GoSuckMyTites

Hello guys. It's time for me to do oil change and I do have a couple of questions hope to be answered:

1. I was using Liqui Moly Premium 5W-40 Synthetic Motor Oil all the time, I think this is the best I can find. However, it's not listed on the 229.5 specification sheet: https://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/229.5_en.html

on the official website(http://www.liqui-moly.de/liquimoly/p...l?Opendocument), it says it fits 229.3

Do I need to worry about that?


2. LIQUI MOLY 5W-40 LEICHTLAUF HIGH TECH on the other hand is approved for 229.5, should I switch to this? What's the differences? If I do, should I drain all the oil out and put how much amount in when I do the oil change then?


3. Any other brand or options I have?


Thanks in advance.

Plutoe

Yes you do. The oil may have a super brand name, however technically not meet the mfg's specs. That's not good especially if you ever get involved in a goodwill case. Plus why would you not follow what the mfg recommends!!

Josh.A.Hussey

I second Plutoe on this, those specs are made by extensive R&D by a team of engineers... Follow them...

c300white

Probably no issue with the high tech - it meets other strick specs like Porsche a40 ... But you can find the recommended one on Amazon why not
Use that ? I did hear of anyone with oil related issues if they change at recommended intervals - but for extra insurance I change oil at no more than 10k. Using Mobil 1 0w40 - cheap at Walmart - meets spec - and never had a used oil analysis issue with that one in my Porsche. Yes you can spend hours reading the oil forums to convince yourself of the benefits of a boutique brand - and there is even some data for some of those that show it performs better on one (typically not realistic ) test - but unless you are spending all your time at the track - pretty much all a3 oils and definitely those that meet the mb spec will
Be fine ....just change it on time ...or before

centfl-c300spt

I'm friends with an indy shop owner here and he uses LiquiMoly exclusively on all the cars he works on; Mercs, BMWs, VWs, Porsches, etc. He says its the best he can find and he wants to treat his customers cars like his own and offer the best. The LiquiMoly rep says they are going to start recommending the High Tech and my friend has already switched over.

I use Mobil 1 5W-40, $25/jug at Walmart. It's the only other oil he says he would really recommend. And the mfg recommended interval is 10k miles, but he says he would do it around 7k for best engine life.

Remember to change the O-rings on the filter.

IGB

We all have our preferences... Personally, I'd rather follow the direction of the engineers who not only designed the engine, am sure did some testing with several formulas before deciding on one standard. The fact that they recommend Mobil 1 0W40 at every 13,500 miles (although I usually cut that to every 11k miles but only because I drive my car hard and I do so in an extreme climate, i.e. desert, dust, a mix of stop-&-go and spirited driving).

The first thing that pops in my head whenever I hear someone say something similar is "how many times have we heard of someone having to replace an engine because they failed to change engine oil at close to half the manufacturer's recommended mileage!"

Realistically speaking, Mercedes Benz engines rate well on the life cycle scale, and most of us are not likely to keep a car until such a time that it will suffer so much wear and tear thereby needing to be replaced. So for those who do change oil every 7k, 8k... etc, the way I see it, you are spending twice as much on oil changes for the benefit of the next owner...

For me, and as an alternative to dumping quarts upon quarts of usable motor oil that is still in decent shape, I do send in an oil sample from every 3rd oil change to Blackstone for analysis. I am yet to come across any abnormal results, certainly not any that would imply any unusual wear and tear.

Great tip. And while you're at it, (assuming you do use the Mann filters) use one of the leftover smaller o-rings for the oil dipstick!

Alfadude

" you are spending twice as much on oil changes for the benefit of the next owner..."

And I don't even know if there would be a benefit to the next owner if you follow the manufacturer's recommendations. Like you said, when was the last time you read a post from someone on here (or other forums) about an engine failing because of oil issues, provided normal maintenance schedules were followed? My guess is probably never. If it gives you piece of mind to change is at 1/2 the recommended schedule, then why not change it a 1/4th? Or every week? That would be even "better" for your car. To each his own.

Josh.A.Hussey

Its funny, people think driving you car hard is an issue, which it can be, but whats more detrimental on oil is not driving your car enough!
I follow manufacturers specs on oil changes, maybe a little more frequent but just in case I don't have time to do it when Im supposed to then I have peace of mind, but the real killers are not driving the car an average amount, or driving in bad conditions (dusty etc.).


In saying that, you cannot deny that more frequent oil changes will increase the life of your engine, the reason we dont hear about it is because the engine life at recommended oil changes is already much longer than the average person has a vehicle. But I did read an article about a lad who had put a million miles on his vehicle and when asked how he managed to do it on the original engine, he simply said "I change my oil and tranny fluid once a week. That's it."

I'm sure he'd done other maintenance and repairs, but the fact that the block and pistons lasted a million miles can be directly attributed to his oil change frequency.

Alfadude

If your goal is to get your car to a million miles I'm sure that was a piece of it, but that is hardly a real world example or practical for 99.999% of the people. I don't know to what mileage/age engines are designed to last, but I would think that just going by the book you would easily get to the end of the useful life the car was designed for. I am guessing the manufacturers all have done tests to determine where that tipping point is to where they make their fluid change schedules. That would be interesting to see. I would hardly think it is linear where you change it twice as often and it would last twice as long, but there must be a point where that rational/practical cost/benefit is. Whenever there are these oil change debates on forums, dino vs. synthetic, more often vs. by the book, etc. (and there are many on EVERY forum) there are those that insist one way is better than the other

Man, with the money that guy spent on fluid changes he could have bought at least a couple new cars. Am also guessing he was more than **** about other things on his car besides the fluids too. Would like to read that article.

GoSuckMyTites

I got 10L LIQUI MOLY 5W-40 LEICHTLAUF HIGH TECH and oil filter ordered, probably will keep using this oil. I do oil change every 10000KM or 6 months.

I guess this should keep the car running great in a long period.

Josh.A.Hussey

I will see if I can find it for you!

Yes I agree, the way I look at it is that I have faith in the engineers and I abide by their recommendations. A team of engineers who developed the engine know better than me who just manages to maintain it! Hahaha.

Josh.A.Hussey

This one is similar but not the same one. Cool tho... On a Saab! I love Saab, too bad GM had to ruin it...