An automotive engineer put a bug in my ear about Mobile 1 High Mileage 10W30 synthetic. A closer look revealed this is a very unique formula and well suited for a 100k + MINI. Because it is not rated for mileage efficiency it can have much higher levels of Zinc than Government mandates for most oils. Zinc is a protective ingredient that has become severely limited and some motors suffer from its absence, especially pre-2004 designed engines. Zinc levels are not the only positive attributes of this oil; its seal conditioning properties interest me because my rocker’s hydraulic lash adjusters have nylon retainer caps, pesky O-ring weeping from the crank postion sensor is getting worse, and I want to keep the rear main seal healthy as long as possible. My motor never had sludge nor has it been neglected, but recently I encountered a MINI that had been neglected with a severe case of sludge, so I know it can happen; this oil has extra cleaning additives to prevent and correct sludge build up. Another big plus is the price, only $22 for a five-liter jug at Wal-Mart (if you can find it because the jugs don’t stay on the shelf long).
That is certainly a decent option for a high mileage car, and good point about Walmart, they do have some good prices for oil and that is where I buy now. BTW, speaking of prices, sometimes you can get the local Advance or Autozone to price-match Walmart, just talk to them and ask for a discount.
I'd be interested in alternative oils for my car, because my car has always been a high oil consumer. It has a small leak somewhere, and as far as I know it's the pan gasket, but I can't be sure as I haven't looked into it at any length. At my last change, I put in some leak stopper, but that doesn't seem to be helping my consumption. If anything, it seems to be worse. Anything think stepping up to 10w30 from 5w30 help? I'd give this high mileage stuff a try if I thought it would help. I have 102k on my car.
I'm gonna give this a shot next oil change. I'm changing every 3k now that I'm over 100k, so that said, at 106k, time to put the "senior" oil on my Cooper.
There are possible compatibility issues with any oil additive; cancellation of properties the original oil manufacturer formulated for (like anti-wear) is likely. To be on the safe side, I perform a short OCI after changing from one brand/type of oil to another, and after I’ve used assembly lube (head swap, cam change, oil pump, etc). The difference between 5W30 and 10W30 viscosity is very small and are both interchangeable (not including direct injection motors) if manufacturer’s guideline recommends one or the other.
Would this be a benefit to an older low mileage car (6yr old 40K)? I have been using the 0W-40 for the last few changes.
I should probably know this, but I haven't read my manual in a while: Do MINIs require BMW's LL-01 approval for their engine oil? If so, does this M1 meet it? I understand that this doesn't always make the oil, per se (as is the case with the 5-30 RL I use), but I'm still curious since I thought the M1 0-40 ("euro") was the only oil that's "okay" for BMW engines. Thanks. - Marc
Mobile 1 10W30 High Mileage is not on the official short list of approved oils for the MINI. Mobile 1 0W40 (Lonlife-01 approval) is a great formulation, its Zinc (and Phosphorus) is 100 PPM higher than High Mileage, sulfated ash percentage is lower, plus it has an energy conservation rating, but it does not have additional “boosted†protective additives of the High Mileage formula. A word about frequent short OCIs, our motors have a mixture of metals, some react to base conditions (alkaline) and some react to acids. Ideally the oil should remain close to neutral, but with continual new oil it will stay closer to base and affect those base sensitive metals the most. There may very well be a greater beneficial trade-off for this practice depending on use and environment. A word about frequent long OCIs, from my oil analysis reports and other public MINI reports, viscosity declines more from fuel dilute than shear. Having a higher viscosity to begin with means viscosity will decline to a higher level at an equal point in time; a good thing. However, more energy is consumed moving high viscosity oil, and it takes longer for a high viscosity oil to squeeze through narrow spaces before it reaches optimal operating temp. Changing the oil before it becomes sufficiently diluted renders the need for high viscosity less critical as a “hedge†mechanism.
I've been running Mobil 1 for a long time now in all of my cars (except for the occasional beatermobile). Thanks for the additional info on the newer formulations, k-huevo. It's good to be well-informed. I tend to change the oil in the MINI at about 5000 mile intervals (that's the average showing in my spreadsheet, anyway). I suppose this may be midway between "short" and "long". Oh, and I totally believe that, for many engines, fuel dilution is the leading cause of viscosity drop. I used to work in a place that worked with Ford on engine remanufacturing programs for their 4.6L and 5.4L engines, among other things. Reading through dyno test reports, it was common for engines to "make" oil during the tests (some tests were as long as 1200 hours), as fuel made its way down into the sump.
Thanks for the clarification K ! These were some of the things I was thinking when I decided to change to the 0W-40 as I change my oil just once a year (only drive about 6-8K a year) Glad to see my "gut instinct' actually was on the plus side this time.......
So, what would be a good thing to try if my motor consumes oil at a rate of about 1qt/3,000 miles or more? I've always run 5w30, either Mobil 1, Castrol Syntec, or Royal Purple. I've been changing my oil at long intervals, sometimes up to 10,000. I figured since the factory oil change was every 15,000, that I was ok. My last oil change I only waited 6,000, but that was because my fiancees car needed a change, and I wanted to do them both at once. My car doesn't have a fast leak, and doesn't smoke unless it's really hammered. It leaves a drop every now and then on the garage floor. I'm not sure what I can try, other than start checking and replacing seals.
Diesel oil eh? My buddy runs that in the rally car. Then again his motor probably sees more abuse in one day than mine sees in a year.
First you need compression tests. Smoking on acceleration or deceleration? Some oils have a high rate of evaporation and many report a drop in oil consumption with the 10W30 High Mileage formula, however I doubt oil will fix your issue.
I don't have smoking on accel or de-accel, except if I really tach it out to like 6900, which I do very rarely. My only guess is a possible oil pan leak, due to where oil actually accumulates on the bottom of my car.
Any new thoughts on the subject of oil for Minis with over 100,000 miles. I have been using Royal Purple almost exclusively and change oil and filter between 9,000-11,000. I figure there might be some new insight into this subject in the past two years.