[inc235]

Hey everyone,

Here is what I've found in the manual for US spec 2023 M240i, (RWD, don't know if it matters).
I've also checked paper copy in the car and it states the same info.
Now you can stop arguing over 0W-20 vs 0W-30 since both are listed in the manual, and go with whatever oil you feel more comfy with, LOL

[danallxt]

re: post #1 of this thread
Looks like for 2023 the US oil specs are reverting back to using the 2022 UK oil specs.
US 2022 only speced LL14FE and LL17FE. I see the 2023 now includes LL12FE spec, this allows a 0-30 oil. Only 0-20 met the 14FE and 17FE specs which were the only specs for the US 2022 M240.

HTHS – More than perhaps you wanted to know about HTHS and oil specs.
High Temperature High Shear HTHS viscosity has become very important in the last couple of years.
It all about the car manufacturer’s quest for maximum fuel economy. So they asked the oil manufacturers for assistance.
The oil guys researched the problem and figured out that there was a fuel saving to be made by looking at how the oil is squeezed through the engine bearings.

High Temperature High Shear HTHS measures the viscosity (resistance to flow) of an engine lubricant at elevated temperatures (150°C) under constant shear, simulating the narrow tolerances and high speeds between moving parts in a hot engine. The lower the measured torque, the lower the HTHS viscosity of the oil, resulting in a higher fuel efficiency. The HTHS viscosity of an engine lubricant is a crucial element that directly impacts the fuel efficiency and durability of an operating engine. HTHS is another means of measuring viscosity other than the standard kinematic or dynamic viscosity measurement (0-20, 5-30, or cSt).

The unit for measuring HTHS is mPas (millipascal second). If the HTHS value is above 3.5 mPas, the HTHS viscosity is to be classified as normal. An HTHS value below 3.5 mPas is referred to as a reduced HTHS viscosity.
A lubricant with low HTHS viscosity improves fuel efficiency.
A lubricant with high HTHS viscosity offers better protection for engine parts.

Most all oil specs by manufacturers now include a specific range of oil HTHS viscosity with a continual movement to reduced HTHS viscosity.

So what does this mean for the BMW oil specs? The LL17FE oil has a spec of HTHS ≥ 2.6, only 0-20 oils can meet this, LL12FE has a HTHS ≥ 2.9 and can include 0-30 oils, both of those are considered low HTHS oils. For point of comparison, the older BMW LL01and LL04 spec has a HTHS ≥ 3.5, while the LL01-FE was HTHS ≥ 3.0. For further point of illustration, the 0-16 oils generally run a HTHS 2.3 gaining even more fuel efficiency.

Oil specs are much more involved than this, the above only touches on the somewhat newer HTHS specs that are being incorporated in most all oil specs.