Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

[MechEngg]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Jay, i have always run 5w30 in my VW's and my last engine was spic n span clean on the inside. And i run mobil1 as well

[sabbySC]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Castrol 5w40 synthetic. Works for me.

[PRY4SNO]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Reading a lot of opinions but little empirical data, or even comparison observations.

As far as oils are concerned my opinion is that the number one determining factor for what brand you use should be based on your service conditions (mostly city/mostly highway/blended, and do you drive it like you stole it, or is grandma next to you...) and oil change intervals (<3,000km, 5,000km, >7,000km).

I did a spec sheet comparison years ago on Audizine.

clicky

For the record: Mobil1 is not a full synthetic. It starts with a group IV base which means unlike a group V base it's not a true synthetic engine oil. Yes, you've been had by marketing hype (c'mon, you didn't really believe for what you paid on sale at CT you got the same formula Lewis Hamilton or Tony Stewart gets, did ya?).



bobistheoilguy.com is a tremendous resource for oil related information.



I used to use Total Energy9000 5w40, and have since switched to Shell Rotella T6. Engine gets up to temp chop-chop and starts up buttery smooth in the dead of winter even if she's not plugged in, provided the battery is fully charged of course. Nothing changed between the two but the T6 is easy to find at Canadian Tire and costs about the same.

Where I did notice a big difference is the switch from Castrol dealership oil (cheap) to Total/T6 on cold starts and the warm up phase. It was literally like going from non-synthetic to synthetic. Lifters were noticeably quieter too.

[All_Euro]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

^^^ research is what led me to switch to Rotella T6 - bobistheoilguy.com is a great resource. The European synthetics... which are true synthetic... are obviously great too, but with the price & availability of Rotella T6 - it's hard to resist

BTW... I use an over-sized filter and change oil every 10K

[Kane]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

My TDI and my wife's 1.8T gets lubro-moly every 5000km. I'm pretty anal about the oil in the TDI being a pd engine i don't want any camshaft issues. My mk1 gets shell rotella 15w40 because it works good in that engine and is free from work.

[Parts Erik]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Good old castrol Syntec 5W40 right out of the tap. $8.35 tax in per liter. If it is good enough for track duty in the R8 V10's when we go to training and the R8 GT it's gonna be fine for pretty much everything street driven.


Erik

[PRY4SNO]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

^^^ research is what led me to switch to Rotella T6 - bobistheoilguy.com is a great resource. The European synthetics... which are true synthetic... are obviously great too, but with the price & availability of Rotella T6 - it's hard to resist

BTW... I use an over-sized filter and change oil every 10K

links!

Good old castrol Syntec 5W40 right out of the tap. $8.35 tax in per liter. If it is good enough for track duty in the R8 V10's when we go to training and the R8 GT it's gonna be fine for pretty much everything street driven.


Erik

How many engines did AoA replace that were running good ol' Syntec? I know the OCI and filter size had a lot to do with it but that stuff just makes me nervous.

As such I personally prefer the top tier stuff (Total, T6, Motul) for peace of mind, and... because racecar

[GINCH]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Gotta agree. When I ran Castrol syntec 5w40 in the S4 the chain rattle at start up was much longer and louder then when I switched to Motul!

[Parts Erik]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

links!



How many engines did AoA replace that were running good ol' Syntec? I know the OCI and filter size had a lot to do with it but that stuff just makes me nervous.

As such I personally prefer the top tier stuff (Total, T6, Motul) for peace of mind, and... because racecar

When the 1.8T came out it had the aincent small oil filter from the VW 4 cyl gas engines and only ran castrol conventional oil (non synthetic) then by 2000 the customer demanded extended service intervals (which BMW and Merc were offering) of more than 8000kms, which they later streched to 15000 kms. That was their mistakes, first the small filter then the wrong oil for the job. The switch to the larger oil filter with the .5l added capacity (it was the oil filter from the early VW diesel and it still is!) and to the full synthetic oil 502.00 (The first bottles all said BWM on them) came down in 2004ish the issue was that all the damage was done and the writing was on the wall, the poor design on the PCV system coupled with the wrong oil and extended service intervals and a floggable turbo charged engine... = sludge. Its was a pretty awesome time to be a flat rate tech in an Audi shop that's for sure I remember stocking at least 2 engines, we had guys doing them in 3 hours turn key.

Since then alot of design changes have been made to the PCV systems and engines themselves in the last decade and the one thing that never changed was the oil, they tried a few times with the TDI PD cars running the 505.01 (also RS6) and the newer 506.00 in thge 3.0TDI. The 506.00 was used in the R8's when they first came out but now they run old reliable 502.00.

Consumption is the new issue with the newer engines (TSI, FSI, TFSI Blah blah.) it is due to the over active PCV system on the new cars for emissions regulations ( I can go on for hours on this subject as I have to do it daily and I hate typing.) the short answer is guys using mobil1 seem to go through it the fastest. When we have to do consumptions tests on customers vehicles we have to do an oil change and go from there, suddenly the consumption problem is greatly lessened when we put trusty (502.00) into the engine.

It is cheaper at the dealership that at Canadian Tire ( I think Wal-Mart beats us by a nickel twice a year when it goes on sale.) or Parts Source etc, due to the fact that the manufacturer wants you to use that oil.

Only time will tell if the R8's will survive the beatings thrown at them in the long term. For track cars and really heavily modified vehicles, it's your baby take care of it how you feel safe. I run Castrol conventional 20W50 in my 16 valve VW's for the last 15 years and will never switch, i run syntec 5W40 in my newer vehicles because I have a tap of it behind me and I get it for like $6.00 a liter and it does a great job in all of my VAG cars I have had over the years, of track and street abuse. I kick the **** out of them (putting it mildly).

Derek as for the chain rattle there are 2 TSB's for it 1 is programming where you sign a waiver that we may nuke your ECU if it has had programming and the other is the sound of the intake flaps rattling after vehicles get to a certain mileage. Call me.


Erik

[Deuce]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Consumption is the new issue with the newer engines... the short answer is guys using mobil1 seem to go through it the fastest.

Dammit... I just bought a couple quarts of Mobil1 for the big girl. Erik, which oil do folks seem to go through the slowest on the newer Audi's?

As a side note, I've read some guys putting a quart into their RS4's anywhere from every 500 miles to 5,000 miles. I'm definitely close to the high end of that range but, if the FSI will just eat my new quarts of Mobil1 like I drink Erdinger Dunkels at Wurst... I'll switch in a heartbeat!

[jaysleeves]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Jay, i have always run 5w30 in my VW's and my last engine was spic n span clean on the inside. And i run mobil1 as well

thanks man I'll run this stuff this time around and see if I notice any difference.

[Yasek]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Castrol Syntec 5w-40 Spring/Summer/Fall

Castrol Syntec 0w-30 winter

[All_Euro]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

I came across a well put statement on oil where the person simply says that any oil that makes your engine louder mechanically isn't good oil in his books... I have to agree.

Here's some more...

There is a vast difference in so called " synthetics " these days. Especially those sold in North America. Some of the NA synthetics sold by major brands ( Castrol and Pennzoil are two ) can not even be sold legally in Europe as " Synthetics " because it would be false advertising.

Read up on some the issues at: BobIstheoilguy.com

To show the difference in synthetics, look up the problems that Audi and VW are having with the TFSI 2.0 motors and the high wear rates of the Fuel pump cam bucket. These are a DLC ( Diamond Like Coating ) part that is failing at an alarming rate. All due to inadequate "Synthetic" oils in the North American market.

Also check out the Intake valve deposit problem on the Direct port injection engines. This is a HUGE Industry wide problem with all manufacturers and and intensive research at BITOG has come up with a couple of specific oil solutions. Only a hand full of TRUE synthetic oils ( Mostly European brands ) do not cause this deposit problem.....and none of them are your typical NA brands such as Castrol, Mobile 1, Pennzoil etc.

Of course the NA oil companies are sticking their heads in the sands and reacting slow to the problem because it would cause them Millions of dollars in reformulations and bad marketing.

The changes to the requirements for " Synthetic labeling " that the big NA oil companies rammed down Congresses throats back in the early 1990's are now coming back to bite them in the ass with a lot of the new Direct Injection Motors.

It is a problem that neither the Engine manufacturers nor the Oil companies for saw when these new Direct Injection Petrol engines hit the market. And it underlines the point that not all synthetic oils are the same...

[All_Euro]

Re: Which oil do you use and how do you like it?

Here's another one where someone suggests diesel oils as being good but inadequate for gasoline engines...

Sorry...with due respect that is not true at all. Friction additives and capabilities for wet clutches have NOTHING to do with the lubrication capabilities of an engine oil.

As for Diesel engines not having close tolerances? Total non-sense. Don't forget that Diesel oils ( Rotella T6 etc ) are formulated to be used in ALL diesel engines..not just big trucks and buses. That means they are also used in modern Automotive diesel engines that have VERY tight tolerances and are very demanding of shear strength due to the high revs ( for a diesel engine ) used. Modern automotive Diesel engines are very high performance and are even more demanding of the friction capabilities than petrol engines. As for Diesel engines not being high performance? Audi just won the Lemans 24 hours with their DIESEL powered LMP1 prototypes...again.

Diesel combustion blow-bye also creates a lot of carbon abrasives in the engine oil. The engine oil has to keep these carbon deposits suspended in the oil or you will have RAPID destruction of the engine. For that very simple reason alone, Diesel oils are far superior in long life lubrication capabilities than Automotive oils.

Additional problems faced by Diesel oils and why they have to have superior lubrication capabilities. The rod bearing loads that a diesel engine places on the rod bearings is much higher than a gasoline engine because of the shock loads produced by the diesel " Explosive " forces. Add too that the heavier reciprocating weights of the big end and the resulting increased shear loads on a diesel engine. 4,000 rpm in a Automotive Diesel engine may be equivalent to 7,000+ rpm on the same sized Petrol engine because of the increased reciprocating weights of Diesel components.

As for why your Wet clutch works with Rotella T6 and not with other Automotive oils? Have a look at Redline gear oils. Thye have full synthetic gear oils in both regular and non-slip versions. The non-slip versions are for use in POSI differentials. Same weights, same oil formulations...just a different additive package. The extreme pressure lubricating features of each oil are the same. It's just the additive package that is different.


And the bottom line is. You use Rotella T6 in your Motorcycle. Rotella T6 is highly rated at BITOG for all types of Motorcycles, especially air cooled motors, which are EXTREMELY hard on engine oils. Aren't motorcycle engines extremely high performance, close tolerance engines???

Not a personal flame...but your post is illogical