Best Oil For R56 S

[neilobe]

Am going to change the oil as thinks its far too long to wait till the first oil change in march 2009.. Car is now 15 months old, and only 3600 miles. I Can get the oil changed from National Tryes for around £35..
Shall i stick with 0w/30 or 5w/30 ??

[caesar]

Quote: Originally Posted by neilobe (original)

Am going to change the oil as thinks its far too long to wait till the first oil change in march 2009.. Car is now 15 months old, and only 3600 miles. I Can get the oil changed from National Tryes for around £35..
Shall i stick with 0w/30 or 5w/30 ??

MINI/BMW recommend Castrol Edge 5W-30 but if you have been using Castrol Edge 0W-30 suggest you continue with it. Some R56 MCS owners have been experiencing problems of engine noise on starting from cold. A number of sources have said using Castrol Edge 0W-30 stops this happening.

See the section Faults/Fixes MCS on the Forum........there are a lot of threads on the 'noise' problem.

[M.O.S]

If you go for it (you don't actually need a change until it is 24 months old or as the service indicator), ensure a genuine MINI oil filter is used or your warranty may be invalidated when it goes in to BMW. I wouldn't bother - MINI know best! It seems strange to get your car serviced every other year, but that is what MINI say!

[caesar]

Synthetic Oil which the Mini uses requires changing less often i.e. Castrol Edge.

Older car engines use Mineral Oil, this needs to be changed at frequent intervals.

There is no harm in changing the oil at shorter intervals with a Mini, but you must use a BMW/MINI Oil Filter or you will invalidate the warranty.

[BigStuff]

You need to get out and drive your car more

[MINIMANIAUK]

"There is no harm in changing the oil at shorter intervals with a Mini, but you must use a BMW/MINI Oil Filter or you will invalidate the warranty."

Thia is not true -you can use any service parts you like as long as the are "fit for purpose" , any parts purchased in the UK are fit for purpose as you are not allowed to sell parts that are not.

I would use the BMW item in this instance as they are inexpensive

The use of manufacturers service parts to maintain warranty ended about 8 years ago -needless to say they are not too quick with telling customers this , there is a EU directive about this trying to break the monopoly on servicing that the Dealers had /have - it is part of the reason TLC servicing was brought in ,too keep customers returning to the Dealers and their cash with them !

[caesar]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINIMANIAUK (original)

"There is no harm in changing the oil at shorter intervals with a Mini, but you must use a BMW/MINI Oil Filter or you will invalidate the warranty."

Thia is not true -you can use any service parts you like as long as the are "fit for purpose" , any parts purchased in the UK are fit for purpose as you are not allowed to sell parts that are not.

I would use the BMW item in this instance as they are inexpensive

The use of manufacturers service parts to maintain warranty ended about 8 years ago -needless to say they are not too quick with telling customers this , there is a EU directive about this trying to break the monopoly on servicing that the Dealers had /have - it is part of the reason TLC servicing was brought in ,too keep customers returning to the Dealers and their cash with them !

From a personal point of view I would prefer to use Manufacturers parts rather than 3rd party despite the EU directive, especially with someting as important as an Oil Filter.

Nevertheless you have made an interesting observation

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by MINIMANIAUK (original)

"There is no harm in changing the oil at shorter intervals with a Mini, but you must use a BMW/MINI Oil Filter or you will invalidate the warranty."

Thia is not true -you can use any service parts you like as long as the are "fit for purpose" , any parts purchased in the UK are fit for purpose as you are not allowed to sell parts that are not.

I would use the BMW item in this instance as they are inexpensive

The use of manufacturers service parts to maintain warranty ended about 8 years ago -needless to say they are not too quick with telling customers this , there is a EU directive about this trying to break the monopoly on servicing that the Dealers had /have - it is part of the reason TLC servicing was brought in ,too keep customers returning to the Dealers and their cash with them !

I thought that you could have your car serviced anywhere you like but you had to use genuine parts. I may default and use non-OEM replacements (such as brake pads) when they wear out. Thanks for the advice - you;ve probably saved me a fortune!

[caesar]

Quote: Originally Posted by M.O.S (original)

I thought that you could have your car serviced anywhere you like but you had to use genuine parts. I may default and use non-OEM replacements (such as brake pads) when they wear out. Thanks for the advice - you;ve probably saved me a fortune!

If I remember correctly you can have your car serviced anywhere you like without invalidating the warranty provided the garage is VAT registered.

[M.O.S]

Quote: Originally Posted by caesar (original)

If I remember correctly you can have your car serviced anywhere you like without invalidating the warranty provided the garage is VAT registered.

You can, but I'll still be taking mine to BMW! As I said previously, what I'd save wouldn't be much - mine is time based. Still, if you do a lot of miles its worth it. I'm not getting TLC XL because its not economic for me!