The Etiquette of Dealing with Internal Combustion

Continuing the Rant on Electronic Mail Etiquette!

Now I'm Going to Rant about Something Different, but on the Same Topic:

On another occasion, I contacted an Australian manufacturer/blender of automotive lubricants. While one can use "any old oil" off the shelf from my local "Big-Spend, Big Ripoff" auto store, I would prefer to use products approved by the manufacturer of my car (BMW).

Rather than bore the readers with un-necessary details, I will condense my knowledge briefly below:

The car came from the factory in 1993 requiring lubricants meeting the CCMC standards, which are the predecessor to the current ACEA ratings
In 1995, BMW began to test lubricants from manufacturers against standards, which are not fully known to the public. What we do know is these lubricants are generally semi or fully synthetic (Now fully synthetic for the latest ratings), they must not break down or "shear" easily, they must minimise cold-start wear, as well as operating wear, and they should be of the correct viscosity for the engine, (and to a FAR lesser extent), the temperature in which it will be operating. For the most part, temperature is not a major factor in determining motor oil weight, unless one expects extreme hot or cold. Oil today (2015) is far more resistent to temperature fluctuations than at ANY point in the past*
In 1995, BMW released the "Special Oils" standard for vehicles with a maximum service interval not exceeding 9,320 miles (15,000km). These oils are semi or fully-synthetic
In 1998, a new standard was released, "LongLife-98"- BMW here introduced the new 15,000 mile (18,000km) interval. The oils are now fully synthetic, and thinner than before
In 2001, another standard, "LongLife-01" was released. The oils are simply improved upon, and are again slightly thinner, now "thick-30s, and thin-40's," usually a 0w or 5w cold.
There have been other standards, such as "LongLife-04," "LongLife-01-Fuel Economy" and so on. But these are irrelevant outside of Europe, due to high-sulfur fuels, and are not the scope of this discussion

So, I contacted this Australian company called "Penrite," requesting suggestions for my vehicle. Their product selector was telling me to use oils that were too thick for my car, a 10w60, as opposed to a 0w/5w/10w/15w-40 oil. This oil was also a "mineral oil," and it is typical knowledge that large viscosity spreads on this type of oil are very likely to result in the oil either thickening or thinning (shearing) well out of the specified grade.

With this woeful product suggesiton in mind, I wanted to know from Penrite directly which of their oils met either the LongLife-98 or LongLife-01 standards, as their product selector was clearly not going to help me out in the slightest.

The person who returned my contact informed me of this**
His suggestion was to "use the product selector."
My response to this was that the selector had suggested oils that would be completely inappropriate for my application (a daily-driven motor car), AND the engine, given its viscosity vs. local climate AND its formulation (mineral oil).

What I got back was completely unexpected, and in my opinion, quite rude...
"Approval is not necessary. BMW has requirements which we then meet and declare that we meet -or in most cases clearly exceed.
Information directly from Europe tells me you need oil to CCMV G4 or G5: this predates ACEA. There is no reference to LL-anything.
Naturally, the car did not leave the factory in 1993 requiring an oil to a 1998 standard!"

Here is my criticism thus far:

Of course I don't "need" an approved oil. Clearly this person hasn't heard of "caring for your car." If I plan to run the factory 7,500 mile interval (Early-model BMW E36, not the later 9,320 mile interval, or the even later 15K interval from 1998 or so), then I need a reasonably stout oil. Therefore, an approved oil is necessary, unless I want to waste time, money and resources changing oil every 3K miles/5K km.
You can only meet a manufacturer's specification. There is no way of telling how well or not you "exceed" it.*** How is it "clear" that your products exceed anything?
Obviously the car would not leave the factory needing oils that don't even exist. What sort of idiot do you take me for? AND... BMW has (bac)specified LL-01 oils for vehicles produced before this specification was released. DON'T get wise with me!

And for the rest:
"You need to select an oil at the right viscosity.
Our top of the range oils are the ones based on PAO/ester

From our website:
BMW 320i E36 Series, 2.0 Litre M50 Eng. (1991-1996)

The PAO/ester option shown is Racing 15W-50.
ACEA A3/B3 . Approval to BMW LL-98. Perfect choice.

This is what I'd use if it were my car."

Some more criticism:

Obviously one selects oil at the right viscosity. So why is there a recommendation to use a 20w60 oil on the website? This hardly the right viscosity for the vehicle, even in a hot climate OR racing use (but maybe in a mixture of both?)
What makes the 15w50 synthetic the appropriate choice? How do you know the application for my vehicle?

How is it that a person working for a lubricant-manufacturer does not understand even these basics? If you work in customer service, you should understand your products, and where they do/do not work. I also do not appreciate being "pushed" towards heavier-viscosity lubricants, per Penrite's, "Thicker is always better, no matter what" attitude. I treat this as misleading.

* For example - about 30yrs ago, a car might have recommended 20w50 oil for summer, and a 5w-30 or 10w-30 oil for the winter time, based on the temperatures expected - this was because in Summer, the heat would break down the oil - thus making it thinner than it ought to be. So a thicker oil was used to negate this issue. The exact opposite in winter: The Summer oil is now too thick for the temperatures, and may inhibit cold-starting (and increase wear) or even proper lubrication, thus a thinner oil is suggested for this operation.
Modern engine oils, including some conventional (mineral) oils even, no longer need to be changed for seasons or temperatures expected (esp. if they have ACEA A3/B3 or ACEA A3/B4 rating), because they are "strong enough" to remain at the correct weight year round. So now, you can run the 0w/5w/10w-30 oil all year and not worry about it thinning out of grade in high temperature/load situations because it is not "strong enough" to stay at the correct grade for very long.

** It seems as if there are very thin oils meeting the specification... This would make Penrite the *only* manufacturer in the world with a 0w20 oil meeting the LongLife standard. BMW's even today still use 0w/5w-30/40 oils - thick-30s, and thin-40's. E.g. Mobil1 0w30 is too thin, whereas the mysterious "German Castrol" 0w30 is almost equivlanet to 0w40.
Some of their products also meet both specifications at once. Technically, this is not possible, as one exceeds the other - so you'd only post the latest specification as to not confuse your (potential) customers.

*** This is much like some education programs, where you either Pass, or you Fail. There is no "exceeds XYZ standard" in such a circumstance.
THE ONLY WAY in which you can tell how much the oil 'clearly exceeds' the manufacturer specification (i.e. ACEA A3/B4, BMW LongLife-01) is via Used Oil Analysis, conducted by accredited proefessionals such as those at Blackstone Laboratories.