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Total Oil v Mobil 1

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40K views 45 replies 20 participants last post by  Dirtybrd  
#1 ·
I recently called around to a few indy shops about oil changes. It seems like a lot of places have switched from Mobil 1 to Total. Anyone have experience with Total?
 
#3 ·
Total is a huge petrol company, but I've never seen their products on the shelf, or heard of anyone using it.
Likewise ... this might actually make me do it myself lol
 
#7 ·
The previous owner of my car used Total for the 8 years they had the car and when I replaced the VCG, the inside of my engine was caked with sludge. I know they changed the oil regularly, but nearly all the driving was short trips, so I'm sure that contributed to what I saw. I switched to Mobil 1 0-40, as from what I've been told, it does a bit better in high heat situations; which is in line with my driving conditions.
 
#10 ·
Total is much bigger in Europe. I agree it is a great oil company however all this tracks back to the issue of oil use and how people are obsessed about it with virtually no factual data on what is better. Any LL-01 oil will get your car to its last day and the engine failure will not be the reason why the car gets crushed.

RedLine is best of the best because it is truly synthetic and I have spoken to a few mechanics that have done engine rebuilds, they all claim that the bottom end looks virtually new on cars that used RedLine. RedLine does not have LL-01 certification, but that's irrelevant, their 5W30 is a perfect oil for the '99+ BMWs.
 
#14 ·
Guys, thanks for all the feedback. In case you were wondering, I went ahead and let the shop do their thing - Total 5w30.

A Volvo buddy of mine seems to swear by Royal Purple. Any thoughts there?
 
#20 ·
Sure, but since the LL-04 makes some compromises to optimize it for diesel engines, the LL-01 is preferable. There's even a note in the BMW tech lit stating it's not approved for use outside of the Euro area, which I believe is related to potential fuel quality issues but so long as you're using a top-tier premium fuel, that shouldn't be an issue.
 
#37 ·
Wow, a lot of responses since I last checked ... I'm now a little worried that the shop put in Total 5w30 LL-04 spec. I suppose I'll be fine until it's time to change again. I'm going to have to bring my own oil next time!

While I'm on the subject of motor oil, I was seeking some additional advice. During the work week, I work in an area where daily temperatures in the summer often exceed 100F. Should I be looking into a different viscosity oil or would 5w30 serve its purpose in said climate?
 
#39 ·
Ll04 is not recommended by bmw for high sulphur fuels (like most USA fuel). It is formulated for diesel emissions and catalyst protection - when running low sulphur fuel - I beleive less calcium detergent - hence lower tbn - which could be a problem on extended drain intervals (e.g. > 10k) - high sulphur fuel creates sulphuric acid as by-product of combustion - which can condense in cylinder on cold start - which is what creates most engine wear - so calcium based detergent is used to combat that. But low sulphur fuel has less lubricty - so need different formulation to stop calcium deposits on cylinder wall creating scoring problems. This is even worse on newer direct injection engines apparently.

So yes, best to stick with something tested to ll01 if you want to be sure (and avoid too many cold starts/short trips). Having said all that, I've been using regular m1 5w30hm or castrol edge stp for the last 60k miles with no issues. But california has low sulphur fuel and I also change oil before 10k which I think is the most critical thing you can do to protect your engine. If I was running the track or autobahn speeds, or other high load conditions I might be more worried about the hths specs etc.
 
#42 ·
So much hand-wringing in this forum about oil... Seriously. Do you guys realize how durable basic BMW engines are compared to those of other brands? It's all the peripheral stuff we have to worry about. Pick a decent oil, change every 3-5K and forget about it. :dunno: