and commonly available in 0w-30 and 5w-30 grades. These are still thicker than the common ILSAC oils. Since US gas has been low sulphur since 1/1/17, all the stations should be well flushed out.

VW made the change in '18 to allow low-SAPS oils in their cars for this reason. My GTI has a 6qt sump and VW says 10k miles or 1 year regardless of 502 or 504 oils.

I feel if you get the oil up to temp regularly you can go 10k miles. If you want to keep it cheap buy Castrol Edge 0w-40 at Wally World or Amazon when it's on rollback. Around $30 for an oil & filter change since it takes 5qts in that motor.

My mileage
 
Originally Posted by oliveoil
She's driving 10-11k a year. Pick a bmw approved oil for your mini and change it once a year. No problem and no brain damage. Just keep it topped up.

I agree. 143k on my '08 and I change about once a year or 10k mi. I might add a 1/2 qt now and then if I've driven it especially hard. Castrol Edge 5-40 is recommended.
 
Thanks so far....so what if I find out that it is an oil burner? Can I use the HM Edge? It is A3/B4 but not LL01. I give the HM Edge Credit for keeping my dying Tribeca 3.0 engine alive much longer than I thought was possible.

Also, Rotella T6 does not meet those specs but everyone and their mothers seems to swear by it in applications where it does not meet specs anyways. I also ask these questions because I have HM Edge and RT6 laying around.
smile.gif


BTW, how long is the filter good for? I saw one of you mentioning changing it out every other time?
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by dx92beater
Thanks so far....so what if I find out that it is an oil burner? Can I use the HM Edge? It is A3/B4 but not LL01. I give the HM Edge Credit for keeping my dying Tribeca 3.0 engine alive much longer than I thought was possible.

Also, Rotella T6 does not meet those specs but everyone and their mothers seems to swear by it in applications where it does not meet specs anyways. I also ask these questions because I have HM Edge and RT6 laying around.
smile.gif


BTW, how long is the filter good for? I saw one of you mentioning changing it out every other time?


If it burns some oil, let it! Keep it topped up.

The filter was specified by MINI for 1yr/15k changes.

You could run Rotella but I wouldn't for more than 5k miles.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Originally Posted by dx92beater
Thanks so far....so what if I find out that it is an oil burner? Can I use the HM Edge? It is A3/B4 but not LL01. I give the HM Edge Credit for keeping my dying Tribeca 3.0 engine alive much longer than I thought was possible.

Also, Rotella T6 does not meet those specs but everyone and their mothers seems to swear by it in applications where it does not meet specs anyways. I also ask these questions because I have HM Edge and RT6 laying around.
smile.gif


BTW, how long is the filter good for? I saw one of you mentioning changing it out every other time?


If it burns some oil, let it! Keep it topped up.

The filter was specified by MINI for 1yr/15k changes.

You could run Rotella but I wouldn't for more than 5k miles.


Solid info, now almost on the right track. Just a little concerned that with all of the vehicles I have, I could forget and miss a burning oil issue. I know I need to trim the herd lol and that is coming.

For the money, I'd like to get some Pennzoil Platinum Euro. 22 bucks picked up plus a $10 rebate. I am confused about the -10 after the A3/B4 though. Is that the same as A3/B4?

5w30

https://www.pennzoil.com/en_us/prod...641e61d/Pennzoil_Platinum_Euro_5W-30.pdf

5w40

https://www.pennzoil.com/en_us/prod...o_SAE_5W-40_Full_Synthetic_Motor_Oil.pdf

0w40

https://www.pennzoil.com/en_us/prod...o_SAE_0W-40_Full_Synthetic_Motor_Oil.pdf
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
OCI/FCI of Many Years But With Low Miles
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
Jim Rogers
Bailes1992
Rover Mini Reccomendations
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
rumcapital23
Bailes1992
'15 Mini Cooper
Replies
14
Views
1K
Bailes1992
E
Seeking Advice! OCI on 2013 BMW 328i N52 (with Under Cover pics)
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
svenson
O
No Engine Oil Dipstick
2 3 4
Replies
78
Views
5K
Vern_in_IL
Back
Top